Thomas C. Kinkaid

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For other people with similar names, see Thomas Kincaid (disambiguation).
Thomas C. Kinkaid
Seventh Fleet
USS Indianapolis
USS Isherwood
Battles/wars
Awards
Companion of the Order of the Bath (Australia)
Grand Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau (Netherlands)
Grand Cordon of the Order of Precious Tripod (China)
Grand Officer of the Order of Leopold (Belgium)
Croix de Guerre with Palm (Belgium)
RelationsHusband E. Kimmel (brother in law)
Manning Kimmel (nephew)
Commodore John Cassin and his son Captain Stephen Cassin, distant relatives
Other workNational Security Training Commission
American Battle Monuments Commission
Signature

Thomas Cassin Kinkaid (3 April 1888 – 17 November 1972) was an

Southwest Pacific Area, where he conducted numerous amphibious operations, and commanded an Allied fleet during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle of World War II and the last naval battle between battleships
in history.

Born into a naval family, Kinkaid was ranked in the lower half of his class on his graduation from the

1916 United States occupation of the Dominican Republic. During World War I, he was attached to the Royal Navy before serving as gunnery officer aboard the battleship USS Arizona. After the war, he was assistant chief of staff to the Commander U.S. Naval Detachment in Turkey. Kinkaid received his first command, the destroyer USS Isherwood, in 1924. He was executive officer of the battleship USS Colorado when the 1933 Long Beach earthquake struck, and participated in relief efforts. He received his second command in 1937, the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis
.

From 1938 to 1941, Kinkaid was a

vice admiral
in June 1943.

In November 1943, Kinkaid became Commander Allied Naval Forces

Borneo. Kinkaid was promoted to admiral on 3 April 1945. After the Pacific War ended in August 1945, the Seventh Fleet assisted in operations on the Korean and China coasts. Admiral Kinkaid was Commander Eastern Sea Frontier and the Sixteenth Fleet from 1946 until his retirement in May 1950. He was a member of the National Security Training Commission for much of the rest of the decade. He also served with the American Battle Monuments Commission
for 15 years.

Early life

Thomas Cassin Kinkaid was born in

Georgetown, Washington, D.C.[2]

Thomas attended

U.S. Naval Academy preparatory school. He sought and secured an appointment to Annapolis from President Theodore Roosevelt, and was asked to take the admission examination. The Navy was undergoing a period of expansion, and the intake of midshipmen was double that of two years earlier. Of the 350 who took the examination, 283 were admitted. The class was the largest since the Academy had opened in 1845.[3]

Kinkaid was admitted to Annapolis as a midshipman in July 1904. His instructors included four future Chiefs of Naval Operations: William S. Benson, William V. Pratt, William D. Leahy and Ernest J. King. In 1905 he took an instructional cruise on USS Nevada. He also spent six weeks on USS Hartford, his only experience of a warship under sail. In subsequent years, his training cruises were on USS Newark and USS Arkansas which, while much newer, were by this time also obsolete. He participated in sports, particularly in rowing, earning a seat in the Academy's eight-oar racing shell. He graduated on 5 June 1908, ranked 136th in his class of 201.[4] Among his classmates were several future admirals including: Harry A. Badt, Paul H. Bastedo, John R. Beardall, Abel T. Bidwell, Joseph J. Broshek, Arthur S. Carpender, Jules James, Walter K. Kilpatrick, James L. Kauffman, Willis A. Lee Jr., William R. Munroe, William R. Purnell, Francis W. Rockwell, John F. Shafroth Jr. and Richmond K. Turner.[5]

Early career

Kinkaid's first posting was to

District of Columbia in 1921 and 1922.[6]

In 1913, Kinkaid, now a

Sperry Gyroscope Company in Brooklyn.[7]

In July 1916, Kinkaid reported to

Greek occupation of Smyrna. For his services from September 1918 to July 1919, Kinkaid was recommended for the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, but it was not awarded.[8]

Between the wars

Following the normal pattern of alternating assignments afloat and ashore, Kinkaid was posted to a shore billet as the Chief of the Supply Section of the Bureau of Ordnance in Washington, D.C. During this time he published two articles in the

naval aviators were agitating for the creation of a new specialist branch of their own.[10]

In 1922, Kinkaid became Assistant Chief of Staff to the Commander U.S. Naval Detachment in

Mark L. Bristol. This tour saw the end of the Greek occupation of Smyrna. The ratification of the Treaty of Lausanne by Turkey resulted in a draw-down of U.S. naval forces in the region, reducing Bristol's post to a primarily diplomatic one. In 1924, Kinkaid, whose father had died in August 1920, requested a posting back to the United States owing to his mother's ill-health. The ship taking him back, the light cruiser USS Trenton, had to sail by way of Iran in order to collect the body of Vice Consul Robert Whitney Imbrie, who had been killed by an angry mob in Tehran.[11]

A large warship.
USS Indianapolis at Pearl Harbor, c. 1937

Kinkaid received his first command, the

Geneva Disarmament Conference.[12]

Kinkaid next became executive officer of USS Colorado, one of the navy's newest battleships, in February 1933.[13] By coincidence the ship was at anchor in Long Beach, California, when the 1933 Long Beach earthquake struck. Over the next few days thousands of sailors and marines participated in relief activities.[14] Kinkaid convinced the captain to allow homeless families of crew members to stay on the ship, and erected tarpaulins on the quayside to create family areas. He sent medical and relief supplies ashore from Colorado.[15]

In 1934, he returned to Washington for a tour of duty with the

Henry K. Hewitt on 7 June 1937.[17]

World War II

Attaché

Kinkaid hoped his next assignment would be that of

Alan G. Kirk. Kinkaid was offered and accepted the post in Rome instead. He took up his posting there in November 1938. In 1939, he was also accredited with the American embassy in Belgrade.[18] Kinkaid reported that Italy was unprepared for war. Only in May 1940 did he warn that Italy was mobilizing. Soon after, he learned from Count Galeazzo Ciano that Italy would declare war on France and Britain between 10 and 15 June 1940.[19] He provided accurate reports on the damage inflicted by the British in the Battle of Taranto.[20] He returned to the U.S. in March 1941.[21]

Kinkaid now faced the prospect of selection to rear admiral. He knew that captains normally required a certain amount of seagoing command experience to be considered, but because his tour of duty on Indianapolis had been cut short in order to take up the post in Rome, he did not have enough months, and it was unlikely that a billet as captain of a battleship or cruiser would come up in sufficient time before the next round of selections. He discussed the matter with head of the Officers' Detail Section at the Bureau of Navigation, Captain Arthur S. Carpender, an Annapolis classmate who had himself recently been selected for flag rank. Carpender came up with a solution: he recommended Kinkaid for command of a destroyer squadron. This was a seagoing command, although Kinkaid was somewhat senior for it.[22] Good fitness reports as commander of Destroyer Squadron 8, based in Philadelphia, resulted in Kinkaid's promotion to rear admiral in August 1941, despite having no more than two years' worth of total command experience. He became the last of his class to be promoted to flag rank before the United States entered the war. No one ranking lower in the class was promoted to flag rank before retirement.[23]

Coral Sea and Midway

A large ship is surrounded by explosions in the air and water.
USS Lexington (center right), afire and under heavy attack, in a photograph taken from a Japanese aircraft

Kinkaid was ordered to relieve Rear Admiral

Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet, Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, who was married to Kinkaid's sister Dorothy.[24] Kinkaid accompanied Fletcher as an observer during the attempt to relieve Wake Island, and did not formally assume command of the division until 29 December 1941.[25]

The traditional job of cruisers was scouting and screening, but with the loss of most of the battleships at Pearl Harbor these roles largely passed to the

Aubrey W. Fitch's Task Force 11, which was built around the carrier USS Lexington. Task Force 11 rendezvoused with Fletcher's Task Force 17, built around the carrier USS Yorktown, on 1 May 1942. Kinkaid then became commander of the Task Group 17.2, the screening cruisers and destroyers of both carriers.[27] Carrier warfare was in its infancy, and at this stage American carriers neither embarked adequate numbers of fighters, nor skillfully employed what they had. When Task Force 17 was attacked three days later in the Battle of the Coral Sea, the burden of defending the Task Force fell on Kinkaid's gunners. Their task was complicated by the radical maneuvering of the carriers under attack, which made it impossible for the screen to keep station. Despite the gunners' best efforts, both carriers were hit, and Lexington caught fire and sank.[28] For his part in the battle, Kinkaid was awarded the Navy Distinguished Service Medal.[29]

Kinkaid was detached with the cruisers Astoria, Minneapolis and

William F. Halsey's Task Force 16.[31] Kinkaid's force became part of its screen which was under the command of Rear Admiral Raymond A. Spruance. Shortly after Task Force 16 returned to Pearl Harbor, Halsey was hospitalized with a severe case of dermatitis and, on his recommendation, was replaced as commander of Task Force 16 by Spruance. Kinkaid then became commander of the screen, also known as Task Group 16.2.[32] He was one of only four American flag officers present during the subsequent Battle of Midway.[33] However, he saw little action, as Task Force 16 did not come under attack.[34]

Solomon Islands

After the battle, Spruance became chief of staff to Admiral

5 in (130 mm)/38 caliber dual-purpose guns greatly strengthened Task Force 16's antiaircraft defenses.[38]

A man wearing a garrison cap and windbreaker paces on the deck of a ship.
Rear Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid on board his flagship, USS Enterprise, 22 July 1942.

The American landing on Guadalcanal evoked a furious reaction from the Japanese, who sent their fleet to reinforce the Japanese garrison on Guadalcanal. Fletcher's carriers had the mission of protecting the sea lanes to the Solomons. The two carrier forces clashed in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons.[39] Kinkaid disposed his carrier task force in a circular formation, with Enterprise at the center, the cruisers at 10 and 2 o'clock and the battleship aft at 6 o'clock. This proved to be a mistake. With a top speed of 27 kn (31 mph; 50 km/h), the battleship fell behind the carrier when the latter accelerated to 30 kn (35 mph; 56 km/h) while under attack, depriving itself of the protection of the battleship's guns. Enterprise came under direct attack by Japanese aircraft, taking three bomb hits that killed 74 of its crew. Extraordinary efforts permitted the carrier to continue operating aircraft,[40] but it was forced to return to Pearl Harbor for repairs.[41] In his report after the battle, Kinkaid recommended that the number of fighters carried by each carrier be further increased.[42] For his part in the battle, he was awarded his second Distinguished Service Medal.[29]

Task Force 16 returned to the South Pacific in October 1942, just in time to take part in the decisive action of the campaign, the

John H. Towers blamed Kinkaid, as a non-aviator, for the loss of Hornet. It became a black mark on Kinkaid's record.[48] The Japanese had won another tactical victory, but Kinkaid's carriers had gained the Americans precious time to prepare and reinforce.[49]

Aleutian Islands

A man wearing a bomber jacket and ski boots sitting in an armchair, reading.
Kinkaid as Commander, North Pacific Force, reading in his quarters on Adak, Aleutian Islands, 14 May 1943.

On 4 January 1943, Kinkaid became commander of the North Pacific Force (COMNORPACFOR) following the failure of his predecessor, Rear Admiral

Amphibious Force, Pacific Fleet, and later the IX Amphibious Force. Rockwell was an Academy classmate of Kinkaid's, who was senior to him in rank, and convinced that he would both plan and command the amphibious phase of the operation rather than Kinkaid.[52]

The War Department's original plan was to attack the main force on

Holland M. Smith.[54] The Battle of Attu was only the third American amphibious operation of the war, and was carried through to a costly success under difficult conditions. The slow rate of progress ashore caused Kinkaid to relieve the Army commander, Major General Albert E. Brown and replace him with Major General Eugene M. Landrum.[55] In June 1943, Kinkaid was promoted to vice admiral, thereby removing any lingering doubts about who was in charge,[1] and awarded his third Distinguished Service Medal.[56] He now prepared Operation Cottage, the much larger invasion of Kiska. This was carried out as planned, but the invaders found that the Japanese had already evacuated the islands.[57] In September 1943, Kinkaid was replaced by Vice Admiral Frank Fletcher.[58]

Southwest Pacific

Sailors wearing steel helmets stand by an anti-aircraft gun on a quadruple mount. Two officers lean on the railing, staring off into the distance.
Kinkaid (left center) with General MacArthur (center) on the flag bridge of USS Phoenix during the pre-invasion bombardment of Los Negros Island.

In November 1943, Kinkaid replaced Carpender as Commander Allied Naval Forces,

Conrad Helfrich were both senior to him.[60]

Two men sit at a small table. A map is laid out on the table. Its four corners are held down by a small propeller, a glass, and a book.
Kinkaid (right) with Rear Admiral Daniel E. Barbey (left)

Despite the unpromising relationship with the army, Kinkaid's most troublesome subordinate was a U.S. Navy officer, as had been the case with Rockwell in the Aleutians. This time, the subordinate was Rear Admiral

Ralph W. Christie, the commander of Task Force 71, the Seventh Fleet's submarines. Christie commonly greeted a returning submarine at the pier and awarded decorations on the spot. This practice bypassed military and naval award boards, and annoyed Kinkaid because confirmation of sinkings was accomplished by Ultra, and news of awards given so quickly could constitute a security breach. Kinkaid gave Christie and his other subordinates orders forbidding pierside awards, and the award of army medals to navy personnel.[61] In June 1944, Christie accompanied a war patrol on Commander Samuel D. Dealey's submarine USS Harder. Afterward, Christie met with MacArthur and related the events of the war patrol to the general, who decided to award Dealey the Distinguished Service Cross and Christie the Silver Star.[62] When Harder was lost with Dealey and all hands on its next patrol, Christie recommended Dealey for the Medal of Honor. Kinkaid turned down the recommendation on the grounds that Dealey had already received the Distinguished Service Cross for the same patrol. Angered, Christie sent a dispatch to Kinkaid in an easily decipherable low-order code that criticized him and urged him to reconsider.[63] Upset by both Christie's attitude and his losses, which included Dealey and Kinkaid's nephew, Lieutenant Commander Manning Kimmel on USS Robalo in July 1944, Kinkaid requested Christie's relief. On 30 December 1944, Christie was replaced by Captain James Fife Jr.[64]

Other forces under Kinkaid's command included the cruisers of Task Force 74 under Rear Admiral

Persecution in April 1944 together constituted the largest operation in New Guinea waters.[68] It was followed in quick succession by four more operations, at Wakde, Biak, Noemfor and Sansapor.[69]

For MacArthur's long-awaited return to the Philippines in October 1944, the Seventh Fleet was massively reinforced by Nimitz's Pacific Fleet. Kinkaid commanded the assault personally, with Barbey's VII Amphibious Force as Task Force 78, joined by Vice Admiral

Theodore S. Wilkinson's III Amphibious Force from the Pacific Fleet as Task Force 79. Kinkaid was also given Rear Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf's Task Force 77.2, a bombardment force built around six old battleships that had survived the attack on Pearl Harbor, and Rear Admiral Thomas L. Sprague's Task Force 77.4, a force of escort carriers.[70] However, Vice Admiral Marc Mitscher's Task Force 38, the covering force of the fast carriers and battleships, remained part of Admiral Halsey's Third Fleet, which was not under MacArthur or Kinkaid's command.[71]

Head and shoulders of man wearing a steel helmet.
Kinkaid watches landing operations in Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, from the bridge of his flagship, USS Wasatch, 9 January 1945
Classmates: James L. Kauffman (left), and Kinkaid, both newly promoted pin the insignia of their new rank, each on the other, at their Philippine headquarters, 6 April 1945.

Halsey's orders, which gave priority to the destruction of the Japanese fleet, led to the most controversial episode of the

Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, and forced him to withdraw.[73] In a controversial decision, Halsey concluded that Kurita was no longer a threat and headed north after Ozawa's force but, due to a misunderstanding, Kinkaid believed that Halsey was still guarding the San Bernardino Strait. Kinkaid deployed all available Seventh Fleet vessels in the Surigao Strait under Oldendorf facing Nishimura and Shima.[74]

In the

cross the T" of the enemy fleet. It was the last occasion in history where battleships fought each other. Of Nishimura's two battleships and five lesser ships, only the destroyer Shigure survived;[75] Kinkaid's PT force lost only PT-493, with 3 killed and 20 wounded.[76] In Oldendorf's task force, only the destroyer Albert W. Grant was hit, mostly by friendly fire.[77] Total Allied casualties were 39 men killed and 114 wounded.[78]

However, the victory was marred when Kurita's force doubled back and engaged Sprague's escort carriers in the Battle off Samar the next day. Oldendorf's force headed back but Kurita withdrew after sinking an escort carrier, two destroyers and a destroyer escort.[79] After the war, Halsey defended his actions in his memoirs.[80] Kinkaid's position was that:

Of course it would have been sound practice and better to have an overall commander of naval forces.... However, the Third Fleet and the Seventh Fleet each had an assigned mission which, if fulfilled, would have resulted in the destruction of the Japanese fleet then and there. The question of an overall commander at the scene of action would have been purely academic. Most surely Nimitz's orders to Halsey did not contemplate the withdrawal of covering forces at the height of battle. "Divided Command" is not the key to what happened at Leyte. "Mission" is the key.[81]

Following the demise of Japanese naval power in the region, Kinkaid's Seventh Fleet supported the land campaigns in the

Albert C. Wedemeyer, and the Grand Cordon of the Order of Precious Tripod by the Chinese government.[85]

Later life

Kinkaid returned to the United States to replace Vice Admiral

four-star rank officers in 1947. Kinkaid was one of three admirals, the others being Spruance and Hewitt, who would have to retire or be reduced in rank to rear admiral. After some lobbying, this was averted, and they were permitted to remain in the grade until 1 July 1950, past Kinkaid's retirement age. Retirement ceremonies, including a parade through New York City, were held on 28 April 1950 and Kinkaid formally retired two days later.[87]

In December 1946, it was announced that Halsey, Spruance and Turner had been awarded the

Companion of the Order of the Bath, which was presented by the ambassador at a ceremony at the embassy in Washington on Australia Day, 26 January 1948.[89] Kinkaid had already been created Grand Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau by Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands in 1944. In March 1948, he was made a Grand Officer of the Order of Leopold and presented with the Croix de Guerre with Palm in a ceremony at the Belgian embassy in Washington, D.C.[88]

He served as the naval representative with the

East Coast Memorial. He also paid a visit to Australia and New Zealand in 1951. Until 1961, he attended the annual reunions held to celebrate General MacArthur's birthday, 26 January, joining MacArthur and his old colleagues, including Krueger and Kenney.[90]

Death and Legacy

Kinkaid died at

Bethesda Naval Hospital on 17 November 1972 and was buried with military honors at Arlington National Cemetery on 21 November.[90]

The Navy named a Spruance-class destroyer after him. USS Kinkaid was launched by his widow Helen at the Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of Litton Industries at Pascagoula, Mississippi, on 1 June 1974.[90]

References

  1. ^ a b Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 566
  2. ^ Wheeler 1994, pp. 1–3
  3. ^ Wheeler 1994, p. 4
  4. ^ Wheeler 1994, pp. 4–8
  5. ^ Lucky Bag. Nimitz Library U. S. Naval Academy. First Class, United States Naval Academy. 1908.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. ^ Wheeler 1994, pp. 9–16, 28
  7. ^ Wheeler 1994, pp. 17–21
  8. ^ Wheeler 1994, pp. 22–26
  9. ^ Kinkaid 1921, pp. 1543–1552
  10. ^ Kinkaid 1922, pp. 1491–1500
  11. ^ Wheeler 1994, pp. 29–37
  12. ^ Reynolds 1978, p. 180
  13. ^ Wheeler 1994, pp. 69–72
  14. ^ Cherpak 2004, pp. 81–83
  15. ^ Wheeler 1994, pp. 78–79
  16. ^ Wheeler 1994, pp. 88–91
  17. ^ Cherpak 2004, p. 101
  18. ^ Wheeler 1994, pp. 103–107
  19. ^ Wheeler 1994, pp. 109, 114–115
  20. ^ Wheeler 1994, pp. 118–119
  21. ^ Wheeler 1994, p. 122
  22. ^ Wheeler 1994, p. 124
  23. ^ Wheeler 1994, pp. 131–132
  24. ^ Wheeler 1994, pp. 135–138
  25. ^ Wheeler 1994, p. 148
  26. ^ Wheeler 1994, p. 153
  27. ^ Morison 1949, p. 18
  28. ^ Morison 1949, pp. 52–56
  29. ^ a b Wheeler 1994, p. 265
  30. ^ Lundstrom 1984, pp. 279–282
  31. ^ Lundstrom 1976, pp. 144–149
  32. ^ Lundstrom 2006, pp. 223–230
  33. ^ Wheeler 1994, p. 209
  34. ^ Wheeler 1994, p. 217
  35. ^ Lundstrom 2006, pp. 302–306
  36. ^ Morison 1949, p. 268
  37. ^ Morison 1949, p. 271
  38. ^ Wheeler 1994, p. 239
  39. ^ Morison 1948, pp. 79–80
  40. ^ Morison 1948, pp. 93–100
  41. ^ Morison 1948, p. 106
  42. ^ Lundstrom 1994, pp. 163–164
  43. ^ Morison 1948, p. 189
  44. ^ Morison 1948, pp. 199–205
  45. ^ Morison 1948, p. 215
  46. ^ Lundstrom 1994, p. 340
  47. ^ Lundstrom 1994, pp. 453–457
  48. ^ Lundstrom 1994, pp. 286–292
  49. ^ Morison 1948, p. 224
  50. ^ Morison 1951, p. 17
  51. ^ Wheeler 1994, pp. 295–206
  52. ^ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 604
  53. ^ Goldstein & Dillon 1992, p. 275
  54. ^ Wheeler 1994, pp. 300–312
  55. ^ Morison 1951, pp. 47–51
  56. ^ Leary 1988, p. 115
  57. ^ Morison 1951, pp. 54–66
  58. ^ Lundstrom 2006, pp. 501–502
  59. ^ Wheeler 1994, pp. 343–344
  60. ^ Wheeler 1994, pp. 346–349
  61. ^ Blair 1975, pp. 584–585
  62. ^ Blair 1975, p. 674
  63. ^ Blair 1975, pp. 720–721
  64. ^ Blair 1975, pp. 814–815
  65. ^ Morison 1953, p. 47
  66. ^ Barbey 1969, pp. 351–358
  67. ^ Morison 1950, pp. 435–438
  68. ^ Morison 1953, p. 68
  69. ^ Morison 1953, p. 91
  70. ^ Morison 1958, pp. 415–423
  71. ^ Morison 1958, pp. 55–59
  72. ^ Morison 1958, p. 158
  73. ^ Morison 1958, pp. 183–189
  74. ^ Morison 1958, pp. 193–198
  75. ^ Morison 1958, pp. 239–241
  76. ^ Morison 1958, pp. 210–211
  77. ^ Morison 1958, p. 230
  78. ^ Morison 1958, p. 240
  79. ^ Morison 1958, pp. 293–296
  80. ^ Wheeler 1994, pp. 458–459
  81. ^ Wheeler 1994, p. 484
  82. ^ Hoyt 1989, pp. 191–198
  83. ^ Wheeler 1994, pp. 427–428
  84. ^ Frank & Shaw 1968, pp. 555–558
  85. ^ Wheeler 1994, pp. 455–457
  86. ^ Wheeler 1994, pp. 449–452
  87. ^ Wheeler 1994, pp. 462–469
  88. ^ a b Wheeler 1994, pp. 456–457
  89. ^ "Honours and Awards – Thomas C Kinkaid" (PDF). Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
  90. ^ a b c Wheeler 1994, pp. 473–488

Bibliography

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