Admiral James Fife Jr. (January 22, 1897 – November 1, 1975) 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 ...

admiral who was promoted to four-star rank after retirement as a "tombstone admiral".

Biography

Fife graduated from 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 1918 and served in both World War I and World War II in submarines and surface combatants. Prior to the Second World War, he served aboard and , and was commanding officer of , and . In addition to his service on submarines, he also served on the battleship and the destroyers and from 1923 until May 1935. When the U. S. entered World War II, Admiral Fife was Chief of Staff of Submarine Squadron 20 in the

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 ...

(part of the

Asiatic Fleet The United States Asiatic Fleet was a fleet of the United States Navy during much of the first half of the 20th century. Before World War II, the fleet patrolled the Philippine Islands. Much of the fleet was destroyed by the Japanese by Februar ...

under Admiral T. C. Hart). After the squadron was dissolved into Submarines, Asiatic Fleet, he served as Chief of Staff to Admiral Hart until May 1942. About this time he and Captain J. E. Wilkes, his former squadron commander, were instrumental in identifying several deficiencies of the submarine force, especially the difficulties with the

Mark 14 torpedo The Mark 14 torpedo was the United States Navy's standard submarine-launched anti-ship torpedo of World War II. This weapon was plagued with many problems which crippled its performance early in the war. It was supplemented by the Mark 18 elec ...

and the

Hooven-Owens-Rentschler The firm of Hooven, Owens, Rentschler, and Company manufactured steam and diesel engines in Hamilton, Ohio. Because the firm was frequently known by its initials, H.O.R., the ''Hooven'' is sometimes incorrectly rendered as ''Hoover'', and the '' ...

diesel engine. Fife would later conduct some of the experiments that isolated the Mark 14 torpedo's defective components in cooperation with Rear Admiral

Charles A. Lockwood Charles Andrews Lockwood (May 6, 1890 – June 6, 1967) was a vice-admiral and flag officer of the United States Navy. He is known in submarine history as the commander of ComSubPac, Submarine Force Pacific Fleet during World War II. He devised ...

, then Commander, Submarines, Southwest Pacific. In late 1942 he served with

General MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...

as the representative of Admiral A. S. Carpender during the

Buna campaign Buna may refer to: Places * Buna village, a small Bosnia and Herzegovina village at the confluence of the Buna and Neretva rivers * Buna, Kenya, captured by Italy in the East African Campaign * Bouna, Ivory Coast or Buna * Buna, Papua New Guinea ...

. Following this he commanded the submarines of Task Force 42 (later Task Force 72) in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, where he meticulously planned and directed his submarines' missions. In 1944 Admiral Fife transferred to the staff of Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet (

COMINCH 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 ...

)

Admiral Ernest J. King Ernest Joseph King (23 November 1878 – 25 June 1956) was an American naval officer who served as Commander in Chief, United States Fleet (COMINCH) and Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) during World War II. As COMINCH-CNO, he directed the Un ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

as a war planner. Admiral Fife was awarded the

Navy Distinguished Service Medal The Navy Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps which was first created in 1919 and is presented to sailors and Marines to recognize distinguished and exceptionally meritoriou ...

for meritorious service as the Chief of Staff to Commander Submarines, Asiatic Fleet, the

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

(by the Army), and a Gold Star in lieu of a second Distinguished Service Medal for action in the Pacific area. At the close of 1944 he returned to Australia as Commander, Submarines, Seventh Fleet; Commander, U.S. Naval Forces,

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

, Western Australia; and Commander Task Force 71. As a result, he was awarded a Gold Star in lieu of a third Distinguished Service Medal. From April 1947 until 1950, he commanded the Submarine Force, Atlantic Fleet (

COMSUBLANT Commander, Submarine Force Atlantic (COMSUBLANT) is the Submarine Force U.S. Atlantic Fleet type commander under the United States Fleet Forces Command. The principal responsibility of the Admiral commanding is to operate, maintain, train, and eq ...

). This assignment was followed by duty as Assistant Chief, and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Operations). His final assignment before retirement was as U. S. Naval Commander in Chief, Mediterranean, under Admiral

Mountbatten The Mountbatten family is a British dynasty that originated as an English branch of the German princely Battenberg family. The name was adopted on 14 July 1917, three days before the British royal family changed its name to “Windsor”, by ...

, Royal Navy. Fife retired from the Navy in August 1955, and was promoted upon retirement to full admiral. In retirement he served as the Director of

Mystic Seaport Mystic Seaport Museum or Mystic Seaport: The Museum of America and the Sea in Mystic, Connecticut is the largest maritime museum in the United States. It is notable for its collection of sailing ships and boats and for the re-creation of the craf ...

museum in

Stonington, Connecticut The town of Stonington is located in New London County, Connecticut in the state's southeastern corner. It includes the borough of Stonington (borough), Connecticut, Stonington, the villages of Pawcatuck, Connecticut, Pawcatuck, Lords Point, and W ...

. During his tenure at Mystic Seaport he oversaw a great expansion of the museum's exhibits and the refloating of the historic whaling ship Charles W. Morgan. He died in 1975 and was buried in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

Legacy

Fife bequeathed his estate in Stonington to the U.S. Navy, which turned it into a recreational area. The park is located at 571 Stonington Road (U.S. Route 1). A commemorative plaque is located on the property.Commemorative Plaque
/ref> Fife Hall, a navigation training facility at

Naval Submarine Base New London Naval Submarine Base New London is the primary United States Navy East Coast submarine base, also known as the "Home of the Submarine Force." It is located in Groton, Connecticut directly across the Thames River from its namesake city of New Lon ...

is named in his honor. The (DD-991), commissioned 31 May 1980 and decommissioned in 2003, was named in his honor.

Awards

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 ...

with two gold stars *

Yangtze Service Medal The Yangtze Service Medal is a decoration of the United States military which was created in 1930 for presentation to members of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps (and to a lesser extent, members of the United States Army). Th ...

* Victory Medal *

American Campaign Medal The American Campaign Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had perfo ...

* Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal * World War Two Victory Medal *

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fife, James United States Navy admirals United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy personnel of World War I United States Navy World War II admirals 1897 births 1975 deaths People from Reno, Nevada Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal Military personnel from Nevada

Biography

Legacy

Awards

See also

References