John L. Hall, Jr.

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John Lesslie Hall, Jr. (born April 11, 1891 in Williamsburg , Virginia , † March 6, 1978 in Scottsdale , Arizona ) was an American admiral .

Life

Admiral John L. Hall (ca.1942-45)

Hall went to the US Naval Academy in 1909 , did above all with athletic achievements and graduated in June 1913. As a young officer, he served on various ships, including the battleships North Dakota and Utah . During the First World War he trained technical personnel on the old battleship Illinois and was a technical officer on the new destroyer Philip . In the first post-war years he had several shipboard assignments on various destroyers and was an instructor at the Naval Academy.

From the mid-20s to 1934 was Lieutenant Commander ( Lieutenant Commander ) Hall aide Marine District Command in Charleston, South Carolina, Executive Officer (first officer) on the submarine tender Camden and then captain of the destroyer Childs . For three years he worked on the sports program of the Naval Academy and was navigator on the training ship Wyoming . Promoted to Commander ( Frigate Captain ) in 1934 , he served on board the heavy cruiser Augusta in the Far East and was then commanding officer of the gunboat Asheville and a destroyer flotilla of the Asian fleet . He spent the late 1930s at Naval War College , first as a student, then as a faculty member. In July 1940 Hall was promoted to captain and was given command of the old battleship Arkansas and then a staff assignment in the Atlantic Fleet .

Admiral John L. Hall aboard the USS Ancon in June 1944

In the summer of 1942, Hall was appointed temporary rear admiral ; In autumn of that year he was chief of staff of the naval commander in chief of the invasion of Morocco (→ Operation Torch ), after which he was appointed commander of the naval forces and facilities in this region ( Commander Northwest African Sea Frontier ). Since February 1943, commander of amphibious forces ( Commander Amphibious Force, North African Waters (Eighth Fleet) ), Hall led important components in the invasion of Sicily (→ Operation Husky ) in July 1943 and the Italian mainland in September (→ Operation Avalanche ). In November he was commanded to England to work on the preparations for the Allied landing in Normandy (→ Operation Overlord ) in June 1944, during which he directed the amphibious landing on the "Omaha" beach section (→ Sea Warfare during Operation Overlord ). In October 1944 Hall was transferred to the Pacific Fleet and took part in the Battle of Okinawa in the early summer of 1945 ( Southern Attack Force (TF 55) ).

In October 1945 he became commander of the amphibious forces of the Pacific Fleet ( Commander Amphibious Forces, Pacific Fleet ); a few months later he was made vice admiral . It was used as a commander of the 14th Marine District and the Hawaiian Sea Frontier ; In 1948, Hall became commandant of Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia . His last post was Commander Western Sea Frontier and Commander Pacific Reserve Fleet from August 1951 until retirement in May 1953. In recognition of his wartime service, he was named a four-star retired admiral .

John Hall died on March 6, 1978 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Honors

Admiral Hall has received several prestigious medals and honors for his services, including the Navy Distinguished Service Medal for services to North Africa and the Army's Distinguished Service Medal for commanding amphibious force O on the coast after the invasion of Okinawa Normandy. He was also awarded the Legion of Merit .

The guided missile frigate FFG-32 of the Oliver Hazard Perry class , which entered service in 1982 , was named USS John L. Hall in his honor .

literature

  • Susan H. Godson: Viking of Assault. Admiral John Leslie Hall, Jr., and Amphibious Warfare. University Press of American, Washington DC 1982, ISBN 0-8191-2159-2 (Author is Hall's niece).

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