Isaac C. Kidd

Isaac C. Kidd

Isaac Campbell Kidd , USN (born March 26, 1884 in Cleveland , Ohio , † December 7, 1941 in Pearl Harbor ) was an American admiral and the first fallen American admiral in World War II . He was the father of the future NATO Admiral Isaac Campbell Kidd Jr.

Life

Isaac C. Kidd entered the US Naval Academy in 1902 , graduating in February 1906. Between 1907 and 1909 he took part in the circumnavigation of the Great White Fleet on New Jersey , where he received his appointment as Ensign (lieutenant at sea) in 1908 . In the following years he served on the battleship North Dakota and the cruiser Pittsburgh before being assigned to the staff of the Pacific Fleet. From 1916 to 1917 he was an instructor at the US Naval Academy before being transferred to the battleship New Mexico . There he stayed during the rest of the First World War and in the post-war period, after which he returned to service in staffs and at the naval academy.

From 1925 to 1926 Kidd was Executive Officer (XO, dt. About 1st officer ) on the battleship Utah for one year, then commander of the naval cargo ship Vega for another year before he became port commander in Cristóbal on the Panama Canal , which he did stayed until 1930. The fact that his commands at sea usually only lasted a year was due to the rule that naval officers had to have served at sea for a certain period of time for promotions, so the officers were rotated after a year to give as many officers as possible the necessary for their promotion To send naval commands. Promoted to the rank of sea captain followed five more years of staff service, after which he was given command of the 1st destroyer squadron of the American Scouting Fleet , the reconnaissance fleet consisting of older battleships. After another period of service at the Naval Academy, he was in command of the battleship Arizona from September 1938 to November 1940 . In November 1940 he was promoted to Rear Admiral, Chief of Staff to the Commander of the Battle Fleet and Commander of the 1st Battleship Division, consisting of the battleships Nevada , Pennsylvania and Arizona .

At the beginning of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor , he was aboard its flagship Arizona . But before he could order any action, he found at 8.10 am with the majority of the crew in the explosion of the front ammunition chambers of death. The only remnant found after the attack on his battle station was the signet ring of the Naval Academy, which he had received as a graduate in 1906, fused with the rubble of the bridge.

The United States Congress posthumously awarded him the Medal of Honor for his " extraordinary heroism and excellent fearlessness ."

The destroyers USS Kidd (DD-661) (1943–1964), USS Kidd (DDG-993) 1981–1998 (the lead ship of the Kidd class ) and USS Kidd (DDG-100) were named after him.

Web links

• Isaac C. Kidd. In: Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships , Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy.