Harold Montgomery Martin (January 28, 1896 – December 3, 1972) was an American

naval aviator Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

, commanding officer at

Marine Corps Base Hawaii Marine Corps Base Hawaii (MCBH), formerly Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay and originally Naval Air Station Kaneohe Bay, is a U.S. Marine Corps facility and air station located on the Mokapu Peninsula of windward O'ahu in the City & County ...

, and vice admiral in the

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 ...

. After reaching the rank of vice admiral in 1951, Martin served as commander of United States First Fleet, United States Seventh Fleet, and later commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet until he retired in February 1956 as

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

in the U.S. Navy.

Education

Martin was born on January 18, 1896, in

Bay Mills, Michigan Bay Mills Township is a civil township of Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the township population was 1,477. Communities *Bay Mills is an unincorporated community in the township on Bay Mills Point, which s ...

. Raised in

Cairo, Illinois Cairo ( ) is the southernmost city in Illinois and the county seat of Alexander County. The city is located at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Fort Defiance, a Civil War camp, was built here in 1862 by Union General Ulysses ...

, he attended the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

. Martin was then 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 1915 and graduated in 1918. During his final year at the Naval Academy, he was captain of the Lacrosse team.

Career

Martin served in '' USS Winslow (DD-53)'' during the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. After the WWI ended, he served in ''

USS Nevada (BB-36) USS ''Nevada'' (BB-36), the third United States Navy ship to be named after the 36th state, was the lead ship of the two s. Launched in 1914, ''Nevada'' was a leap forward in dreadnought technology; four of her new features would be included o ...

''. In 1921, he received flight training and was appointed as the

. Martin commanded several

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, de ...

military aircraft units, including Squadrons VS-2B and VP-10F from 1933 to 1936. Before commanding

Scouting Fleet The Scouting Fleet was created in 1922 as part of a major, post-World War I reorganization of the United States Navy. The Atlantic and Pacific fleets, which comprised a significant portion of the ships in the United States Navy, were combined into ...

, he served as commander at Naval Air Station at

Kāneʻohe Bay Kāneohe Bay, at , is the largest sheltered body of water in the main Hawaiian Islands. This reef-dominated embayment constitutes a significant scenic and recreational feature along the northeast coast of the Island of Oahu. The largest populatio ...

, Hawaii from 1941 to 1942 and subsequently at Naval Air Facility Midway Island. Later, he commanded an Independence-class aircraft carrier , including combat operations process in modern-day Pacific Ocean Areas from 1943 to 1944. He was awarded the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

for his actions in response to a 13 October 1944 Japanese torpedo bomber attack on USS ''San Jacinto''. Before reaching to the rank of vice admiral, Martin was assigned to Carrier Division near

Okinawa Island is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands of Japan in the Kyushu region. It is the smallest and least populated of the five main islands of Japan. The island is approximately long, an average wide, and has an ...

on 23 March 1945. He served as commander of the U.S. navy Task Force 49, a military unit which was established primarily to support soviet operations. After the

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 ...

ended, he served at various fleet/ carrier air wings and carrier strike group, and later chief of naval for Air Technical Training branch. In 1951, Martin was promoted to the three-star rank of vice admiral and served as commander of

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� ...

, including First as well as Seventh Fleet during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

which he was assigned in 1952. He was awarded the

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 ...

for his actions as commander of the Seventh Fleet between March 1951 and February 1952. In February 1956, he retired from the U.S. naval service as a four-star

. Martin died on 3 December 1972 at

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, U.S.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Harold M. 1896 births 1972 deaths People from Chippewa County, Michigan University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni United States Naval Academy alumni Military personnel from Michigan 20th-century American naval officers United States Naval Aviators Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal United States Navy vice admirals