Husband Kimmel

Born: February 26, 1882, Henderson, Kentucky
Died: May 14, 1968 (age 85), Groton, Connecticut

Husband Edward Kimmel was a four-star admiral in the United States Navy. He served as Commander-in-chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet at the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Because of the attack, he was removed from office and was reverted back to his permanent two-star rank of rear admiral. He would subsequently retire from the Navy with that rank.

1. When did he graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy?

• 1904
• 1906
• 1908

2. What battleship did he command?

• USS Arizona
• USS Connecticut
• USS New York

3. After promotion to Rear Admiral in 1937, he commanded Cruiser Division Seven on a diplomatic cruise to South America

• True or False?

4. When did Kimmel became Commander of Cruisers, Battle Force?

• 1938
• 1939
• 1940

5. In February 1941 Kimmel became Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet and Pacific Fleet, with the temporary rank of admiral. The base for the fleet had been moved from its traditional home at San Diego, California to Pearl Harbor.

• True or False?

6. Edwin T. Layton related that during the attack, “Kimmel stood by the window of his office at the submarine base, his jaw set in stony anguish. As he watched the disaster across the harbor unfold with terrible fury, a spent .50 caliber machine gun bullet crashed through the glass. It brushed the admiral before it clanged to the floor. It cut his white jacket and raised a welt on his chest. ‘It would have been merciful had it killed me,’ Kimmel murmured to his communications officer, Commander Maurice ‘Germany’ Curts.” What was Layton's duties?

• Combat Intelligence Officer
• Battleship Commander
• Pearl Harbor Base Commander

7. Kimmel's critics point out that he had been ordered (on November 27, 1941, ten days prior to the attack) to initiate a "defensive deployment" of the fleet. Kimmel understood this to mean defense against sabotage and so made the necessary arrangements. Because of this, Kimmel ordered all aircraft carries to sea to find the missing Japanese aircraft carriers.

• True or False?

8. When did he retire from the Navy?

• 1942
• 1945
• 1947

9. Rear Admiral Kimmel's son, Manning, died when the submarine he commanded was mined near Palawan, Philippines in July 1944. What was the submarine's name?

• USS Kingfish
• USS Robalo
• USS Sword

10. Where is Husband Kummel buried?

• United States Naval Academy Cemetery, Annapolis, Maryland
• Elizabethtown City Cemetery, Elizabethtown, Kentucky
• Llano Cemetery, Amarillo, Texas

Husband Kimmel Answers

1. 1904
2. USS New York
3. True
4. 1939
5. True
6. Combat Intelligence Officer
7. False. Aircraft carriers were at sea already and where not in Kimmel's orders.
8. 1942
9. USS Robalo
10. United States Naval Academy Cemetery, Annapolis, Maryland

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