John Joseph Hyland Jr (September 1, 1912 – October 15, 1998) was an 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 ...

who commanded the

U.S. 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� ...

from 1967–1970. A naval aviator, he was a champion of the aircraft carrier.

Biography

Hyland was born in 1912 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, the son of a naval officer. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1934 and completed naval aviation training in 1937. Posted to 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 ...

, he was located there when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor to begin US involvement in

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 opposing ...

. He participated in the defense of the Philippines, and the subsequent Allied withdrawal to Australia, winning the Distinguished Flying Cross for rescuing a British airman in the

Molucca Sea The Molucca Sea (Indonesian: ''Laut Maluku'') is located in the western Pacific Ocean, around the vicinity of Indonesia, specifically bordered by the Indonesian Islands of Celebes (Sulawesi) to the west, Halmahera to the east, and the Sula Islan ...

. He then became the personal pilot of Admiral

Ernest 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 U ...

, then Chief of Naval Operations. Upon returning to the Pacific Theater in 1943, he took command of an air squadron based on . He participated in numerous operations, earning a Silver Star for leading a ground attack against the Japanese at

Kure is a port and major shipbuilding city situated on the Seto Inland Sea in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. With a strong industrial and naval heritage, Kure hosts the second-oldest naval dockyard in Japan and remains an important base for the Japan ...

on March 19, 1945, and another Distinguished Flying Cross and 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 ...

for other missions against the Japanese. Admirals Hyland, McCain, Moorer, Holmes 1968

After the war, he served stints as a

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

, then took command of the carrier in 1958.USS Saratoga (CV-60) History and Background
" www.saratogamuseum.org Retrieved July 22, 2011. He later commanded Carrier Division Four, then moved to a staff position at the Strategic Plans Division in

Washington DC ) , 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, ...

. In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson selected him ahead of 72 more senior rear admirals for promotion and command of the US Seventh Fleet, then operating off

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

and heavily involved in US operations there. Hyland commanded the fleet for nearly two years before being promoted again and taking command of the entire Pacific Fleet in 1967, a four star billet. He played a central role, not only in ongoing operations in Vietnam, but also in two major incidents during this time: the fallout of the capture of by

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

, and the fatal accident and fire on USS ''Enterprise''. Admiral Hyland retired on January 1, 1971. In retirement, he maintained an interest in naval aviation, served in business directorships, and settled in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

. He was married to the former Florence Day Whiting, who died in 1991; they had four children: sons John J. Hyland III and Whiting Walker Hyland and daughters Nancy Arnold and Pamela Hyland.

Awards

A non-exhaustive list of military awards is as follows: Admiral Hyland was also granted the John Paul Jones Award for leadership by the Navy League in 1966.

References

External links

Citations for Admiral Hyland's awards from the Military Times
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hyland, John 1912 births 1998 deaths United States Naval Academy alumni United States Naval Aviators United States Navy admirals Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Burials in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific