Manning Kimmel
Manning Marius Kimmel | |
|---|---|
USS Robalo | |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | Silver Star Purple Heart |
Manning Marius Kimmel (April 22, 1913 – on or around July 26, 1944) was a
Biography
Manning Kimmel was born in Washington, D.C., on April 22, 1913. His father was Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, who eventually became the commander of the Pacific Fleet at the time of the attack by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. His mother was Dorothy Kinkaid (1890–1975), sister of Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid.
The younger Kimmel followed his father's footsteps and entered the
The now-Lieutenant Kimmel was transferred to the new
In 1943, Kimmel became executive officer aboard a new Gato-class submarine,
In May 1944, Admiral
Kimmel took Robalo to the
Admiral Christie was concerned that Kimmel was being overly aggressive, and submarine commander Herber "Tex" McLean commented on Robalo's patrol, "Anybody else would have come home long before. I worried that Kimmel was a little too anxious to put the name of Kimmel high in Navy annals.[5]" But not only was Kimmel the son of the former commander of the Pacific Fleet, he was also the nephew of Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid, so Christie took no action.[1]
Repairs, however, were eventually made, and when they were complete, Kimmel was ordered to take Robalo to
. Christie had received reports of Japanese minefields in the Balabac Strait, but a number of submarines, including Robalo on her first patrol, successfully transited the body of water. Kimmel had received information about the minefields and was given instructions how to safely navigate the area.On July 3, 1944, Robalo received an Ultra communiqué, and attempted to intercept a Fuso-class battleship. Kimmel sent off a contact report, which was the last message ever received from him. On the night of July 26, while on the surface, Robalo apparently strayed off course, struck a mine and sank. An unknown number of survivors, possibly as many as seven, managed to make it ashore on Palawan. But before they could make contact with Filipino guerrillas, they were captured by Japanese forces.
The prisoners were taken to
Admiral Christie informed the Kimmel family at the time that Manning had gone down with his ship. However, Christie confided after the war that he had received intelligence that gave a different account of Kimmel's death, an account which he intentionally withheld for the sake of the family.[7] According to this alternative account, Kimmel survived the sinking. However, a few days after the crew was captured, some American aircraft attacked Japanese installations on Palawan. The Japanese reportedly flew into a rage at the attack, pushed Kimmel and several other Robalo crew members into a ditch, doused them with gasoline, and set them afire.[7][n 1] After Admiral Christie received the report of Manning Kimmel's death, he had Kimmel's brother, Thomas, pulled from combat duty.
In later years, Admiral Kimmel had a third son, Manning M. Kimmel III. In 1994 Manning III's two sons, South Carolina broadcaster Manning Kimmel IV (born 1948) and his brother Thomas appeared before a Senate subcommittee, attempting to have Admiral Kimmel restored to four-star rank and exonerated of accusations of mismanagement of the naval response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. As of 2017[update] their efforts to restore Admiral Kimmel's rank have been unsuccessful.
See also
- List of people who disappeared
Footnotes
- Puerto Princesa City—but that happened December 14, 1944, not July 1944.
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1557502179.
- OCLC 1157924052 – via Google Books.
- JSTOR 23622325.
- ISBN 9781101118597 – via Google Books.
- ^ Blair 2001, p. 626.
- LCCN 2016029721 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b Blair 2001, p. 688.
External links
- US People--Kimmel, Manning M., Lieutenant Commander, USN at www.history.navy.mil