Roscoe H. Hillenkoetter

Roscoe H. Hillenkoetter

Roscoe Henry Hillenkoetter (born May 8, 1897 in St. Louis , Missouri , † June 18, 1982 in New York City ) was an American Vice Admiral and first director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 1947 to 1950.

biography

Hillenkoetter joined the United States Navy in 1916 and was a graduate of the United States Naval Academy . Immediately afterwards, he joined during the First World War in 1918 his service as a naval cadet ( midshipman ) on the USS Minnesota (BB-22) in the Atlantic Fleet to.

He later worked as a naval attaché at the embassies in Paris and Madrid and at the legation in Lebanon . In 1940 he was sent back to the embassy in France as a naval and air force attaché during the Second World War . After the German Reich conquered France and France surrendered in June 1940 , Hillenkoetter represented US interests in the Vichy government . He was then appointed first officer on the battleship USS West Virginia (BB-48) in November 1941 . However, it was only used for a short time, as the USS West Virginia was one of the four battleships that was sunk by the Japanese fleet in the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Hillenkoetter himself was injured in the attack. He then became an officer on the USS Maryland (BB-46) , one of the ships that survived the attack. On this he was the chief intelligence officer in the staff of Admiral Chester Nimitz and organized the military intelligence service for the advance of the US fleet under Admiral Nimitz to recapture the Pacific from Japan .

After the Second World War he was initially the commanding officer of the USS Missouri (BB-63) . On November 29, 1946 he was promoted to Rear Admiral and on April 30, 1947 by US President Harry S. Truman appointed Director of Central Intelligence and sworn in on May 1, 1947. The National Security Act of July 26, 1947 established the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which replaced the previous Central Intelligence Group on September 18, 1947. On November 24, 1947, he was appointed first director of the CIA by President Truman and was confirmed in this capacity on December 8, 1947 by the United States Senate. Hillenkoetter remained in office until October 7, 1950 and was then replaced by Walter Bedell Smith .

Immediately after the outbreak of the Korean War, he requested his recall to active naval service and was commander of a task force on the landing at Incheon . In 1958 he was retired.

He was later from July 1952 to August 1956 in command of the 3rd Naval District. After his promotion to Vice Admiral on April 9, 1956, he was from August 1956 until his retirement in 1958 Inspector General of the US Navy (Inspector General of the Navy).

Web links

• Index He-Hn. In: rulers.org. (English).