Vice Admiral Paul David Stroop (30 October 1904 – 17 May 1995) was an officer of 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 ...

and a

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 ...

. He held numerous high-ranking staff positions in aviation from the 1930s onward, including

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 ...

service on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, he held various sea commands. From 1959 to 1962, he oversaw the development of the Navy's aerial weapons, including early

guided missiles In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket i ...

, as chief of the

Bureau of Naval Weapons The Bureau of Naval Weapons (BuWeps) was part of the United States Navy's material organization between 1959 and 1966, with responsibility for procurement and support of naval aircraft and aerial weapons, as well as shipboard and submarine naval we ...

. During the later 1960s, he commanded Naval air forces in the Pacific.

Biography

Early life and career

Stroop was born in

Zanesville, Ohio Zanesville is a city in and the county seat of Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. It is located east of Columbus and had a population of 24,765 as of the 2020 census, down from 25,487 as of the 2010 census. Historically the state capita ...

, but grew up in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

. He 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 1926, then spent the next two years on board the battleship . In 1928, he served as a member of U.S. gymnastic team at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

Naval aviation assignments

From 1928 to 1929, Stroop received flight training at

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 ...

, Florida, and in 1929 received his wings as a

. His first aviation assignment was with Torpedo Squadron 9, based at

NAS Norfolk Naval Station Norfolk is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, that is the headquarters and home port of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Forces Command. The installation occupies about of waterfront space and of pier and wharf space of the Hamp ...

, Virginia. In 1932 he was transferred to Patrol Squadron 10, also based at Norfolk. From 1932 to 1934, he undertook postgraduate work at the Naval Academy. After completing his studies, he returned to Fleet assignments. He served from 1934 to 1936 with Bombing Squadron 5, aboard the carrier . From 1936 to 1937, he was Senior Aviator aboard the cruiser . In 1937, Stroop gained his first experience in the Naval Aviation material establishment when he was assigned to the Navy's

Bureau of Aeronautics The Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) was the U.S. Navy's material-support organization for naval aviation from 1921 to 1959. The bureau had "cognizance" (''i.e.'', responsibility) for the design, procurement, and support of naval aircraft and relate ...

(BuAer). He left BuAer in 1940 to join the staff of Admiral

Aubrey Fitch Aubrey Wray Fitch (June 11, 1883 – May 22, 1978) was an admiral of the United States Navy during World War II. A naval aviator, he held important aviation-related commands both at sea and on shore from the 1920s onward. He also served as ...

, commander of Patrol Wing 2, based at

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

, Hawaii. In 1940, Stroop became Flag Officer and Tactical Officer of Carrier Division 1 at San Diego.

World War II

After the United States entry into World War II, Stroop was transferred to Pearl Harbor. In 1942, he joined the staff of the Carrier Task Force, aboard at Pearl Harbor. From 1942 to 1943, he served as Planning Officer to the Senior Naval Commander, Air Force, South Pacific. He next gained his own command, serving from 1943 to 1944 as Commanding Officer of the

seaplane tender A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...

. Stroop spent the last months of the war in Washington, D.C., serving from 1944 to 1945 in the Navy Department as Aviation Plans Officer on the Staff of Fleet 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 ...

, the

Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the professional head of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the secretary of the Navy. In a separate capacity as a memb ...

and Commander in Chief,

U.S. 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 this capacity, Stroop attended the

Yalta Yalta (: Я́лта) is a resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Crimea ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, and

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

Conferences, later making a trip around the world to inform commands of outcome of the Yalta Conference.

Post-war activities

In 1945, Stroop left the Navy Department to become Commanding Officer of the

escort carrier The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slow type of aircraft ...

. He served as Fleet Aviation Officer (later Chief of Staff, Operations), in the

Fifth Fleet The Fifth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It has been responsible for naval forces in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean since 1995 after a 48-year hiatus. It shares a commander and headq ...

, based at Yokosuka, Japan, from 1945 to 1946, and then as Aviation Officer (later Assistant Chief of Staff) Operations to the Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet (

CINCPACFLT Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet (COMPACFLT), is the title of the United States Navy officer who commands the United States Pacific Fleet (USPACFLT). Originally established in 1907 as a two-star rear admiral's billet, the position has been held ...

), at Pearl Harbor, in 1946-1948. From 1948 to 1950, Stroop served as Executive Officer at the Navy's General Line School in

Monterey, California Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bo ...

, then again took up his own studies as a student at the

National War College The National War College (NWC) of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National War Colle ...

at Washington, D.C., in 1950-1951. In 1951, Stroop became Commanding Officer of the carrier in the Sea of Japan 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 ...

. Then, in 1952, he assumed command of the , and was promoted to rear admiral. In 1953, he left the ''Essex'' to become Commanding Officer of the Naval Ordnance Test Station, China Lake,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. From 1953 to 1955, he was Senior Member of the Weapons Systems Evaluation Group, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Department, Washington. From 1955 to 1957, he served as Deputy Chief at the

Bureau of Ordnance The Bureau of Ordnance (BuOrd) was a United States Navy organization, which was responsible for the procurement, storage, and deployment of all naval weapons, between the years 1862 and 1959. History Congress established the Bureau in the Departmen ...

(BuOrd). From 1957 to 1958, he was Commanding Officer of the Taiwan Patrol Force based at Okinawa, Japan. From 1959 to 1962 he was Chief of the

. Stroop served from 1962 to 1965 as Commanding Officer of the Naval Air Force, Pacific Fleet (

COMNAVAIRPAC Commander, Naval Air Forces ( COMNAVAIRFOR, and CNAF; and dual-hatted as Commander, Naval Air Force, Pacific, and COMNAVAIRPAC) is the aviation Type Commander (TYCOM) for all United States Navy naval aviation units. Type Commanders are in Admini ...

), and as Commanding Officer,

First Fleet The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command ...

, Air PAC, with the rank of vice admiral. He retired in 1965. After his retirement to the

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

area, he was a consultant to

Ryan Aeronautical The Ryan Aeronautical Company was founded by T. Claude Ryan in San Diego, California, in 1934. It became part of Teledyne in 1969, and of Northrop Grumman when the latter company purchased Ryan in 1999. Ryan built several historically and tech ...

and Teledyne Ryan of San Diego until 1992. Stroop died at the Coronado Hospital in

Coronado, California Coronado (Spanish for "Crowned") is a resort city located in San Diego County, California, United States, across the San Diego Bay from downtown San Diego. It was founded in the 1880s and incorporated in 1890. Its population was 24,697 at the ...

, on 17 May 1995, aged 90.

Personal life

Stroop was married to Esther Holscher Stroop from 1926 until her death in 1982. He was survived by his second wife, Kay Roeder Stroop; his two sons, two daughters, three stepdaughters, a stepson, 13 grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren. Stroop is buried at

Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery is a federal military cemetery in the city of San Diego, California. It is located on the grounds of the former Army coastal artillery station Fort Rosecrans and is administered by the United States Department o ...

References

* Grossnick, Roy et al. "Part 8: The New Navy 1954-1959." ''United States Naval Aviation 1910-1995." 4th edition. Washington, D.C.: Naval Historical Center, 1997. Online. Naval Historical Center. Viewed 24 February 2006
http://www.history.navy.mil/avh-1910/PART08.PDF
* "Stroop, Paul D., VADM, USN, 1904-1995". in ''A GUIDE TO ARCHIVES, MANUSCRIPTS AND ORAL HISTORIES IN THE NAVAL HISTORICAL COLLECTION''. Naval War College, Newport, R.I. 2001. Compiled by Evelyn M. Cherpak, Ph.D. Online. 2001. Naval War College. Viewed 24 February 2006
https://web.archive.org/web/20051230173634/http://www.nwc.navy.mil/library/3Publications/NWCLibraryPublications/NavHistCollPubs/NHC%20Guide.doc
ource of biographical data ''It also contains public-domain information collected from the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associat ...

, an institution of the United States government.''

External links

China Lake Military Leadership
- from the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, China Lake {{DEFAULTSORT:Stroop 1904 births 1995 deaths People from Zanesville, Ohio American people of Dutch descent United States Naval Academy alumni Gymnasts at the 1928 Summer Olympics Olympic gymnasts for the United States United States Naval Aviators United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy personnel of the Korean War United States Navy admirals Recipients of the Legion of Merit Burials at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery