DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
901 M STREET SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060
Fleet Admiral Ernest Joseph King
Ernest Joseph King was born in Lorain, Ohio, on November 23,1878.
As a young boy he read an article in the Youth's Companion about
the Naval Academy which stimulated his interest towards a Navy career. Upon
graduating from Lorain High School in 1897, he was appointed to the Naval
Academy by Representative Kerr of the Fourteenth District of Ohio. When
he left home, his father, a railway mechanic, gave him a round-trip railway
pass in case he might change his mind. He never used the return portion,
although he kept it for many years.
In the Summer of 1898, during the Spanish American War, King served
as a Naval Cadet in the USS San Francisco, flagship of the Northern
Patrol Squadron, for which he received his first decoration, the Sampson
Medal. He graduated with distinction in the Class of 1901, and served the
two years at sea -- then required by law -- before being commissioned Ensign
on June 7, 1903.
His assignments during his first sea cruise included service in USS
Eagle surveying Cienfriegas, Cuba, in USS Cincinnati, a protected
cruiser in the Asiatic Fleet during the Russo-Japanese War, in USS Illinois,
flagship of the European Squadron, and USS Alabama, flagship of the
second Division of the Atlantic Fleet.
His first shore duty came in 1906 when he went to the Naval Academy
as an instructor in Ordnance and Gunnery for two years, followed by one
year on the Executive Staff. Officers who were midshipmen at that time still
remember him as a strict but fair duty officer.
There followed another sea cruise of three years beginning as Aide on
the Staff of Commander Battleship Division Two, Atlantic Fleet in USS
Minnesota, one year as Engineer Officer of USS New Hampshire
and one year on the Staff of the Commander in Chief Atlantic Fleet in USS
Connecticut.
His next shore cruise started in 1912 in command of the Engineering
Experimental Station at Annapolis. After two years, in l914, he went to
sea again, this time in destroyers in command of USS Cassin, then
as aide to Commander Torpedo Flotilla Atlantic Fleet, Commander Sixth Division
of the Flotilla. In 1916 he went to the staff of Admiral H. T. Mayo on which
he served during WWI while the Admiral was Commander in Chief, Atlantic
Fleet.
In 1919, Admiral King, then a Captain, became head of the Postgraduate
School at the Naval Academy. Following that tour of duty, he commanded USS
Bridge for a short period. In July 1922, he commenced a series of assignments
which placed him in intimate contact with submarine operations when he was
assigned to duty on the staff of Commander Submarine Flotillas, Atlantic
Fleet, and as Commander Submarine Division Eleven. In 1923 he took command
of the Submarine Base at New London with additional duty as Naval Inspector
of Ordnance in Charge of the Mine Depot there. It was during this period
in September 1925 that he was in charge of the salvage of USS S-51
which was sunk off Block Island.
Having had sea duty in destroyers, submarines and battleships, Captain
King now began his career in Naval Aviation which was then taking its place
in the Fleet. In 1926 he took command of the aircraft tender USS Wright
with additional duties as Senior Aide on the Staff of Commander Air Squadrons,
Atlantic Fleet, In January of 1927, he reported to the Naval Air Station,
Pensacola for flight training and was designated naval aviator 3368 in May
of that year. He rejoined Wright on completion of this training.
When USS S-4 was sunk in December of that year off Provincetown,
however, he was again assigned to command of her salvage operations.
Upon completion he returned to his command of the Wright, and
had a short cruise as Commander Aircraft Squadrons, Scouting Fleet, until
1928, when he went ashore as Assistant Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics.
In 1929 he assumed command of the Naval Air Station, Norfolk, Virginia.
In June of 1930 he went to sea in command of USS Lexington for a
two year cruise in that ship. He then had a year in the senior officers'
course at the Naval War College. In 1933, with the rank of Rear Admiral,
he became the Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics until 1936. During the
next five years, except for the year 1940 on the General Board he commanded
Aircraft Base Force, Aircraft Scouting Force, and as a Vice Admiral in 1938,
Aircraft Battle Force. In February 1941, he was given the rank of Admiral
as Commander in Chief, Atlantic Fleet and on 30 December of that year he
became Commander-in-Chief, U. S. Fleet. In March 1942, the President by
Executive Order, combined the office of Commander in Chief and the Chief
of Naval Operations, and Admiral King assumed those combined duties on 18
March, when he relieved Admiral Stark as Chief of Naval Operations, the
first and only officer to hold such an assignment. On 17 December 1944 he
was advanced to the newly created rank of Fleet Admiral.
In 1945, when the position of Commander in Chief, U. S. Fleet ceased
to exist, as an office established by the President pursuant to Executive
Order 99635, Admiral King became Chief of Naval Operations in October of
that year. In December he was relieved by Fleet Admiral Nimitz. From that
time he served in an Advisory Capacity in the office of the Secretary of
the Navy, and as President of the Naval Historical Foundation. He died at
the Naval Hospital, Portsmouth, New Hampshire on 25 June 1956.
PROMOTIONS
Graduated from the Naval Academy - Class of 1901
Ensign - June 7, 1903
Lieutenant (junior grade) - June 7, 1906
Lieutenant - June 7, 1906
Lieutenant Commander - July 1, 1913
Commander - July 1, 1917
Captain - September 21, 1918
Rear Admiral - November 1, 1933
Vice Admiral - January 29, 1938
Admiral- February 1, 1941
Fleet Admiral - December 17, 1944
DECORATIONS AND AWARDS
Navy Cross
Distinguished Service Medal with two gold stars
Spanish Campaign Medal
Sampson Medal
Mexican Service Medal
Victory Medal, Atlantic Fleet Clasp
American Defense Service Medal, with bronze "A"
American Campaign Medal
World War II Victory Medal
National Defense Service Medal
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1 June 1996