Isaac Campbell Kidd (March 26, 1884 – December 7, 1941) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 rega ...

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 ...

. He was the father of Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, Jr. Kidd was killed on the bridge of during the Japanese

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

. The highest ranking casualty at Pearl Harbor, he became the first U.S. Navy

flag officer A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which the officer exercises command. The term is used differently in different countries: *In many countries ...

killed in action in World War II as well as the first killed in action against any foreign enemy. He was a

posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' ...

recipient of his nation's highest military honor—the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of val ...

. A , , was commissioned in his honor on April 23, 1943. The second ship named after him, , lead ship of four s, was commissioned on March 27, 1981. An

guided missile destroyer A guided-missile destroyer (DDG) is a destroyer whose primary armament is guided missiles so they can provide anti-aircraft warfare screening for the fleet. The NATO standard designation for these vessels is DDG, while destroyers who have a prim ...

, , was the third ship named after him and was commissioned on June 9, 2007.

Early years and military service

Kidd was born in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

, in 1884. He entered the

U.S. 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 is ...

in 1902, graduating with the Class of 1906 in February of that year. He was commissioned an ensign in 1908. Kidd participated in the 1907–1909

Great White Fleet The Great White Fleet was the popular nickname for the group of United States Navy battleships which completed a journey around the globe from December 16, 1907 to February 22, 1909 by order of President Theodore Roosevelt. Its mission was ...

cruise around the world while serving on the

battleship A battleship is a large armour, armored warship with a main artillery battery, battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1 ...

. Following service on the battleship and

armored cruiser The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast eno ...

, Kidd became the Aide and Flag Secretary to the Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet, the first of his many flagstaff assignments. He was an instructor at the

in 1916–1917. During and after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Kidd was stationed on , and then he had further staff and Naval Academy service. He was the executive officer of the battleship in 1925–1926, then commanded the Navy transport until becoming the Captain of the Port at Cristóbal,

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the ter ...

from 1927 to 1930. Promoted to the rank of captain, he was the Chief of Staff to the Commander, Base Force,

United States Fleet The United States Fleet was an organization in the United States Navy from 1922 until after World War II. The acronym CINCUS, pronounced "sink us", was used for Commander in Chief, United States Fleet. This was replaced by COMINCH in December 1941 ...

in 1930–1932. After three years at the

Bureau of Navigation The Bureau of Navigation, later the Bureau of Navigation and Steamboat Inspection and finally the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation — not to be confused with the United States Navys Bureau of Navigation — was an agency of the United ...

in Washington, D.C., he was the Commander of Destroyer Squadron One,

Scouting Force 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 ...

, in 1935–1936, stationed in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

. The Kidd family resided in a downtown Long Beach apartment building. During the Japanese

on December 7, 1941, Rear Admiral Kidd was the Commander of Battleship Division One and the Chief of Staff and Aide to the Commander, Battleship Battle Force. At his first knowledge of the attack, he rushed to the bridge of , his

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the ...

, and "courageously discharged his duties as Senior Officer Present Afloat until ''Arizona'' blew up from a

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

explosion and a direct bomb hit on the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...

which resulted in the loss of his life." Kidd's body was never recovered and to this day he is considered

missing in action Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been killed, wounded, captured, ex ...

. U.S. Navy salvage divers located his Naval Academy ring fused to a bulkhead on ''Arizona''s bridge. A trunk containing his personal memorabilia was found in the wreck and sent to his widow. Rediscovered in the attic by his children, both the trunk and its contents are now displayed in the museum at the USS ''Arizona'' Memorial.

Awards and decorations

Admiral Kidd

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication Posthumous publication refers to material that is published after the author's death. This can be because the auth ...

received the

and the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

. His other awards include the

Army of Cuban Pacification Medal The Cuban Pacification Medal (Army) is a military award of the United States Army which was created by orders of the United States War Department on May 11, 1909. The medal was created to recognize service during the United States occupation of ...

, Mexican Service Medal, World War I Victory Medal with Atlantic Fleet Clasp,

American Defense Service Medal The American Defense Service Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces, established by , by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, on June 28, 1941. The medal was intended to recognize those military service members who had served ...

with Fleet Clasp, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with one bronze battle star for Pearl Harbor (posthumous), and the

World War II Victory Medal The World War II Victory Medal is a service medal of the United States military which was established by an Act of Congress on 6 July 1945 (Public Law 135, 79th Congress) and promulgated by Section V, War Department Bulletin 12, 1945. The Wo ...

(posthumous).

Medal of Honor citation

For conspicuous devotion to duty, extraordinary courage, and complete disregard of his own life, during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, by Japanese Forces on December 7, 1941. He immediately went to the bridge and as Commander Battleship Division ONE, courageously discharged his duties as Senior Officer Present Afloat until the , his Flagship, blew up from magazine explosions and a direct bomb hit on the bridge, which resulted in the loss of his life.

Namesake and relations

*Three

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 o ...

destroyers have been named in Admiral Kidd's honor. See . *Kidd's son

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 ...

Isaac C. Kidd, Jr., served in the US Navy from December 19, 1941 to 1978, eventually serving as Commander-in-Chief of the

U.S. Atlantic Fleet The United States Fleet Forces Command (USFF) is a service component command of the United States Navy that provides naval forces to a wide variety of U.S. forces. The naval resources may be allocated to Combatant Commanders such as United Sta ...

. *Kidd's grandson is the Navy

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Isaac C. Kidd III. * Camp Kidd *Admiral Kidd Park in

West Long Beach West Long Beach (or "the Westside") is a working-class neighborhood in Long Beach, California. It is the westernmost part of Long Beach, separated from the rest of the city by the Long Beach Freeway (Interstate 710) and the Los Angeles River ...

, California, dedicated to Kidd by the Long Beach City Council on March 25, 1942

References

: : * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kidd, Isaac Campbell 1884 births 1941 deaths United States Navy personnel killed in World War II Deaths by Japanese airstrikes during the attack on Pearl Harbor United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients Military personnel from Cleveland United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy rear admirals (upper half) United States Navy World War II admirals Deaths by airstrike during World War II World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor United States Navy personnel of World War I Missing in action of World War II Captains who went down with the ship

Early years and military service

Awards and decorations

Medal of Honor citation

Namesake and relations

See also

References