Harvey Edward Overesch (January 20, 1893 – January 20, 1973) was a Vice admiral in the

U.S. 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 of ...

and

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player. A native of

Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, whi ...

, Overesch attended

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

for two years before enrolling as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

at 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 ...

. He played at the

end End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: ** End (category theory) ** End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron footbal ...

positions for the

Navy Midshipmen football The Navy Midshipmen football team represents the United States Naval Academy in NCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) college football. The Naval Academy completed its final season as an FBS independent school (not in a conference) i ...

team. In December 1913, he was elected as the captain of the 1914 Navy football team. He was also selected as a third-team All-American by

Walter Camp Walter Chauncey Camp (April 7, 1859 – March 14, 1925) was an American football player, coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". Among a long list of inventions, he created the sport's line of scrimmage and the system ...

in 1914. Overesch also competed for Navy's basketball team and on its eight-oared crew. He won the Navy Athletic Association sword in 1915 for "greatest personal excellence in athletics" in the Academy's Class of 1915. He was given the nickname "Swede" at the Naval Academy. Overesch became a career officer in the U.S. Navy, attaining the rank of vice admiral. In November 1937, he was serving as a naval attache in

Shanghai, China Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

, when Japanese forces attacked the city. Overesch provided the Associated Press with his first-hand account of watching the battle from the upper floors of a Chinese teahouse with the nearest fighting less than 50 yards away. Overesch served for three years with the Pacific Fleet from 1939 to 1942. In May 1942, Overesch returned to Annapolis as the athletic director of the U.S. Naval Academy. In June 1942, Overesch was appointed as the Commandant of Midshipmen at the Naval Academy. He served as Commandant until December 1943, at which time Overesch was assigned to sea duty. He was the commander of the heavy cruiser from 1944 to March 1945. In June 1944, the ''San Francisco'' under Overesch's command participated in the naval battle known as the Marianas Turkey Shoot. In 1951, Overesch was appointed by Director of Central Intelligence, General

Walter Bedell Smith General Walter Bedell "Beetle" Smith (5 October 1895 – 9 August 1961) was a senior officer of the United States Army who served as General Dwight D. Eisenhower's chief of staff at Allied Forces Headquarters (AFHQ) during the Tunisia Campaign ...

to serve as CIA Commander, Far East Command ("FECOM"). By He served at Pershing Heights, Tokyo, Japan as Chief CIA North Asian Command overseeing covert operations in mainland China, Japan, Hong Kong, North and South Korea, Taiwan, Okinawa, and the Philippines. He served in Japan until 1955, when he was transferred the United States Embassy in London. Overesch was married to Emily Forman of Baltimore. He died on January 20, 1973.

Decorations

Vice Admiral Harvey Overesch's ribbon bar:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Overesch, Harvey 1893 births 1973 deaths Navy Midshipmen athletic directors Navy Midshipmen football players United States Navy admirals United States Navy World War II admirals United States Navy personnel of World War I United States Naval Academy alumni Recipients of the Legion of Merit Sportspeople from Lafayette, Indiana

Decorations

See also

References