Charles Kenney Duncan (December 7, 1911 – June 27, 1994) was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

four star admiral Military star ranking is military terminology, used to describe General officer, general and flag officers. Within Member states of NATO, NATO's armed forces, the stars are equal to Ranks and insignia of NATO, OF-6–10. Star ranking One–star ...

who served as Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic/Commander in Chief,

United States Atlantic Command United States Atlantic Command (acronym from 1947-1993 USLANTCOM, after 1993 USACOM) was a Unified Combatant Command of the United States Department of Defense. In 1999, U.S. Atlantic Command was renamed and given a new mission as United State ...

/Commander in Chief, U.S. Atlantic Fleet (SACLANT/CINCLANT/CINCLANTFLT) from 1970 to 1972.

Military career

Duncan was born on December 7, 1911, in Nicholasville, Kentucky.Charles K. Duncan
/ref> At the age of nine his mother became a full professor at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

, and the family moved to Lexington, where he attended University High School, Kavanaugh Preparatory School, and the University of Kentucky before entering the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

. Graduating in 1933, he was commissioned an Ensign and was assigned to the , where he remained for five years. Transferring to the Atlantic in 1938, he served aboard the , and in June 1940 was assigned to the staff of Commander Destroyers, Atlantic Fleet, at the time of that command's creation. During his tenure he met Sheila Taylor of

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

, whom he married in the summer of 1941 in Bermuda. In 1942 he was the first executive officer of the destroyer , which proceeded from the Atlantic to the Pacific, taking part in combat in the Aleutians and the South Pacific. He was given command of the , seeing combat in the South and Central Pacific areas. During this time he was awarded two Navy Commendation medals with Combat "V." Towards the end of the war he was assigned as Director of Naval Officer Procurement,

Bureau of Naval Personnel The Bureau of Naval Personnel (BUPERS) in the United States Department of the Navy is similar to the human resources department of a corporation. The bureau provides administrative leadership and policy planning for the Office of the Chief of Nava ...

, a position he held from 1944 to 1946. Following World War II, he served in various capacities such as Executive Assistant to the Chief of Naval Personnel 1953 to 1955, a battleship executive officer, commanding an amphibious ship and a destroyer division, and as operations officer of the

U.S. Pacific Fleet The United States Pacific Fleet (USPACFLT) is a theater-level component command of the United States Navy, located in the Pacific Ocean. It provides naval forces to the Indo-Pacific Command. Fleet headquarters is at Joint Base Pearl Harbor� ...

. He also served on the Holloway Board whose mission was to "study the form, system, and method of education of Naval officers." The outcome of the board was the establishment of modern

Naval ROTC The Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) program is a college-based, commissioned officer training program of the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. Origins A pilot Naval Reserve unit was established in September 192 ...

and direct commissions for college graduates from

Officer Candidate School An officer candidate school (OCS) is a military school which trains civilians and Enlisted rank, enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a Commission (document), commission as Commissioned officer, officers in the armed forces of a country. ...

. Duncan was promoted to flag rank in the summer of 1958, and concurrently assigned Commander, Amphibious Group One from 1958 to 1959, followed by Commander, Amphibious Training Command, Pacific Fleet from 1959 to 1961. He took command of

U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay Naval Base Subic Bay was a major ship-repair, supply, and rest and recreation facility of the Spanish Navy and subsequently the United States Navy located in Zambales, Philippines. The base was 262 square miles, about the size of Singapore. Th ...

in January 1961, During his tenure he served as president of a Philippine charity and vice president of the Philippines Tubercular Association. Holmes Duncan

After a stint as Assistant Chief of Naval Personnel for Plans and Programs from 1962 to 1964, he turned to command, as Commander, Atlantic Fleet Cruiser-Destroyer Force from 1964 to 1965, then commanded the

United States Second Fleet The United States Second Fleet is a numbered fleet in the United States Navy responsible for the East Coast and North Atlantic Ocean. The Fleet was established following World War II. In September 2011, Second Fleet was deactivated in view of ...

and NATO's Striking Fleet Atlantic and the Atlantic Fleet Amphibious Force. During this time he was promoted to vice admiral. He was awarded the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

for "exceptionally meritorious service" while Commander Amphibious Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, from June 1965 to May 1967. Duncan became Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Manpower and Naval Reserve) and the Chief of Naval Personnel, serving in that capacity from April 1968 to August 1970, before becoming the seventh NATO Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic on September 30, 1970, and concurrently Commander in Chief Atlantic (the United States Unified Command) and the Commander in Chief of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet. As Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic, he conducted the largest NATO naval exercises held until that time. He received the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...

from the Netherlands, and the Grand Cross of the Order of Aviz from Portugal. He retired from the U.S. Navy on November 1, 1972, as a full admiral.

Post-military career

After retiring, he lived near

Leesburg, Virginia Leesburg is a town in the state of Virginia, and the county seat of Loudoun County. Settlement in the area began around 1740, which is named for the Lee family, early leaders of the town and ancestors of Robert E. Lee. Located in the far northea ...

, until January 1977, continuing to serve as a member of the Secretary of the Navy's Advisory Board on Education and Training, and as a member of the Board of Advisors to the President,

U.S. Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associat ...

in Newport, Rhode Island. He eventually moved to

Coronado, California Coronado (Spanish for "Crowned") is a resort city located in San Diego County, California, United States, across the San Diego Bay from downtown San Diego. It was founded in the 1880s and incorporated in 1890. Its population was 24,697 at the ...

. He became a member of the Board of Trustees of the

San Diego Museum of Art The San Diego Museum of Art is a fine arts museum located at 1450 El Prado in Balboa Park in San Diego, California that houses a broad collection with particular strength in Spanish art. The San Diego Museum of Art opened as The Fine Arts Galler ...

in 1981, and in 1984, he was elected as a member of France's

Académie de Marine The Royal Naval Academy of France (french: Académie royale de marine) was founded at Brest by a ruling of 31 July 1752 by Antoine Louis de Rouillé, comte de Jouy, Secretary of State for the Navy. This institutionalised an earlier initiative b ...

and also was named a

Kentucky colonel Kentucky Colonel is the highest title of honor bestowed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and is the most well-known of a number of honorary colonelcies conferred by United States governors. A Kentucky Colonel Commission (the certificate) is ...

. He died of cancer on June 27, 1994, at the Scripps Clinic in

La Jolla, California La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. La Jolla is surrounded on ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Charles K. United States Navy admirals United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy personnel of World War II 1911 births 1994 deaths Military personnel from Lexington, Kentucky Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau Grand Crosses of the Order of Aviz Deaths from cancer in California People from Leesburg, Virginia

Military career

Post-military career

See also

References