The FReeper Foxhole Profiles Fleet Admiral William Daniel Leahy - June 7th, 2004

www.arlingtoncemetery.net ^

[SAMWolf]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
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FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.

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U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues

Where Duty, Honor and Country
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Fleet Admiral William Daniel Leahy
(1875 - 1959)

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William Daniel Leahy was born in Hampton, Iowa, on May 6, 1875. His father, Michael Leahy, a lawyer, had been Captain of Wisconsin Infantry Volunteers during the Civil War. Young Leahy originally hoped to attend West Point, but there were no appointments available. When he completed high school in Ashland, WI, in 1893, he was able to win an appointment to the Naval Academy. He graduated in 1897, 15th in a class of 47.

Midshipman Leahy was assigned to USS Oregon, then in the Pacific. He was in that battleship when she made her famous dash around the horn in the Spring of 1898 to participate in the battle of Santiago on July 3.

Having completed the two years' sea duty -- then required by law -- he was commissioned Ensign on 01 July 1899. At that time, he was on the Asiatic Station, where, during the Philippine Insurrection and the Boxer uprising in China, he served in USS Castine, USS Glacier and commanded the gunboat USS Mariveles. He returned to the United States in 1902, and for the next five years did duty in USS Tacoma and USS Boston which was stationed in Panama during the early period of construction of the canal.

His first shore cruise was at the Naval Academy. Beginning in 1907, he served as instructor in the Department of Physics and Chemistry for two years. He went to sea in 1909 and served as navigator of the armed cruiser USS California in the Pacific Fleet. During the American Occupation of Nicaragua in 1912, he was Chief of Staff to the Commander Naval Forces there.


Battle off Santiago, 3 July 1898
Naval Cadet William D. Leahy (center) and Captain Charles Edgar Clark (right) on board USS Oregon (Battleship # 3) during the action.

Late in 1912, he came ashore in Washington as Assistant Director of Gunnery Exercises and Engineering Competitions. In 1913, he was assigned to the Bureau of Navigation as a detail officer where he served until 1915. At that time, he took command of the dispatch gunboat USS Dolphin, and established a very close friendship with the then-Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt, who cruised with him on the ship. He was in that assignment in early 1917 in West Indian waters and had additional duty as Senior Aide on the Staff of Commander Squadron Three of the Patrol Force Atlantic Fleet.

He served for almost a year as the Executive Officer of USS Nevada and in April 1918 went to command USS Princess Matotika, formerly Princess Alice , transporting troops to France.

After a short cruise in that command, he came ashore in 1918 and served for three years as director of Gunnery Exercises and Engineering Competition in the Navy Department, and as senior member of the Fire Control Board. In 1921, he went to sea in command of USS St. Louis, flagship of the Naval Detachment in Turkish waters during the war between Turkey and Greece. At the end of that war, he was given command of Mine Squadron One, and in 1922 further additional duty as commander, Control Force.


President William Howard Taft visits the U.S. Pacific Fleet, 15 October 1911
Photograph taken during the President's visit. Identified persons are (from left to right): Major Young, U.S. Army; Secret Service Agent Sloan; President Taft; Secret Service Agent Murjon; Secret Service Agent Moffett; and Lieutenant Commander William D. Leahy, USN (Aide).

When he returned to the U.S. and from 1923 to 1926, he served as Director of Officer Personnel in the Bureau of Navigation, and then had one year in command of the battleship USS New Mexico. In 1927, he reached flag rank and became Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance. After almost four years, he went to sea in 1931 as Commander Destroyers Scouting Force.

In 1933, he came ashore in Washington as Chief of the Bureau of Navigation for two years, when he went to sea as a vice admiral, and Commander Battleships Battle Force. In 1936, he hoisted his four-star flag in USS California and Commander in Chief Battle Force.


Admiral William D. Leahy (right)shakes hands with Admiral Joseph M. Reeves
During change of command ceremonies in which Admiral Leahy relieved Admiral Reeves as Commander, Battle Force, U.S. Fleet, circa June 1936.
Probably taken on board USS California (BB-44).

He was appointed Chief of Naval Operations, took the oath of office in January 1937 to serve until August 1939 when he was placed on the retired list. On that occasion, President Roosevelt said "Bill, if we have a war, you're going to be right back here helping me run it."

Immediately following his retirement, Admiral Leahy was assigned the duties of Governor of Puerto Rico in September 1939. He served in that capacity until November 1940 when he was appointed U.S. Ambassador to France where he served from January 1941 until recalled in May 1942.


Admiral William D. Leahy, USN (Retired),
United States Ambassador to France (right)
Pays a farewell call on French Chief of State Marshall Henri Pétain, at Vichy, 27 April 1942.

In July of that year, he was called back to active duty as Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief, U.S. Army and Navy, the President of the United States. As such, he presided over the Joint Chiefs of Staff and, when our country was host, over the combined Chiefs. In December 1944, he accepted the appointment and was confirmed as the newly created rank of Fleet Admiral.

On 25 March 1949, the President accepted his resignation from that assignment. He continued on duty in an advisory capacity in the office of the Secretary of the Navy, and served as President of the Naval Historical foundation.


Yalta Conference, February 1945
Allied leaders pose in the courtyard of Livadia Palace, Yalta, during the conference.
Those seated are (from left to right):
Prime Minister Winston Churchill (UK);
President Franklin D. Roosevelt (USA); and
Premier Josef Stalin (USSR).
Also present are USSR Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov (far left); Admiral of the Fleet Sir Andrew Cunningham, R.N., and Air Chief Marshall Sir Charles Portal, R.A.F. (both standing behind Churchill); and Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy, USN, (standing behind Roosevelt).

He died on 20 July 1959.

[SAMWolf]

William Leahy advised against the use of biological weapons during the Second World war. I Was There (1950)



In November, 1942, at the request of Dr. Ross Mclntire, I discussed with President George Merck, of the well-known chemical firm bearing his name, the possible use of bacteriological warfare. Merck was then studying, with a considerable number of scientists and in high secrecy, both offensive employment of and preventive measures against germ warfare.



At intervals this subject came up in my conversations with President Roosevelt and later with President Truman. I recall particularly that, as we were sailing for Honolulu for the MacArthur-Nimitz conferences in July of 1944, there was a spirited discussion of bacteriological warfare in the President's cabin. By that time the scientists thought, for example, that they could destroy completely the rice crop of Japan.


V-E Day, 8 May 1945
Senior Officers of the U.S. Armed Forces make a radio broadcast in Washington, D.C., following the official announcement of Victory in Europe on 8 May 1945.
They are (from left to right):
General of the Army George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff, U.S. Army; Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy, Senior Member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King, Chief of Naval Operations.

Some of those present advocated the adoption of such measures. Personally, I recoiled from the idea, and said to Roosevelt: "Mr. President, this [using germs and poison] would violate every Christian ethic I have ever heard of and all of the known laws of war. It would be an attack on the non-combatant population of the enemy. The reaction can be foretold: if we use it, the enemy will use it." Roosevelt remained non-committal throughout this discussion, but the United States did not resort to bacteriological warfare.

[SAMWolf]

William Leahy was strongly opposed to using the nuclear bomb on Japan. He wrote about this decision in his autobiography, I Was There (1950)


Vice Admiral William D. Leahy, USN,
Commander, Battleships, Battle Force, U.S. Fleet

On board his flagship, USS West Virginia (BB-48), off Long Beach, California, September 1935.

Once it had been tested, President Truman faced the decision as to whether to use it. He did not like the idea, but was persuaded that it would shorten the war against Japan and save American lives. It is my opinion that the use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender because of the effective sea blockade and the successful bombing with conventional weapons.


Admiral William D. Leahy, USN
Chief of Staff to the President
Saluting, on the reviewing stand during the Navy Day parade, on Constitution Avenue, Washington, D.C., 27 October 1944.

It was my reaction that the scientists and others wanted to make this test because of the vast sums that had been spent on the project. Truman knew that, and so did the other people involved. However, the Chief Executive made a decision to use the bomb on two cities in Japan. We had only produced two bombs at that time. We did not know which cities would be the targets, but the President specified that the bombs should be used against military facilities.


President Roosevelt awards a medal to William Leahy.

The lethal possibilities of atomic warfare in the future are frightening. My own feeling was that, in being the first to use it, we had adopted an ethical standard common to the barbarians of the Dark Ages. I was not taught to make war in that fashion, and wars cannot be won by destroying women and children. We were the first to have this weapon in our possession, and the first to use it. There is a practical certainty that potential enemies will develop it in the future and that atomic bombs will some time be used against us.

Additional Sources:

www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk
www.dtic.mi
www.history.navy.mil
desmoinesregister.com
www.trumanlibrary.org

[SAMWolf]

Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy, USN
Chief of Staff to the President and Senior Member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Photographed circa 1945.

PROMOTIONS

Graduated from the Naval Academy - Class of 1897
Ensign - 01 July 1899
Lieutenant (junior grade) - 01 July 1902
Lieutenant - 31 Dec. 1903
Lieutenant Commander - 15 Sept. 1909
Commander - 29 Aug. 1916
Captain - 01 July 1918
Rear Admiral - 14 Oct. 1927
Vice Admiral - 13 July 1935
Admiral - 02 Jan. 1937
Fleet Admiral - 15 Dec. 1944

DECORATIONS and AWARDS

Navy Cross
Distinguished Service Medal with two gold stars
Sampson Medal
Spanish Campaign Medal
Philippine Campaign Medal
Nicaraguan Campaign Medal (1912)
Mexican Service Medal
Dominican Campaign Medal
World War I Victory Medal with "Overseas" clasp
American Campaign Medal
World War II Victory Medal
National Defense Service Medal

[SAMWolf]

Veterans for Constitution Restoration is a non-profit, non-partisan educational and grassroots activist organization. The primary area of concern to all VetsCoR members is that our national and local educational systems fall short in teaching students and all American citizens the history and underlying principles on which our Constitutional republic-based system of self-government was founded. VetsCoR members are also very concerned that the Federal government long ago over-stepped its limited authority as clearly specified in the United States Constitution, as well as the Founding Fathers' supporting letters, essays, and other public documents.

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Actively seeking volunteers to provide this valuable service to Veterans and their families.

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Iraq Homecoming Tips

~ Thanks to our Veterans still serving, at home and abroad. ~ Freepmail to Ragtime Cowgirl | 2/09/04 | FRiend in the USAF

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PDN members and fans. We hope you will consider this simple act of patriotism worth passing on or taking up as a project in your own back yard. In summary:

Who They Are: Operation: Stitches Of Love was started by the Mothers of two United States Marines stationed in Iraq.

What They Are Doing: We are gathering 12.5"x12.5" quilt squares from across the country and assembling the largest quilt ever produced. When completed we will take the quilt from state to state and gather even more squares.

Why They Are Doing This: We are building this quilt to rally support for the Coalition Forces in Iraq and to show the service members that they are not forgotten. We want the world to know Nothing will ever break the stitches that bind us together as a country.

Ideas to start a local project:

Obtain enough Red, White and Blue material (cloth) for a 12.5 x 12.5 quilt square.
If you have someone in your family that sews, make it a weekend project and invite neighbors to join you.

Consider this tribute as a project for your civic group, scouts, church or townhall group.

Locate an elementary school with an after school program in your neighborhood or locate an after school program in your neighborhood not attached to a school and ask if you could volunteer one or two afternoons and create some squares with the kids.

Invite some VFW posts to share your project in honor of their post.

Send us webmaster@patriotwatch.com for digital photos of in progress and finished project for various websites, OIFII.com and the media.

PDN is making this appeal in support of Operation: Stitches Of Love
Media Contact: Deborah Johns (916) 716-2749
Volunteers & Alternate Media: PDN (916) 448-1636

Your friends at PDN

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UPDATED THROUGH APRIL 2004



The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul

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[snippy_about_it]

FALL IN to the FReeper Foxhole!



Good Monday Morning Everyone.


If you would like to be added to our ping list, let us know.

[SAMWolf]

Good Night Snippy.

[snippy_about_it]

Good night Sam.

[alfa6]

Another Night Shift bump for the Foxhole

Only one more Night Shift Bumperooni left then back to days for two weeks

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[GATOR NAVY]

Thanks for the pic of the young cadet Leahy. I didn't know the guy actually knew how to smile before I saw that.

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Snippy.

[GailA]

Good morning, I'll start the day with a RR quote.

Republicans believe every day is 4th of July, but Democrats believe every day is April 15. - Ronald Reagan

[The Mayor]

Why do you call Me "Lord, Lord," and not do the things which I say? —Luke 6:46

To show that you value eternity, make good use of your time.

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Freeper Foxhole.

We had some storms move through. No severe weather but quite a bit of lightning. That's why I was a little bit late this morning.

[tomball]

 

[Valin]

On This Dy In History


Birthdates which occurred on June 07:
1502 Pope Gregory XIII introduced Gregorian calendar in 1582
1778 George Bryan "Beau" Brummel London England, English dandy
1811 Sir James Young Simpson Scotland, obsterician (used chloroform)
1843 Susan Elizabeth Blow US, pioneered kindergarten education
1848 Paul Gaugin [Eugene Henri], French post-impressionist painter
1896 Robert Mulliken US, chemist/physicist (Nobel 1966)
1909 Jessica Tandy London, actress (Birds, Cocoon, Batteries Not Included)
1909 Peter Rodino (Rep-D-NJ) chaired Watergate congressional council
1917 Dean Martin singer/comedian (partner for Jerry Lewis)
1917 Gwendolyn Brooks US poet (The Bean Eaters)
1922 Rocky Graziano boxer/entertainer (Pantomime Quiz, Martha Raye Show)
1940 Tom Jones Pontypridd Wales, singer (What's New Pussycat)
1943 Ken Osmond actor (Eddie Haskel-Leave it To Beaver)
1944 Clarence White guitarist (The Byrds-Turn! Turn! turn!)
1946 Bill Kreutzman drummer (Grateful Dead-Uncle John's Band)
1947 Thurman Munson NY Yankee (captain/catcher)
1958 Prince [Rodgers Nelson], rocker/actor (1999, Purple Rain)
1971 Mark Wahlberg Mass, rapper

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Deaths which occurred on June 07:
1329 Robert Bruce leader of the Scots, dies at 53
1631 Mumtax Mahal wife of Shah Jahan of India, her tomb (Taj Mahal)
1492 Kazimierz IV, King of Poland (1447-92), dies at 64
1862 William Mumford 1st US citizen hanged for treason
1957 Mrs Elizabeth S Kingsley double-Crostic puzzle creator, dies
1963 Zasu Pitts actress (Wedding March, Life With Father), dies at 65
1965 Judy Holiday actress, dies at 42
1968 Dan Duryea actor (Pride of the Yankees), dies at 60
1980 Henry [Valentine] Miller, US writer (Tropic of Capricorn), dies

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Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1964 GREER ROBERT L. PLEASANT HILL CA.
[MOTORBIKE RECOVERED REMAINS IDENTIFIED 1991]
1964 SCHRECKENGOST FRED T. EAST PALESTINE OH.
[MOTORBIKE FOUND REMAINS IDENTIFIED 27 MAR 91]
1966 FRANCO CHARLES STEPHEN NEW YORK NY.
[01/15/67 REMAINS RECOVERED]
1966 JACOBS JOHN CHARLES MILHOUSEN IN.
[01/15/67 REMAINS RECOVERED]
1966 SANDNER ROBERT LOUIS CLEARWATER FL.
[REMAINS RECOVERED APRIL 1995 ID MARCH 1996]
1967 OWENS JOY L. SEATTLE WA.
[RADIO CONTACT LOST]
1967 SALE HAROLD R. LEXINGTON SC
[RADIO CONTACT LOST]
1968 SPENCER DEAN C. III MORGANTOWN WV.
1970 ALLOWAY CLYDE DOUGLAS PORTSMOUTH NH.
1970 WILBRECHT KURT MICHAEL ST PAUL MN.

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

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On this day...
555 Vigilius ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1614 2nd parliment of King James I, disolves passing no legislation
1654 Louis XIV crowned king of France
1692 Porte Royale Jamaica slides into harbor after earthquake
1769 Daniel Boone begins exploring the Bluegrass State of Kentucky
1775 United Colonies change name to United States
1776 Richard Lee (VA) moves Decl of Independence in Continental Congress
1839 Hawaiian Declaration of Rights is signed
1860 1st US "dime novel" published: "Malaseka, The Indian Wife of the White Hunter," by Mrs Ann Stevens
1863 Mexico City captured by French troops
1864 Abe Lincoln renominated for Pres by Republican Party
1866 Irish Fenians raid Pigeon Hill, Quebec
1887 Monotype type-casting machine patented by Tolbert Lanston, Wash DC
1892 John J Doyle of Clev Spiders is 1st to pinch hit in a baseball game
1896 G Harpo & F Samuelson leave NY to row the Atlantic (takes 54 days)
1898 Social Democracy of America party holds 1st national convention, Chic
1901 M Wolf discovers asteroid #471 Papagena
1905 Norway dissolves union with Sweden (in effect since 1814)
1912 St Pius X encyclical "On the Indians of South America"
1912 US army tests 1st machine gun mounted on a plane
1924 George Leigh-Mallory disappears 775' from Everest's summit
1929 Vatican City becomes a soverign state
1930 NY Times agrees to capitalize the n in "Negro"
1938 Boeing 314 Clipper flying boat 1st flown (Eddie Allen)
1939 1st king & queen of England to visit US, George VI & Elizabeth
1941 Whirlaway wins the Belmont Stakes & the triple crown
1942 USS Yorktown sinks near Midway Island
1953 1st color network telecast in compatible color, Boston, Mass
1954 1st microbiology laboratory dedicated (New Brunswick NJ)
1955 "The $64,000 Question" premiers on CBS TV
1955 1st President to appear on color TV (Eisenhower)
1962 NASA civilian test pilot Joseph A Walker takes X-15 to 31,580 m
1965 Gemini 4 completes 62 orbits
1967 2 Moby Grape members arrested for contributing to deliquency of minors
1967 Israel captures Wailing Wall in East Jerusalem
1968 Sirhan Sirhan indicted for Bobby Kennedy assassination
1969 Bob Dylan & Johnny Cash combine on a Grand Ole Opry TV special
1969 Tommy James & the Shondells release "Crystal Blue Persuasion"
1970 Jockey Willie Shoemaker passes Johnny Longden with his 6,033 win
1970 The Who's Tommy is performed at NY's Lincoln Center
1971 Soviet Soyuz 11 crew completes 1st transfer to orbiting Salyut
1972 German Chancellor Willy Brandt visits Israel
1977 Anita Bryant leads successful crusade against Miami gay rights law
1979 Rocker Chuck Berry is charged with tax evasion

1981 Israel destroys alleged Iraqi plutonium production facility

1982 Pres Reagan meets Pope John Paul II & Queen Elizabeth
1983 A Gilmore & P Kilmartin discovers asteroid #3152
1983 one day after Nicaragua expelled three U.S. diplomats, the Reagan administration ordered Nicaraguan
consulates closed and expelled six Nicaraguan diplomats.
1996 The Clinton White House acknowledged it had obtained the FBI files of House Speaker Newt Gingrich's press secretary, former Bush chief of staff James A. Baker III and other appointees from Republican administrations, calling it "an innocent bureaucratic mistake."
2001 A federal judge refused to stop plans for a World War II Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

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Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Chad : National Day
Western Australia : Foundation Day (1838) (Monday)
Massachusetts : Teachers' Day (Sunday)
Ireland : Bank Day (Monday)
Bahamas : Labour Day (Friday)
New Zealand : Queen's Birthday (Monday)
National Fishing Week Begins
National Humor Week (Day 2)
National Fragrance Week (Day 2)
National Iced Tea Month

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Religious Observances
Christian : Feast of Bl Marie-Therese de Soubiran
Feast of St. Robert, abbot.
Feast of St. Vulflagius.

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Religious History
1099 The armies of the First Crusade (1096-99) reached the walls of Jerusalem.
1891 English Baptist clergyman Charles H. Spurgeon preached the last sermon of his 38-year-long ministry at London's Metropolitan Tabernacle. He died the following January.
1913 Ohio-born Methodist evangelist George Bennard introduced his new hymn, 'The Old Rugged Cross,' during a revival he was conducting at Pokagon, Michigan.
1934 Wycliffe Bible Translators held its first study course in linguistics at Sulphur Springs, Arkansas. The training session lasted 3 months.
1959 English apologist C.S. Lewis wrote in a letter: 'If we really think that home is elsewhere and that this life is a 'wandering to find home,' why should we not look forward to the arrival?'

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

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Thought for the day :
"Pale ink beats a good memory."

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Actual Newspaper Headlines...
Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors

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Why did the Chicken cross the Road...
Noam Chomsky:
The chicken didn't exactly cross the road. As of 1994, something like 99.8% of all US chickens reaching maturity that year had spent 82% of their lives in confinement. The living conditions in most chicken coops break every international law ever written, and some, particularly the ones for chickens bound for slaughter, border on inhumane. My point is, they had no chance to cross the road (unless you count the ride to the supermarket). Even if one or two have crossed roads for whatever reason, most never get a chance. Of course, this is not what we are told. Instead, we see chickens happily dancing around on Sesame Street and Foster Farms commercials where chickens are not only crossing roads, but driving trucks (incidentally, Foster Farms is owned by the same people who own the Foster Freeze chain, a subsidiary of the dairy industry). Anyway, ... (Chomsky continues for 32 pages. For the full text of his answer, contact Odonian Press)

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Dumb Laws...
Ontario Canada:
You may not pay for a fifty-cent item with only pennies.

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A Cowboy's Guide to Life...
Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back.

[Professional Engineer]

Good morning ladies. Flag-o-gram.

My favorite Reagan quote.

"My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes."
__President Reagan on live radio, August 1984

[Samwise]

and the bombing worked!

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning everyone.

[manna]

Present!

[SAMWolf]

Morning alfa.

Nothing like just getting used to a schedule and then having to chamge it. ;-)