Husband E. Kimmel
Husband E. Kimmel | |
---|---|
Birth name | Husband Edward Kimmel |
Nickname(s) | "Kim", "Hubbie", and "Mustafa" |
Born | February 26, 1882 Henderson, Kentucky, U.S. |
Died | May 14, 1968 Groton, Connecticut, U.S. | (aged 86)
Allegiance | United States of America |
Service/ | United States Navy |
Years of service | 1904–1942 |
Rank | Admiral |
Commands held | USS New York Cruiser Division 7 Cruisers, Battle Force United States Pacific Fleet |
Battles/wars | Mexican Revolution
|
Awards | World War II Victory Medal |
Husband Edward Kimmel (February 26, 1882 – May 14, 1968) was a
Life and career
Early life
Husband Kimmel was born in Henderson, Kentucky,[1] on February 26, 1882, to Sibella "Sibbie" Lambert Kimmel (1846–1919) and Major Manning Marius Kimmel (1832–1916), a graduate of West Point who fought with the Union side during the American Civil War before switching allegiance to the Confederate States Army to fight alongside his neighbors.[2]
Kimmel was known by various nicknames throughout his life: "Kim" and "Hubbie", contractions of his given and family names, and later, "Mustafa", the last being a reference to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, due to the similar sounding (homophony) "Kimmel" and "Kemal".[3][4]
He married Dorothy Kinkaid (1890–1975), sister of Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid, with whom he had three sons: Manning, Thomas K. Kimmel and Edward R. Kimmel.[5]
Kimmel graduated in 1904 from the
In 1915 he was briefly appointed as an aide to
From 1926 to 1937 Kimmel held a number of positions in the Navy Department, as well as the command of a destroyer squadron and of the battleship USS New York.[1]
In 1937 he was promoted to the
Pearl Harbor
After Admiral
On the other hand, Kimmel's Fleet gunnery officer Willard Kitts later testified that under Kimmel's leadership, "the efficiency and training of the Fleet was at its highest level."[9] William "Bull" Halsey, who in 1941 commanded one of the Pacific Fleet's carrier task forces and rose during the war to five-star fleet admiral, described Kimmel as "the ideal man for the job."[10]
The base for the fleet had been moved from its traditional home at
I feel that a surprise attack (submarine, air, or combined) on Pearl Harbor is a possibility, and we are taking immediate practical steps to minimize the damage inflicted and to ensure that the attacking force will pay.[12]
On April 18, 1941, Kimmel wrote to the CNO requesting additional resources for base construction at Wake Island and for a Marine Corps defense battalion to be stationed there.[6] On 19 August the first permanent Marine garrison was assigned. Naval Air Station Midway was commissioned in August after the completion of runways and support structures, and a Marine garrison assigned shortly afterwards.[13] In November Kimmel ordered USS Enterprise to ferry Marine fighters and pilots to Wake Island to reinforce the garrison, and for USS Lexington to depart Pearl Harbor on December 5 to ferry Marine dive bombers to Midway. Because of these missions neither aircraft carrier was in Pearl Harbor during the later Japanese attack.
Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor occurred in an air raid on December 7, 1941, and caused the deaths of 2,403 U.S. military personnel and civilians. Edwin T. Layton related that during the attack:
Kimmel stood by the window of his office at the submarine base, his jaw set in stony anguish. As he watched the disaster across the harbor unfold with terrible fury, a spent .50 caliber machine gun bullet crashed through the glass. It brushed the admiral before it clanged to the floor. It cut his white jacket and raised a welt on his chest. "It would have been merciful had it killed me," Kimmel murmured to his communications officer, Commander Maurice "Germany" Curts.[14][15]
In The World at War, a naval serviceman—who had been alongside Admiral Kimmel during the attack—recalled that as Kimmel watched the destruction of the fleet, he tore off his four-star shoulder boards, in apparent recognition of the impending end of his command.[16]
After Pearl Harbor
Kimmel was relieved of his command ten days after the attack. At the time he was planning and executing retaliatory moves, including an effort to relieve and reinforce Wake Island that could have led to an early clash between American and
In 1942, the
Following the death of Secretary Knox in April 1944, his successor
Upon reviewing the report, Forrestal felt that the court had been too lenient in assigning blame for the disaster. The court had found that the Army and Navy had adequately cooperated in the defense of Pearl Harbor; that there had been no information indicating that Japanese carriers were on their way to attack Pearl Harbor; and that the attack had succeeded principally because of the aerial torpedo, a secret weapon whose use could not have been predicted. Forrestal disapproved of all of these findings, judging that Kimmel could have done more with the information he had had to prevent or mitigate the attack. Forrestal concluded that both Kimmel and Stark had "failed to demonstrate the superior judgment necessary for exercising command commensurate with their rank and their assigned duties."[20]
Kimmel retired in early 1942, and worked for the military contractor Frederic R. Harris, Inc. after the war. In retirement, Kimmel lived in Groton, Connecticut, where he died on May 14, 1968.[6]
His son, Manning, died after the submarine he commanded, the USS Robalo, was sunk near Palawan on or around July 26, 1944. The Kimmel family at the time was informed that Manning had gone down with his ship. Though it was widely believed that Manning Kimmel died on board his boat, several sources (including Admiral Ralph Waldo Christie, commander of submarine operations at Fremantle at the time) stated after the war that Manning was one of a handful of survivors from his submarine, having been swept overboard as the boat sank after hitting a mine. According to these sources, Manning was captured by Japanese forces, and along with several other survivors from the USS Robalo was pushed into a ditch, doused with gasoline and burned alive by his captors, who were enraged over a recent American air attack.[21]
Posthumous reputation and debate
Historians agree that the United States was unprepared for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor at all levels. Japanese military forces enjoyed clear superiority in training, equipment, experience and planning over the Americans. The extent to which Kimmel himself bore responsibility for the unreadiness of his Pacific Fleet has been a matter of debate.
Some, such as submarine
Edwin T. Layton, chief intelligence officer for Kimmel and one of the officers who knew Kimmel best, provided support for Kimmel's position. Layton argued Kimmel had not been provided complete information and that Kimmel deployed the few reconnaissance resources at his disposal in the most logical way, given the available information.[23]
On the other hand, Kimmel's critics point out that he had been ordered 10 days prior to the attack to initiate a "defensive deployment" of the fleet. Kimmel, thinking the main threat to the fleet was sabotage, kept much of the fleet in port and did not place the fleet on alert. When his intelligence unit lost track of Japan's aircraft carriers, he did not order long-range air or naval patrols to assess their positions.[24] He had a poor working arrangement with his Army counterpart, General Short, who was charged with defending the fleet while in port.[25][page needed]
Historians generally recognize that American forces would have fared poorly even if Kimmel had reacted differently. In a 1964 interview, Admiral Chester Nimitz, who took over as commander of the Pacific Fleet three weeks after the attack, concluded that, "It was God's mercy that our fleet was in Pearl Harbor on December 7."[26] If Kimmel "[had] had advance notice that the Japanese were coming, he most probably would have tried to intercept them. With the difference in speed between Kimmel's battleships and the faster Japanese carriers, the former could not have come within rifle range of the enemy's flattops. As a result, we would have lost many ships in deep water and also thousands more in lives."[26] Instead, at Pearl Harbor, the crews were easily rescued, and six of eight front-line battleships ultimately raised.[27] This was also the assessment of Joseph Rochefort, head of the US Navy's Station HYPO, who remarked the attack was cheap at the price.[28]
In 1994 Kimmel's family, including his grandson, South Carolina broadcaster Manning Kimmel IV, attempted for the third time to have Kimmel's four-star rank reinstated. President Bill Clinton denied the request, as had Presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. A 1995 Pentagon study concluded other high-ranking officers were also responsible for the failure at Pearl Harbor, but did not exonerate Kimmel.
On May 25, 1999, the United States Senate, by a vote of 52–47, passed a non-binding resolution to exonerate Kimmel and Short and requested that the President of the United States posthumously restore both men to full rank.[24] Senator Strom Thurmond, one of the sponsors of the resolution, called Kimmel and Short "the two final victims of Pearl Harbor." The Senate enquiry in 2000 issued a lengthy exoneration of Kimmel's conduct.[29] President Clinton did not act on the resolution, nor have any of his successors.
Portrayals
Kimmel has been portrayed a number of times in film and on television:
- In the 1965 film In Harm's Way, Kimmel was portrayed as a victim of unfortunate circumstance by actor Franchot Tone.
- The 1970 film Tora! Tora! Tora! portrays Kimmel, played by actor Martin Balsam, in a sympathetic light: a capable commander operating in an environment plagued by poor communication, inadequate training and systemic unreadiness.
- Andrew Duggan played Kimmel in the 1983 miniseries The Winds of War.
- Colm Feore portrayed Kimmel in the 2001 movie Pearl Harbor.
- In Midway (2019), he was portrayed by David Hewlett.
Military awards
Cuban Pacification Medal
|
Mexican Service Medal | World War I Victory Medal with one campaign star |
American Defense Service Medal with "BASE" clasp |
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with one campaign star |
World War II Victory Medal
|
References
- ^ ISBN 9780816060221. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
- ^ Summers & Swan 2016, p. 29.
- ISBN 978-1476776507. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
- ^ Summers & Swan 2016, pp. 29, 43.
- ^ Summers & Swan 2016, pp. 37ff.
- ^ a b c d Chen, Peter. "Husband Kimmel". World War II Database. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
- ^ Summers & Swan 2016, pp. 38ff.
- US Fleet Forces Command. Archived from the originalon May 11, 2019. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
- ^ Summers & Swan 2016, pp. 66.
- ^ Halsey, William; Bryan, J (1947). Admiral Halsey's Story. New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 70.
- ^ Flynn, John. "The Final Secret of Pearl Harbor". Antiwar. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
- ^ "INTELLIGENCE AT PEARL HARBOR". Central Intelligence Agency. July 4, 1946. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Archived from the originalon June 10, 2017. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
- ISBN 0-06-091535-8.
- ^ Edwin T. Layton, And I Was There: Pearl Harbor and Midway -- Breaking the Secrets (1985), p. 315 (the scene was recreated by Martin Balsam, who played Kimmel in the 1970 film Tora! Tora! Tora!)
- ^ Arnold-Forster, Mark (2001). The World at War (3rd ed.). London: Pimlico. p. 161.
- ^ "Pearl Harbor Inquiry ordered by Forrestal – Santa Cruz Sentinel, Volume 89, Number 168, 15 July 1944; page ONE". cdnc.ucr.edu. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
- ^ Congress of the United States, Seventy-Ninth Congress (1946), Report of Navy Court of Inquiry, Hearings Before the Joint Committee on the Investigation of the Pearl Harbor Attack, Part 39: Reports, Findings, and Conclusions of Roberts Commission, Army Pearl Harbor Board, Navy Court of Inquiry, and Hewitt Inquiry, With Endorsements, Government Printing Office, pp. 297, 318–321
- ISBN 978-1-55750-217-9.
- ^ "Pearl Harbor Review". NSA.gov. National Security Agency. May 3, 2016. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
Army communications to Hawaii were down due to technical problems, and the warning was sent -- via Western Union telegram!
- photo reconnaissancewas ordered to settle a difference in analysis..... Kimmel had to make his plans on the assumption that the main danger to Pearl Harbor in the event of war was an enemy task force steaming out to make a surprise attack from the southwest.... At no time did Kimmel receive any intelligence, or hint, that there was any threat to Pearl Harbor from any direction but from the southwest."
- ^ a b "Military, lawmakers want Pearl Harbor commanders pardoned". Syracuse Herald-Journal. Syracuse, New York. December 1, 1999. p. A-9.
- ^ Prange, Gordon W., Goldstein, Donald M., & Dillon, Katherine V. December 7, 1941: The Day the Japanese Attacked Pearl Harbor (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1988).
- ^ S2CID 153949177.
- ^ Gordon Prange, Miracle at Midway, 1983, paperback, p. 9
- ^ Holmes, W. J. Double-Edged Secrets[page needed]
- ^ Congressional Record, V. 146, Pt. 7, May 24, 2000 to June 12, 2000
Bibliography
- Summers, Anthony; Swan, Robbyn (2016). A Matter of Honor: Pearl Harbor, Betrayal, Blame and a Family's Quest for Justice. New York: Harper. p. 29. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
External links
- History.navy.mil biography of Kimmel
- Admiral Kimmel's Story Archived August 19, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- A film clip Adm. Kimmel Testifies On Pearl Harbor, 1946/01/14 (1946) is available for viewing at the Internet Archive
- Husband E. Kimmel at Find a Grave
- Website of Thomas K. Kimmel, Jr. Admiral Kimmel's grandson. Contains much material on Pearl Harbor and Admiral Kimmel.
- Newspaper clippings about Husband E. Kimmel in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW
- Husband Edward Kimmel Papers at the University of Wyoming - American Heritage Center
- Select Digital collection of Husband E. Kimmel papers at AHC digital collections
- Husband E. Kimmel: Bunglar or Fall Guy? at the AHC blog