Felix Budwell Stump (December 15, 1894 – June 13, 1972) was an admiral in the United States Navy and Commander,

United States 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� ...

from July 10, 1953 until July 31, 1958.

Early life and career

Stump was born in

Parkersburg Parkersburg is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Ohio and Little Kanawha rivers, it is the state's fourth-largest city and the largest city in the Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna metro ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

, spent his early life there and was appointed to 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 ...

in 1913. He served in the gunboat and as navigator aboard the cruiser during World War I in the Atlantic. After the war he served in the

pre-dreadnought battleship Pre-dreadnought battleships were sea-going battleships built between the mid- to late- 1880s and 1905, before the launch of in 1906. The pre-dreadnought ships replaced the ironclad battleships of the 1870s and 1880s. Built from steel, prote ...

. Shortly thereafter Stump attended flight training at the

Naval Air Station Pensacola Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola (formerly NAS/KNAS until changed circa 1970 to allow Nassau International Airport, now Lynden Pindling International Airport, to have IATA code NAS), "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United State ...

in 1920-1921 followed by postgraduate instruction in Aeronautical Engineering at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

. From 1923 to 1925 he was a Naval Flight Officer in Torpedo Squadron 2 (VT-2) "Doer Birds" of the experimental carrier . He commanded the Cruiser Scouting Wing in 1928-1929 and served on the Staff of Commander Cruisers, Scouting Fleet in 1930–1931. Stump was commanding officer of s Scout-Bombing Squadron 2 (VSB-2) in 1936–1937. From 1938 to 1939 he served as navigator of . Promoted to commander in 1940, he served as executive officer of .

World War II

At the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Stump was Commanding Officer of ''Langley'' in

Manila Bay Manila Bay ( fil, Look ng Maynila) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Phili ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. In January 1942 he was transferred to the Staff of the Commander in Chief, Asiatic Fleet for which he was awarded the U.S. Army's

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

. Stump was the first captain of the following her commission in 1943. In 1944 Stump was promoted to

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

and took command of Task Unit 52.11.2 and Carrier Division 24 embarked on the escort carrier for operations against

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...

. Following action at Saipan, Stump retained commanded Carrier Division 24 but was now assigned to Task Unit 77.4.2 (''Taffy II''). At the battles of

Leyte Gulf Leyte Gulf is a gulf in the Eastern Visayan region in the Philippines. The bay is part of the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, and is bounded by two islands; Samar in the north and Leyte in the west. On the south of the bay is Mindanao Isl ...

and

Samar Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...

he embarked aboard the in October 1944. For his role in these battles he was awarded the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is eq ...

. His flag remained on ''Natoma Bay'' through early 1945 while his sailors continued operations in the Philippines. In May 1945 he served as Chief of Naval Air Technical Training Command and kept that post until December 1948.

Post-war

From December 1948 to 1951 Stump served as commander of Naval Air Forces Atlantic Fleet, during which time he was promoted to vice admiral. From March 1951 until June 1953, Stump served as Commander,

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 ...

. From July 10, 1953 to January 14, 1958, now promoted to full Admiral, he served as Commander US Pacific Command until his retirement, effective August 1, 1958. After his retirement, he was appointed to the position of Vice Chairman of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of

Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge The Freedoms Foundation is an American non-profit, non-partisan, non-sectarian educational organization, founded in 1949. The foundation is located adjacent to the Valley Forge National Historical Park, near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Bill of R ...

, Pennsylvania. Stump died of cancer at

Bethesda Naval Hospital The Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC), formerly known as the National Naval Medical Center and colloquially referred to as the Bethesda Naval Hospital, Walter Reed, or Navy Med, is a United States' tri-service military medi ...

in 1972. The was named in his honor.

Decorations

Gallery

File:Stump Anderson.jpg, As commander in chief, U.S. Pacific Command, with Secretary of the Navy Robert B. Anderson, November 1953. File:NH 69403 Rear Admiral Calvin T. Durgin, USN Rear Admiral Felix Stump, USN.jpg , Rear Admiral Felix B. Stump (right) with Rear Admiral Calvin T. Durgin, 1945.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stump, Felix 1894 births 1972 deaths People from Parkersburg, West Virginia United States Navy personnel of World War I Burials at Arlington National Cemetery United States Navy World War II admirals United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy admirals Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) Recipients of the Legion of Merit