Fletcher, Frank
Publié le 22/02/2012
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Fletcher, Frank (1885–1973) U.S. admiral
Born in Marshalltown, Iowa, Frank Jack Fletcher
obtained an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy
and graduated in 1906. He served on numerous
ships and in may postings and acquitted himself
with such gallantry during the U.S. intervention in
Vera Cruz in 1914 that he was awarded the Medal of
Honor. He served as commander of five destroyers,
a battleship, and three other vessels.
Promoted to rear admiral in the late 1930s, he
was given command of the task force sent to relieve
besieged Wake Island shortly after the Battle of
Pearl Harbor. Fletcher made the decision to
refuel en route, an action that delayed the task
force. This in itself might not have proved fatal to
the mission, but Admiral Husband E. Kimmel,
who had dispatched the task force, was during this
time relieved of command and replaced, temporarily,
by Vice Admiral William Pye, a cautious caretaker
commander who decided that the task force
to rescue Wake Island was too risky. He ordered
Fletcher to abort the relief. Despite a gallant stand
by overwhelmingly outnumbered marines, Wake
Island fell. Whether justly or not, a charge of overcautiousness
was leveled at Fletcher.
Fletcher did perform with skill and distinction
at the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942, a
tactical victory for the Japanese but also a costly
strategic defeat, since the Japanese invasion fleet
that had been headed for Port Moresby, New
Guinea, was forced to turn back. Fletcher also performed
gallantly at the Battle of Midway but
lost his flagship early in the battle, which meant
that Admiral Raymond Spruance assumed tactical
command and therefore earned credit for the
victory in this hard-fought turning-point clash.
As commander of an invasion fleet, Fletcher
drew considerable criticism for precipitously withdrawing
his carrier forces at the Battle of Guadalcanal
in August 1942, thereby isolating the
marines who had been landed there. He took a
similarly cautious and conservative approach in
the Eastern Solomon Islands during the Solomon
Islands Campaigns later in August.
In November 1942, Fletcher was named to
command of the Thirteenth Naval District and the
Northwestern Sea Frontier. At the end of 1943, he
was given overall command of the Northern Pacific
area, but he also participated in the Okinawa
Campaign during April 1945.
After the war, Vice Admiral Fletcher was named
chairman of the general board and, on his retirement
in May 1947, was advanced to the rank of
admiral. The destroyer USS Fletcher (DD-992) was
named in his honor.
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