Thomas H. Moorer

Thomas Hinman Moorer (born February 9, 1912 in Mount Willing, Alabama , † February 5, 2004 in Bethesda , Maryland ) was an admiral in the US Navy , the 18th Chief of Naval Operations and the seventh Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was.

Life

Early years

Thomas Moorer, son of RR Moorer, a dentist, and Hulda Moorer, grew up in Eufaula , Alabama. At 15 he graduated from Cloverdale High School in Montgomery . Because of his age, he had to wait two years before he was allowed to attend the US Naval Academy in Annapolis , Maryland , which he graduated from in 1933 with his officer license as an ensign .

After completing naval aviation training at Naval Air Station in Pensacola , Florida in 1936 , he initially flew for the VF-1B Combat Squadron aboard the USS Langley and USS Lexington . In 1937 he was transferred to the VF-6 Combat Squadron on the USS Enterprise , where he stayed for two years. Finally he was stationed as a pilot of a Consolidated PBY "Catalina" with the 22nd Patrol Squadron (VP-22) in Pearl Harbor .

Second World War

In Pearl Harbor , Hawaii , Moorer, now with the rank of lieutenant , was one of the first pilots to take off after the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941 in search of Japanese combat units. In 1942 his squadron was relocated to help defend the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia ).

On February 19, 1942, he was shot down on a reconnaissance flight off the Australian coast and taken out of the water by a Philippine freighter. Shortly afterwards this ship was attacked and sunk by Japanese planes. Moorer coordinated the evacuation of the ship with two lifeboats and led them to an uninhabited island, from which they were rescued by the Royal Australian Air Force four days later . He was awarded a Silver Star and a Purple Heart for his heroic commitment .

Three months later he received the Distinguished Flying Cross for supply flights to Timor and the transport of injured people despite the Japanese air superiority.

In March 1943 he took command of VB-132 bomber squadron, which operated from Cuba and Africa .

post war period

After the Japanese surrender in August 1945, Moorer interrogated Japanese officials as part of the Strategic Bombing Survey until May 1946 . He spent the next two years at the Naval Aviation Bomb Test Station in Chincoteague, Virginia , before assuming the post of operations officer aboard the USS Midway . He then held the same post in the fourth carrier division. In 1950, Moorer was promoted to captain . In this rank he attended the Naval War College in Rhode Island and then commanded the USS Salisbury Sound .

Flag officer

In 1957, Moorer served with the rank of Rear Admiral in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) as assistant to the CNO before assuming command of the Sixth Carrier Division. Four years later he returned to the CNO's office for another tenure.

In 1962, Moorer was promoted to Vice Admiral and took command of the Seventh Fleet . From June 1964 , now with the rank of admiral , he commanded the entire US Pacific fleet . Only a year later he became commander in chief of the Atlantic Fleet . This made Moorer the first officer in the US Navy to ever command both fleets.

Chief of Naval Operations

Moorer aboard USS Saratoga, May 1969

In August 1967 he was named Chief of Naval Operations by President Johnson . He held this post from 1967 to 1970, at the height of the Vietnam War . President Nixon finally appointed him Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on July 2, 1970 . After 13 years this post was held by a representative of the US Navy through Moorer. In 1972, Moorer was the oldest active naval aviator to receive the Gray Eagle Award , which he wore until his retirement on July 2, 1974. Additionally, during his retirement ceremony, he was awarded the Defense Distinguished Service Medal with Oak Leaves, the highest US military honor in peacetime. In total, Moorer served in the Navy for 41 years.

Late years

Even during his retirement, Moorer remained public by openly commenting on current events and decisions of the US government. In 1998 he sued CNN for a report alleging that he allowed nerve gas to be used in Laos during the Vietnam War . However, an investigation showed that there was not enough evidence to support this claim and the case was closed on payment of an undisclosed amount. Admiral Moorer died on February 5, 2004 at the age of 91 at Bethesda Naval Hospital , Maryland. His grave is in Arlington National Cemetery .

His diaries were published in 2017.

Awards

Selection of decorations, sorted based on the Order of Precedence of the Military Awards:

Web links

Commons : Thomas Hinman Moorer - Collection of images, videos and audio files

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/thmoorer.htm

Individual evidence

↑ Barry Gray: Why did CNN retract its nerve gas report? A closer look. In: World Socialist Web Site . July 16, 1998. Retrieved February 16, 2017 .
↑ Markus Kompa: "We could lose 200 million people [in a nuclear war] and still have more than at the time of the civil war". In: Telepolis . February 16, 2017. Retrieved February 16, 2017 .

personal data
SURNAME	Moorer, Thomas H.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Moorer, Thomas Hinman (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American military, Chief of Naval Operations and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
DATE OF BIRTH	February 9, 1912
PLACE OF BIRTH	Mount Willing, Alabama
DATE OF DEATH	February 5, 2004
Place of death	Bethesda , Maryland

[1] Barry Gray: Why did CNN retract its nerve gas report? A closer look. In: World Socialist Web Site . July 16, 1998. Retrieved February 16, 2017 .

[2] Markus Kompa: "We could lose 200 million people [in a nuclear war] and still have more than at the time of the civil war". In: Telepolis . February 16, 2017. Retrieved February 16, 2017 .