Posted on May 6, 2019
William Daniel Leahy, Fleet Admiral, United States Navy
1.92K
37
11
14
14
0
On May 6, 1875, William D. Leahy, American Admiral and Chief of Staff (1949), born in Hampton, Iowa (d. 1959). From the article:
"William Daniel Leahy, Fleet Admiral, United States Navy
William Daniel Leahy
Fleet Admiral, United States Navy William Daniel Leahy was born in Hampton, Iowa, on May 6, 1875. His father, Michael Leahy, a lawyer, had been Captain of Wisconsin Infantry Volunteers during the Civil War. Young Leahy originally hoped to attend West Point, but there were no appointments available. When he completed high school in Ashland, Wisconsin, in 1893, he was able to win an appointment to the Naval Academy. He graduated in 1897, 15th in a class of 47.
Midshipman Leahy was assigned to USS Oregon, then in the Pacific. He was in that battleship when she made her famous dash around the horn in the Spring of 1898 to participate in the battle of Santiago on July 3.
Having completed the two years' sea duty -- then required by law -- he was commissioned Ensign on 01 July 1899. At that time, he was on the Asiatic Station, where, during the Philippine Insurrection and the Boxer uprising in China, he served in USS Castine, USS Glacier and commanded the gunboat USS Mariveles. He returned to the United States in 1902, and for the next five years did duty in USS Tacoma and USS Boston which was stationed in Panama during the early period of construction of the canal.
His first shore cruise was at the Naval Academy. Beginning in 1907, he served as instructor in the Department of Physics and Chemistry for two years. He went to sea in 1909 and served as navigator of the armed cruiser USS California in the Pacific Fleet. During the American Occupation of Nicaragua in 1912, he was Chief of Staff to the Commander Naval Forces there.
Late in 1912, he came ashore in Washington as Assistant Director of Gunnery Exercises and Engineering Competitions. In 1913, he was assigned to the Bureau of Navigation as a detail officer where he served until 1915. At that time, he took command of the dispatch gunboat USS Dolphin, and established a very close friendship with the then-Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt, who cruised with him on the ship. He was in that assignment in early 1917 in West Indian waters and had additional duty as Senior Aide on the Staff of Commander Squadron Three of the Patrol Force Atlantic Fleet.
He served for almost a year as the Executive Officer of USS Nevada and in April 1918 went to command USS Princess Matoika, formerly Princess Alice , transporting troops to France.
After a short cruise in that command, he came ashore in 1918 and served for three years as director of Gunnery Exercises and Engineering Competition in the Navy Department, and as senior member of the Fire Control Board. In 1921, he went to sea in command of USS St. Louis, flagship of the Naval Detachment in Turkish waters during the war between Turkey and Greece. At the end of that war, he was given command of Mine Squadron One, and in 1922 further additional duty as commander, Control Force.
When he returned to the U.S. and from 1923 to 1926, he served as Director of Officer Personnel in the Bureau of Navigation, and then had one year in command of the battleship USS New Mexico. In 1927, he reached flag rank and became Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance. After almost four years, he went to sea in 1931 as Commander Destroyers Scouting Force.
In 1933, he came ashore in Washington as Chief of the Bureau of Navigation for two years, when he went to sea as a vice admiral, and Commander Battleships Battle Force. In 1936, he hoisted his four-star flag in USS California and Commander in Chief Battle Force.
He was appointed Chief of Naval Operations, took the oath of office in January 1937 to serve until August 1939 when he was placed on the retired list. On that occasion, President Roosevelt said "Bill, if we have a war, you're going to be right back here helping me run it."
Immediately following his retirement, Admiral Leahy was assigned the duties of Governor of Puerto Rico in September 1939. He served in that capacity until November 1940 when he was appointed U.S. Ambassador to France where he served from January 1941 until recalled in May 1942.
In July of that year, he was called back to active duty as Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief, U.S. Army and Navy, the President of the United States. As such, he presided over the Joint Chiefs of Staff and, when our country was host, over the combined Chiefs. In December 1944, he accepted the appointment and was confirmed as the newly created rank of Fleet Admiral.
On 25 March 1949, the President accepted his resignation from that assignment. He continued on duty in an advisory capacity in the office of the Secretary of the Navy, and served as President of the Naval Historical foundation.
He died on 20 July 1959.
PROMOTIONS
Graduated from the Naval Academy - Class of 1897
Ensign - 01 July 1899
Lieutenant (junior grade) - 01 July 1902
Lieutenant - 31 Dec. 1903
Lieutenant Commander - 15 Sept. 1909
Commander - 29 Aug. 1916
Captain - 01 July 1918
Rear Admiral - 14 Oct. 1927
Vice Admiral - 13 July 1935
Admiral - 02 Jan. 1937
Fleet Admiral - 15 Dec. 1944
DECORATIONS and AWARDS
Navy Cross
Distinguished Service Medal with two gold stars
Sampson Medal
Spanish Campaign Medal
Philippine Campaign Medal
Nicaraguan Campaign Medal (1912)
Mexican Service Medal
Dominican Campaign Medal
World War I Victory Medal with "Overseas" clasp
American Campaign Medal
World War II Victory Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Former Chief of Naval Operations
Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy
Special Military Funeral
20-23 July 1959
Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy, former Chief of Naval Operations and personal Chief of Staff to Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman from 1942 to 1949, died at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, on 20 July 1959 at the age of eighty-four. He was given a Special Military Funeral on 23 July.
Under policies published the year before Admiral Leahy died, the service of which he was a member was responsible for coordinating arrangements for the Special Military Funeral. In this instance the responsibility rested with the Commandant of the Potomac River Naval Command, Rear Admiral Elonzo B. Grantham, Jr. Dignitaries asked to participate in or attend the ceremonies received invitations from the Secretary of the Navy; the Office of the Chief of Naval Personnel dispatched these invitations and recorded the responses.
The ceremonies planned by Admiral Grantham and his staff, with due regard for the wishes of Rear Admiral William H. Leahy, son of the fleet admiral, followed, with one exception, the general prescriptions for a Special Military Funeral. The body of Admiral Leahy was to lie in Bethlehem Chapel at the Washington National Cathedral from noon on 22 July until the same hour on the 23d; the funeral service was to be held in the nave of the cathedral at 1400 on 23 July; and burial was to take place in Arlington National Cemetery. The gravesite was in Section 2, about midway between Memorial Gate and the Memorial Amphitheater.
The exception to the prescribed ceremonies had to do with the formation of the main funeral procession, an exception for which there was precedent in the recent funeral for Deputy Secretary of Defense Donald A. Quarles. In the 1958 plan, the main procession for a funeral in which burial was to take place in Arlington National Cemetery was to form at Constitution Avenue and 15th Street, N.W., in Washington. The body was to be brought to this point by hearse from the place where the funeral service had been held, transferred to a caisson, and taken to Arlington National Cemetery in full procession. But in the ceremonies for Admiral Leahy, as in the funeral for Secretary Quarles, a motorized cortege was to take the body of the admiral from the Washington National Cathedral to the Memorial Gate of the cemetery. The casket was to be transferred from hearse to caisson at that point in the presence of a military escort standing in formation on the lawn nearby. The full procession was then to enter the cemetery and proceed to the gravesite for the burial service.
On 22 July the body of Admiral Leahy was placed in Bethlehem Chapel of Washington National Cathedral. A Navy ceremonial guard from the US Naval Air Station in Anacostia, D.C., formed the honor cordon and provided the personal flag bearer. The body bearers were a joint group of ten enlisted men, two each from the Military District of Washington, Headquarters Command of the Air Force at Bolling Air Force Base, Coast Guard headquarters in Washington, Marine Barracks in Washington, and the Naval Station. One of the two men from the Naval Station was the petty officer in charge of the group. Each of these agencies also provided one officer and nine men for the guard of honor to stand watch for the twenty-four hours that the body was to lie in Bethlehem Chapel.
Composing a special honor guard were General Lyman L. Lemnitzer, Army Chief of Staff; Admiral Arleigh A. Burke, Chief of Naval Operations; General Curtis E. LeMay, Air Force Vice Chief of Staff, who represented the Chief of Staff; General Thomas D. White; General Randolph M. Pate, Commandant of the Marine Corps; Rear Adm. James A. Hirshfield, Assistant Commandant of the Coast Guard; and General Nathan F. Twining, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Eleven friends of Admiral Leahy, one of whom was an academy classmate, served as honorary pallbearers. Officer escorts for the honorary pallbearers were furnished by the Naval Intelligence School at the US Naval Air Station in Anacostia.
According to protocol, announcements of the funeral service for Admiral Leahy, which in effect were invitations to attend, were sent to all branches and principal agencies of the federal government and to the diplomatic corps. Invitations also were extended to all active and retired admirals of the Navy and Coast Guard, all active and retired generals of the Marine Corps, and all active generals of the Army and Air Force living in the Washington area. Among friends and associates of Admiral Leahy invited to attend, including those asked to serve as honorary pallbearers, those residing outside Washington received invitations by telegram. The honorary pallbearers were Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz; Admiral Thomas C. Hart (retired) ; Admiral Charles P. Snyder (retired) ; Admiral Louis E. Denfeld (retired) ; Admiral Arthur W. Radford (retired) ; Admiral Jerauld Wright; Admiral Robert L. Dennison; Vice Adm. Edward L. Cochrane (retired) ; Rear Adm. Henry Williams (retired) ; Rear Adm. Joseph H. Wellings; and William D. Hassett.
Two Navy agencies located in the Washington area, the Navy Communication Station and the Naval Security Station, furnished officers and men to usher guests to their seats for the funeral service. The service itself was conducted by a Navy chaplain, Capt. John B. Zimmerman.
Following the short service at 1400 on 23 July, a motorized cortege formed outside the cathedral to escort the body of Admiral Leahy to Arlington National Cemetery. As the body bearers carried the casket out of the cathedral and through the Navy honor cordon to the hearse, the US Marine Band, in formation near the honor cordon, sounded ruffles and flourishes and played a hymn.
The cortege moved to the Memorial Gate of Arlington National Cemetery by way of Woodley Road, 34th Street, Massachusetts Avenue, Rock Creek Parkway, Memorial Bridge, and Memorial Drive. (Diagram 35) The military escort of some 550 officers and men, commanded by Admiral Grantham, stood on line on the green at the gate, facing the cortege as the motor column approached on Memorial Drive. In addition to the commander and a staff of four, one field grade officer or the equivalent from the Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard, the escort consisted of the US Navy Band and a company each from the Army (3d Infantry), Marine Corps (Marine Barracks), Navy (Navy Air Station), Air Force (Headquarters Command), and Coast Guard (Coast Guard headquarters). Each company had four officers and eighty-five men and was organized with a company commander, guidon bearer, and three platoons, each consisting of a platoon commander, right guide, and three nine-man squads. Also present at the gate were the national color detail of three men, an Army color bearer and one color guard each from the Marine Corps and Air Force, and a personal color bearer from the Navy.
On the street in front of the escort and facing south toward Roosevelt Drive in the cemetery were the caisson and caisson detail, furnished by the 3d Infantry, and the body bearers, who along with the color detail had come from the cathedral by a separate route in order to reach Memorial Gate ahead of the cortege.
When the motorcade reached the gate, the vehicles carrying the special honor guard and the clergy halted on the left side of the street. The others lined up on the right, with the family cars and those bearing the honorary pallbearers and dignitaries at the front. (Diagram 36) After the cortege was in place, the hearse was driven to a position at the left and slightly ahead of the caisson. As the Navy Band sounded ruffles and flourishes and played a hymn, the body bearers removed Admiral Leahy's casket from the hearse, which was then driven away, and placed it on the caisson. After this brief ceremony, the escort commander led the procession into the cemetery.
From a distant position in the cemetery, the saluting battery of the 3d Infantry fired a slow-paced 19-gun salute as the procession marched to the gravesite. The escort units moved via Roosevelt and Wilson Drives, then turned right and marched off the roadway across the grass to McClellan Drive. Moving on McClellan to a point almost due south of the gravesite, the escort units formed on line along the edge of the road facing north toward the grave. In front of them, on the grass between McClellan and Sheridan Drives, stood a squad ready to fire the traditional three volleys following the burial service.
The escort commander and the cortege continued on Wilson Drive, then turned right on Sheridan Drive, which passed immediately south of the gravesite. The clergy, caisson, and mourners halted on Sheridan, while the escort commander, special honor guard, and honorary pallbearers left their cars on a narrow unnamed roadway leading off Sheridan and passing north of the gravesite.
With the customary ceremony and honors, Admiral Leahy's casket was carried to the grave, where Chaplain Zimmerman read the burial service. A final cannon salute, the traditional three volleys, and the sounding of taps closed the final rites for the five-star admiral.
WD Leahy Time Magazine CoverWD Leahy Life Magazine Cover
Fleet Adm, USN. Born: Hampton, Iowa, May 6, 1875. Died: Jul 20, 1959. An American admiral and diplomat. He graduated from USNA in 1897 and served in the Spanish-American War and World War I. In 1937, Leahy became chief of naval operations but retired two years later and became governor of Puerto Rico. In 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt named Leahy ambassador to Vichy France. Recalled to naval service in 1942, he was chief of staff to Roosevelt and to Harry S. Truman until 1949. In 1944, Leahy became the first fleet (five-star) admiral. Bibliography: Leahy, William D., I Was There (1950). USNA. WWI Veteran. CNO, CoS to Franklin D. Roosevelt. Ret from active svce: 1946. Born: May 6, 1875. Died: Bethesda, Maryland, Jul 20, 1959. Section 2, Grave 932.
Louise Harrington, wife of William D. Leahy ( 1876-1942). LEAHY, WILLIAM DANIEL
FLT ADM USN
DATE OF BIRTH: 05/06/1875
DATE OF DEATH: 07/20/1959
BURIED AT: SECTION 2 SITE 932 WH
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY."
"William Daniel Leahy, Fleet Admiral, United States Navy
William Daniel Leahy
Fleet Admiral, United States Navy William Daniel Leahy was born in Hampton, Iowa, on May 6, 1875. His father, Michael Leahy, a lawyer, had been Captain of Wisconsin Infantry Volunteers during the Civil War. Young Leahy originally hoped to attend West Point, but there were no appointments available. When he completed high school in Ashland, Wisconsin, in 1893, he was able to win an appointment to the Naval Academy. He graduated in 1897, 15th in a class of 47.
Midshipman Leahy was assigned to USS Oregon, then in the Pacific. He was in that battleship when she made her famous dash around the horn in the Spring of 1898 to participate in the battle of Santiago on July 3.
Having completed the two years' sea duty -- then required by law -- he was commissioned Ensign on 01 July 1899. At that time, he was on the Asiatic Station, where, during the Philippine Insurrection and the Boxer uprising in China, he served in USS Castine, USS Glacier and commanded the gunboat USS Mariveles. He returned to the United States in 1902, and for the next five years did duty in USS Tacoma and USS Boston which was stationed in Panama during the early period of construction of the canal.
His first shore cruise was at the Naval Academy. Beginning in 1907, he served as instructor in the Department of Physics and Chemistry for two years. He went to sea in 1909 and served as navigator of the armed cruiser USS California in the Pacific Fleet. During the American Occupation of Nicaragua in 1912, he was Chief of Staff to the Commander Naval Forces there.
Late in 1912, he came ashore in Washington as Assistant Director of Gunnery Exercises and Engineering Competitions. In 1913, he was assigned to the Bureau of Navigation as a detail officer where he served until 1915. At that time, he took command of the dispatch gunboat USS Dolphin, and established a very close friendship with the then-Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt, who cruised with him on the ship. He was in that assignment in early 1917 in West Indian waters and had additional duty as Senior Aide on the Staff of Commander Squadron Three of the Patrol Force Atlantic Fleet.
He served for almost a year as the Executive Officer of USS Nevada and in April 1918 went to command USS Princess Matoika, formerly Princess Alice , transporting troops to France.
After a short cruise in that command, he came ashore in 1918 and served for three years as director of Gunnery Exercises and Engineering Competition in the Navy Department, and as senior member of the Fire Control Board. In 1921, he went to sea in command of USS St. Louis, flagship of the Naval Detachment in Turkish waters during the war between Turkey and Greece. At the end of that war, he was given command of Mine Squadron One, and in 1922 further additional duty as commander, Control Force.
When he returned to the U.S. and from 1923 to 1926, he served as Director of Officer Personnel in the Bureau of Navigation, and then had one year in command of the battleship USS New Mexico. In 1927, he reached flag rank and became Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance. After almost four years, he went to sea in 1931 as Commander Destroyers Scouting Force.
In 1933, he came ashore in Washington as Chief of the Bureau of Navigation for two years, when he went to sea as a vice admiral, and Commander Battleships Battle Force. In 1936, he hoisted his four-star flag in USS California and Commander in Chief Battle Force.
He was appointed Chief of Naval Operations, took the oath of office in January 1937 to serve until August 1939 when he was placed on the retired list. On that occasion, President Roosevelt said "Bill, if we have a war, you're going to be right back here helping me run it."
Immediately following his retirement, Admiral Leahy was assigned the duties of Governor of Puerto Rico in September 1939. He served in that capacity until November 1940 when he was appointed U.S. Ambassador to France where he served from January 1941 until recalled in May 1942.
In July of that year, he was called back to active duty as Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief, U.S. Army and Navy, the President of the United States. As such, he presided over the Joint Chiefs of Staff and, when our country was host, over the combined Chiefs. In December 1944, he accepted the appointment and was confirmed as the newly created rank of Fleet Admiral.
On 25 March 1949, the President accepted his resignation from that assignment. He continued on duty in an advisory capacity in the office of the Secretary of the Navy, and served as President of the Naval Historical foundation.
He died on 20 July 1959.
PROMOTIONS
Graduated from the Naval Academy - Class of 1897
Ensign - 01 July 1899
Lieutenant (junior grade) - 01 July 1902
Lieutenant - 31 Dec. 1903
Lieutenant Commander - 15 Sept. 1909
Commander - 29 Aug. 1916
Captain - 01 July 1918
Rear Admiral - 14 Oct. 1927
Vice Admiral - 13 July 1935
Admiral - 02 Jan. 1937
Fleet Admiral - 15 Dec. 1944
DECORATIONS and AWARDS
Navy Cross
Distinguished Service Medal with two gold stars
Sampson Medal
Spanish Campaign Medal
Philippine Campaign Medal
Nicaraguan Campaign Medal (1912)
Mexican Service Medal
Dominican Campaign Medal
World War I Victory Medal with "Overseas" clasp
American Campaign Medal
World War II Victory Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Former Chief of Naval Operations
Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy
Special Military Funeral
20-23 July 1959
Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy, former Chief of Naval Operations and personal Chief of Staff to Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman from 1942 to 1949, died at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, on 20 July 1959 at the age of eighty-four. He was given a Special Military Funeral on 23 July.
Under policies published the year before Admiral Leahy died, the service of which he was a member was responsible for coordinating arrangements for the Special Military Funeral. In this instance the responsibility rested with the Commandant of the Potomac River Naval Command, Rear Admiral Elonzo B. Grantham, Jr. Dignitaries asked to participate in or attend the ceremonies received invitations from the Secretary of the Navy; the Office of the Chief of Naval Personnel dispatched these invitations and recorded the responses.
The ceremonies planned by Admiral Grantham and his staff, with due regard for the wishes of Rear Admiral William H. Leahy, son of the fleet admiral, followed, with one exception, the general prescriptions for a Special Military Funeral. The body of Admiral Leahy was to lie in Bethlehem Chapel at the Washington National Cathedral from noon on 22 July until the same hour on the 23d; the funeral service was to be held in the nave of the cathedral at 1400 on 23 July; and burial was to take place in Arlington National Cemetery. The gravesite was in Section 2, about midway between Memorial Gate and the Memorial Amphitheater.
The exception to the prescribed ceremonies had to do with the formation of the main funeral procession, an exception for which there was precedent in the recent funeral for Deputy Secretary of Defense Donald A. Quarles. In the 1958 plan, the main procession for a funeral in which burial was to take place in Arlington National Cemetery was to form at Constitution Avenue and 15th Street, N.W., in Washington. The body was to be brought to this point by hearse from the place where the funeral service had been held, transferred to a caisson, and taken to Arlington National Cemetery in full procession. But in the ceremonies for Admiral Leahy, as in the funeral for Secretary Quarles, a motorized cortege was to take the body of the admiral from the Washington National Cathedral to the Memorial Gate of the cemetery. The casket was to be transferred from hearse to caisson at that point in the presence of a military escort standing in formation on the lawn nearby. The full procession was then to enter the cemetery and proceed to the gravesite for the burial service.
On 22 July the body of Admiral Leahy was placed in Bethlehem Chapel of Washington National Cathedral. A Navy ceremonial guard from the US Naval Air Station in Anacostia, D.C., formed the honor cordon and provided the personal flag bearer. The body bearers were a joint group of ten enlisted men, two each from the Military District of Washington, Headquarters Command of the Air Force at Bolling Air Force Base, Coast Guard headquarters in Washington, Marine Barracks in Washington, and the Naval Station. One of the two men from the Naval Station was the petty officer in charge of the group. Each of these agencies also provided one officer and nine men for the guard of honor to stand watch for the twenty-four hours that the body was to lie in Bethlehem Chapel.
Composing a special honor guard were General Lyman L. Lemnitzer, Army Chief of Staff; Admiral Arleigh A. Burke, Chief of Naval Operations; General Curtis E. LeMay, Air Force Vice Chief of Staff, who represented the Chief of Staff; General Thomas D. White; General Randolph M. Pate, Commandant of the Marine Corps; Rear Adm. James A. Hirshfield, Assistant Commandant of the Coast Guard; and General Nathan F. Twining, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Eleven friends of Admiral Leahy, one of whom was an academy classmate, served as honorary pallbearers. Officer escorts for the honorary pallbearers were furnished by the Naval Intelligence School at the US Naval Air Station in Anacostia.
According to protocol, announcements of the funeral service for Admiral Leahy, which in effect were invitations to attend, were sent to all branches and principal agencies of the federal government and to the diplomatic corps. Invitations also were extended to all active and retired admirals of the Navy and Coast Guard, all active and retired generals of the Marine Corps, and all active generals of the Army and Air Force living in the Washington area. Among friends and associates of Admiral Leahy invited to attend, including those asked to serve as honorary pallbearers, those residing outside Washington received invitations by telegram. The honorary pallbearers were Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz; Admiral Thomas C. Hart (retired) ; Admiral Charles P. Snyder (retired) ; Admiral Louis E. Denfeld (retired) ; Admiral Arthur W. Radford (retired) ; Admiral Jerauld Wright; Admiral Robert L. Dennison; Vice Adm. Edward L. Cochrane (retired) ; Rear Adm. Henry Williams (retired) ; Rear Adm. Joseph H. Wellings; and William D. Hassett.
Two Navy agencies located in the Washington area, the Navy Communication Station and the Naval Security Station, furnished officers and men to usher guests to their seats for the funeral service. The service itself was conducted by a Navy chaplain, Capt. John B. Zimmerman.
Following the short service at 1400 on 23 July, a motorized cortege formed outside the cathedral to escort the body of Admiral Leahy to Arlington National Cemetery. As the body bearers carried the casket out of the cathedral and through the Navy honor cordon to the hearse, the US Marine Band, in formation near the honor cordon, sounded ruffles and flourishes and played a hymn.
The cortege moved to the Memorial Gate of Arlington National Cemetery by way of Woodley Road, 34th Street, Massachusetts Avenue, Rock Creek Parkway, Memorial Bridge, and Memorial Drive. (Diagram 35) The military escort of some 550 officers and men, commanded by Admiral Grantham, stood on line on the green at the gate, facing the cortege as the motor column approached on Memorial Drive. In addition to the commander and a staff of four, one field grade officer or the equivalent from the Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard, the escort consisted of the US Navy Band and a company each from the Army (3d Infantry), Marine Corps (Marine Barracks), Navy (Navy Air Station), Air Force (Headquarters Command), and Coast Guard (Coast Guard headquarters). Each company had four officers and eighty-five men and was organized with a company commander, guidon bearer, and three platoons, each consisting of a platoon commander, right guide, and three nine-man squads. Also present at the gate were the national color detail of three men, an Army color bearer and one color guard each from the Marine Corps and Air Force, and a personal color bearer from the Navy.
On the street in front of the escort and facing south toward Roosevelt Drive in the cemetery were the caisson and caisson detail, furnished by the 3d Infantry, and the body bearers, who along with the color detail had come from the cathedral by a separate route in order to reach Memorial Gate ahead of the cortege.
When the motorcade reached the gate, the vehicles carrying the special honor guard and the clergy halted on the left side of the street. The others lined up on the right, with the family cars and those bearing the honorary pallbearers and dignitaries at the front. (Diagram 36) After the cortege was in place, the hearse was driven to a position at the left and slightly ahead of the caisson. As the Navy Band sounded ruffles and flourishes and played a hymn, the body bearers removed Admiral Leahy's casket from the hearse, which was then driven away, and placed it on the caisson. After this brief ceremony, the escort commander led the procession into the cemetery.
From a distant position in the cemetery, the saluting battery of the 3d Infantry fired a slow-paced 19-gun salute as the procession marched to the gravesite. The escort units moved via Roosevelt and Wilson Drives, then turned right and marched off the roadway across the grass to McClellan Drive. Moving on McClellan to a point almost due south of the gravesite, the escort units formed on line along the edge of the road facing north toward the grave. In front of them, on the grass between McClellan and Sheridan Drives, stood a squad ready to fire the traditional three volleys following the burial service.
The escort commander and the cortege continued on Wilson Drive, then turned right on Sheridan Drive, which passed immediately south of the gravesite. The clergy, caisson, and mourners halted on Sheridan, while the escort commander, special honor guard, and honorary pallbearers left their cars on a narrow unnamed roadway leading off Sheridan and passing north of the gravesite.
With the customary ceremony and honors, Admiral Leahy's casket was carried to the grave, where Chaplain Zimmerman read the burial service. A final cannon salute, the traditional three volleys, and the sounding of taps closed the final rites for the five-star admiral.
WD Leahy Time Magazine CoverWD Leahy Life Magazine Cover
Fleet Adm, USN. Born: Hampton, Iowa, May 6, 1875. Died: Jul 20, 1959. An American admiral and diplomat. He graduated from USNA in 1897 and served in the Spanish-American War and World War I. In 1937, Leahy became chief of naval operations but retired two years later and became governor of Puerto Rico. In 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt named Leahy ambassador to Vichy France. Recalled to naval service in 1942, he was chief of staff to Roosevelt and to Harry S. Truman until 1949. In 1944, Leahy became the first fleet (five-star) admiral. Bibliography: Leahy, William D., I Was There (1950). USNA. WWI Veteran. CNO, CoS to Franklin D. Roosevelt. Ret from active svce: 1946. Born: May 6, 1875. Died: Bethesda, Maryland, Jul 20, 1959. Section 2, Grave 932.
Louise Harrington, wife of William D. Leahy ( 1876-1942). LEAHY, WILLIAM DANIEL
FLT ADM USN
DATE OF BIRTH: 05/06/1875
DATE OF DEATH: 07/20/1959
BURIED AT: SECTION 2 SITE 932 WH
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY."
William Daniel Leahy, Fleet Admiral, United States Navy
Posted from arlingtoncemetery.netPosted in these groups: 
United States Naval Academy (USNA)
Military History
WWII World War Two
Chief of Staff
Naval Historical Foundation
United States Naval Academy (USNA) Military History WWII World War Two Chief of Staff Naval Historical Foundation
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 9
5
5
0
5
5
0
Excellent biography and history share brother David, have a great afternoon brother.
(5)
(0)
4
4
0
Thank you, my friend SGT (Join to see) for making us aware that May 6 is the anniversary of the birth of son of Michael Leahy was was a Captain of Wisconsin Infantry Volunteers during the Civil War - William D. Leahy. He originally hoped to attend West Point, but there were no appointments available. In 1893, he was able to win an appointment to the Naval Academy. He graduated in 1897, 15th in a class of 47.
Images
1. Admiral William D. Leahy seen here with the big 3 - Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin at Yalta, Feb. 1945.
2. Admiral William D. Leahy (1875-1959) Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff 1942-1949.
3. USS Leahy (DLG-16, later CG-16) was named in honor of Fleet Admiral Leahy.
4. A historical marker commemorating William Leahy in Ashland, Wisconsin.
Background from
"Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy published 16 October 2016 by Luke Schulz
Fleet Admiral William Leahy was a major decision maker for the United States military during World War Two, serving as the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and as one of Roosevelt’s and Truman’s closest military advisors. He also served as Chief of Naval Operations leading up to World War II, and helped expand the navy significantly in the years leading up to the war.
Growing up/Early Career
Leahy was born in 1875 in Hampton, Iowa, the son of a Civil War veteran. [6] His family moved to Ashland, Wisconsin for his high school years, and he considered Ashland to be his true home town. His father had graduated from West Point, so when he graduated high school, he sought an appointment there. There were no appointments available, so he grudgingly went to the Naval Academy instead, a choice he would not regret later in his life.
He graduated 14 out of a class of 47 in 1897. He saw action in the Spanish-American War as an ensign and in World War I as the captain of an ocean liner turned troop transport.[6] In 1917 during the proving trials of the brand new battleship USS New Mexico, Leahy gained a reputation for being able to make quick and direct decisions.[3] When the speed trial commenced on the New Mexico, the ship threw a blade from one of her propellers and the ship reportedly started to shake violently. Leahy faced a decision to end the trial for a perfectly good reason, or to press onward. Without hesitation he ordered the test to continue and the ship passed her speed trials. When Franklin D. Roosevelt was the assistant secretary of the navy, Leahy was a commander serving as Director of Naval Target Practice. The two met and became friends, and maintained a first name relationship up until Roosevelt’s death.[3]
Leahy was appointed Chief of Naval Operations in 1937, and immediately began campaigning for a stronger navy to combat the rise of Japan in the Pacific, as well as to prepare the country for a potential global war.[6] His efforts resulted in the navy increasing in tonnage by more than twenty percent, and more importantly, significantly increasing its air power.[6] He also expanded several naval air bases in the Pacific leading up to the war.
World War II on the Horizon
In the years just before World War II, Hitler was ranting about living space for the German people, Mussolini had just conquered Ethiopia, and Japan had just committed to further war in China at the Marco Polo bridge. In the midst of all this, on December 1, 1937 a Japanese bomber sunk the American gunboat USS Panay while it was anchored in the Yangtze river outside Nanjing.[3]
Leahy, Chief of Naval Operations at the time, went to the White House and advised President Roosevelt to go to war with Japan. Leahy was not a man that loved war, but he knew another World War was coming unless something was done about it. He saw the attack as an opportunity to show the world there was a nation committed to fighting for peace. He argued that going to war with Japan would stop them from conquering any more territory. It would also stop Hitler’s and Mussolini’s plans for conquest because it would show them there was someone willing to stand up to them. His thought was at the moment, war with Japan would have been very favorable for the United States, and they could easily blockade Japan and bring them to peace. He stated that the United States navy was superior for now, and if the Japanese sailed from harbor to meet them in open combat to break the blockade, they would be destroyed. He also figured that war with Japan was inevitable, and the balance of power might not be so favorable for the United states in the years to come if Japan decided to build up her forces.[3]
Leahy convinced Roosevelt of his opinion, and was ordered by the president to get his plan for the blockade ready. Leahy went to work, secretly gathering the fleet and waited every day for the declaration of war that Roosevelt had said was so necessary. After some time, Leahy was recalled to the White House and Roosevelt talked to him in private. Roosevelt said that the country was just not “war minded” and he could not declare war on Japan because of it. In 1936, Roosevelt had won an election with a campaign declaration of “I hate war.”[3]
After Roosevelt had rebuffed his advice, Leahy continued his duties as Chief of Naval Operations and continued to expand America’s naval power. When he reached the naval retirement age of 64 in 1939, he left the navy to govern Puerto Rico. However the former secretary of the Navy, now turned President Roosevelt said to him: “Bill, if we have a war, you’re going to be right back here helping me run it.”[10]
Ambassador to France/Fleet Admiral
After Leahy’s retirement, President Roosevelt appointed him the governor of Puerto Rico. [5] While governor, he constructed several military bases and did not intervene in local politics. Instead, he took the approach of trying to understand the local customs and ways of doing things before intervening. Eleven days after the war in Europe broke out, he was recalled from his governorship and reinstated to the navy to be put in command of the naval forces in the Caribbean.[3]
After France fell to the Axis less than one year into the war, Leahy was chosen to represent the United States in the newly created Vichy government. He went into this assignment knowing that the Vichy government was controlled by the Germans and knew that treaties alone would not keep the United States protected in this war, saying: “to expect that modern diplomacy will safeguard the propriety of a nation is to expect too much. … To believe in the efficiency of pacts and treaties to protect us against international brigandage is the dream of visionaries.”[3, pg. 6] Despite his doubts in modern diplomacy, Leahy did well in his role as ambassador. He became close with the leader of Vichy France, Marshal Philippe Petain, who reportedly wrote a post war letter to Leahy imploring him to testify on his behalf when Petain was on trial. Leahy summarily denied Petain’s request.[4]
In May 1942, his wife of 38 years passed away in France and was later buried in Arlington. [4] Not more than two months after her death, and after serving two years in his role as ambassador, Leahy was recalled to the United States by the president himself. On July 21, 1942 Roosevelt appointed him to a newly created position titled: “Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief,” or better known today as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.[7,pg 196] This position is the most senior position in the United States military. It was now Leahy’s duty to follow all parts of the war and advise Roosevelt on all military strategy. [7] The advice that Roosevelt had spurned from Leahy in 1937, which had demonstrated Leahy’s foresight and tactical ability, must have played a role in the president’s decision to appoint him his chief war advisor.
During and after the war, Leahy was described as “a deep water sailor unwillingly at a desk post.”[3, pg. 6] He was a man who wanted to listen to the other side of the argument and was known to be an open minded man who listened to what his subordinates had to say before making his decisions. In 1944, when Allied forces were thrusting towards the heart of Germany and Japan was on the defensive, Roosevelt became authorized by Congress to promote America’s top military leaders to a five star status. The names on the list include Eisenhower, MacArthur, Marshall, Nimitz, and others, men who are now legends of the time. Out of all these legends, Leahy was the first military leader to be promoted to 5-star status of fleet admiral, and thus was the most senior of the whole list. Fleet Admiral was the highest rank ever achieved by a naval officer up to that point and Leahy was the top man on the list.[9] Interestingly, Leahy remains an unsung hero even though throughout the war, Leahy was Roosevelt’s, and Later Truman’s closest military advisor, and influenced many major decisions.
The Yalta Conference/The Atom Bomb
Nearing the end of the war, when it became clear that Germany would fall, a historic meeting of world leaders took place. It was called the Yalta conference, and the “big three” world leaders, Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt met to discuss the reorganization of Europe and the terms of German surrender. Leahy was Roosevelt’s aide during this conference. All three agreed that they would demand Germany’s unconditional surrender.[1] Furthermore, Stalin agreed to join the war against Japan as long as the territories Japan had taken from Russia were returned and The People’s Republic of Mongolia was preserved.[1] Only a few weeks after the Yalta conference, Roosevelt died and Truman was appointed president. Leahy took his place as top military advisor to a second president.
Another world-changing event he was involved in was the decision to use the atomic bomb on Japan. At first, knowing just how much time and money had been sunk into a weapon that he thought had no clear promise of contributing to the war effort, he called the Manhattan Project “the biggest fool thing we have ever done. The atomic bomb will never go off, and I speak as an expert in explosives.”[8,pg 499] When it became clear the atomic bomb would actually work, he was still vehemently opposed to its use. In his memoirs he talked about the decision Truman faced. According to Leahy, initially, Truman opposed the idea.[2] Eventually, Truman was convinced to drop the bomb by being persuaded that it would save hundreds of thousands of American and Japanese lives. Leahy’s opinion of the weapon was the Atomic bomb would not help the allies win the war against Japan, and that the Japanese were already beaten and ready to surrender because of the naval blockade and effective conventional bombing campaign. [2] Truman chose to ignore his advice and gave the go ahead to drop the two bombs the United States had produced on urban targets in Japan. Leahy remained bitter about Truman’s decision to drop the bomb long after the war, and thought that the only reason it was dropped was because the scientists wanted to see it tested after the vast sums of money that had been invested in the project. There may have been some merit to Leahy’s stance, because the Japanese surrendered only after the Soviet Union had invaded their territory, and not just directly because of the bomb. He records in his book I was There that a scientist from the Manhattan Project once told him that he wished the bomb hadn’t worked, and Leahy agreed with the scientist’s sentiment.[2] He never changed his opinion about atomic weapons and hated the use of them until his death.
After WWII
After the war, Leahy served as the head of the joint chiefs of staff for several more years before finally permanently retiring in 1949. In July 1959 he died and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.[6] Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy died as a largely unsung hero of World War II,[9] one who had built up the United States Navy before the war, been a governor, ambassador, and top military advisor to two presidents. He was a man that demanded and deserved respect and was involved in many world-changing events.
Primary Sources
1. Leahy, William D.(1954) “Notes on the Yalta Conference.” The Wisconsin Magazine of History38, no. 2: 67-112.
2. William D. Leahy (1950) “I Was There” New York: Whittlesey House, pp. 440-442
3. Trohan, W. (1945, Jul 01). Admiral William D. Leahy. Chicago Daily Tribune
4. Darrah, D. (1942, Apr 28). Laval Pays Call on Adm. Leahy at U.S. Embassy. Chicago Daily Tribune; Apr 28: pp. 5
5. Chicago Tribune Press Service (1939, May 13) “President Names Admiral Leahy Island Governor” Chicago Daily Tribune; May 13, pp. 8
Secondary Sources
6. Naval History and Heritage Command (2016) “Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy Seventh Chief of Naval Operations” Web. U.S. Navy
7. Emerson, William. (1958) “Franklin Roosevelt as Commander-in-Chief In World War II.” Military Affairs 22, no. 4: 181-207
8. Louis Morton (1957) “The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb” Center of Military History, United States Army, pp. 499
9. Harsch, Joseph (1985) “Biography of World War II’s modest, unsung hero: Admiral Leahy” The Christian Science Monitor, web
10. Chen, Peter “William Leahy Timeline” World War II Database"
FYI [COL Mikel J. Burroughs Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Lt Col Charlie Brown LTC Greg Henning LTC Jeff Shearer Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. "Bill" Price Maj Marty Hogan CPT Scott Sharon CWO3 Dennis M. SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SSG William Jones SGT John " Mac " McConnell SP5 Mark Kuzinski PO1 H Gene Lawrence PO2 Kevin Parker PO3 Bob McCord
Images
1. Admiral William D. Leahy seen here with the big 3 - Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin at Yalta, Feb. 1945.
2. Admiral William D. Leahy (1875-1959) Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff 1942-1949.
3. USS Leahy (DLG-16, later CG-16) was named in honor of Fleet Admiral Leahy.
4. A historical marker commemorating William Leahy in Ashland, Wisconsin.
Background from
"Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy published 16 October 2016 by Luke Schulz
Fleet Admiral William Leahy was a major decision maker for the United States military during World War Two, serving as the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and as one of Roosevelt’s and Truman’s closest military advisors. He also served as Chief of Naval Operations leading up to World War II, and helped expand the navy significantly in the years leading up to the war.
Growing up/Early Career
Leahy was born in 1875 in Hampton, Iowa, the son of a Civil War veteran. [6] His family moved to Ashland, Wisconsin for his high school years, and he considered Ashland to be his true home town. His father had graduated from West Point, so when he graduated high school, he sought an appointment there. There were no appointments available, so he grudgingly went to the Naval Academy instead, a choice he would not regret later in his life.
He graduated 14 out of a class of 47 in 1897. He saw action in the Spanish-American War as an ensign and in World War I as the captain of an ocean liner turned troop transport.[6] In 1917 during the proving trials of the brand new battleship USS New Mexico, Leahy gained a reputation for being able to make quick and direct decisions.[3] When the speed trial commenced on the New Mexico, the ship threw a blade from one of her propellers and the ship reportedly started to shake violently. Leahy faced a decision to end the trial for a perfectly good reason, or to press onward. Without hesitation he ordered the test to continue and the ship passed her speed trials. When Franklin D. Roosevelt was the assistant secretary of the navy, Leahy was a commander serving as Director of Naval Target Practice. The two met and became friends, and maintained a first name relationship up until Roosevelt’s death.[3]
Leahy was appointed Chief of Naval Operations in 1937, and immediately began campaigning for a stronger navy to combat the rise of Japan in the Pacific, as well as to prepare the country for a potential global war.[6] His efforts resulted in the navy increasing in tonnage by more than twenty percent, and more importantly, significantly increasing its air power.[6] He also expanded several naval air bases in the Pacific leading up to the war.
World War II on the Horizon
In the years just before World War II, Hitler was ranting about living space for the German people, Mussolini had just conquered Ethiopia, and Japan had just committed to further war in China at the Marco Polo bridge. In the midst of all this, on December 1, 1937 a Japanese bomber sunk the American gunboat USS Panay while it was anchored in the Yangtze river outside Nanjing.[3]
Leahy, Chief of Naval Operations at the time, went to the White House and advised President Roosevelt to go to war with Japan. Leahy was not a man that loved war, but he knew another World War was coming unless something was done about it. He saw the attack as an opportunity to show the world there was a nation committed to fighting for peace. He argued that going to war with Japan would stop them from conquering any more territory. It would also stop Hitler’s and Mussolini’s plans for conquest because it would show them there was someone willing to stand up to them. His thought was at the moment, war with Japan would have been very favorable for the United States, and they could easily blockade Japan and bring them to peace. He stated that the United States navy was superior for now, and if the Japanese sailed from harbor to meet them in open combat to break the blockade, they would be destroyed. He also figured that war with Japan was inevitable, and the balance of power might not be so favorable for the United states in the years to come if Japan decided to build up her forces.[3]
Leahy convinced Roosevelt of his opinion, and was ordered by the president to get his plan for the blockade ready. Leahy went to work, secretly gathering the fleet and waited every day for the declaration of war that Roosevelt had said was so necessary. After some time, Leahy was recalled to the White House and Roosevelt talked to him in private. Roosevelt said that the country was just not “war minded” and he could not declare war on Japan because of it. In 1936, Roosevelt had won an election with a campaign declaration of “I hate war.”[3]
After Roosevelt had rebuffed his advice, Leahy continued his duties as Chief of Naval Operations and continued to expand America’s naval power. When he reached the naval retirement age of 64 in 1939, he left the navy to govern Puerto Rico. However the former secretary of the Navy, now turned President Roosevelt said to him: “Bill, if we have a war, you’re going to be right back here helping me run it.”[10]
Ambassador to France/Fleet Admiral
After Leahy’s retirement, President Roosevelt appointed him the governor of Puerto Rico. [5] While governor, he constructed several military bases and did not intervene in local politics. Instead, he took the approach of trying to understand the local customs and ways of doing things before intervening. Eleven days after the war in Europe broke out, he was recalled from his governorship and reinstated to the navy to be put in command of the naval forces in the Caribbean.[3]
After France fell to the Axis less than one year into the war, Leahy was chosen to represent the United States in the newly created Vichy government. He went into this assignment knowing that the Vichy government was controlled by the Germans and knew that treaties alone would not keep the United States protected in this war, saying: “to expect that modern diplomacy will safeguard the propriety of a nation is to expect too much. … To believe in the efficiency of pacts and treaties to protect us against international brigandage is the dream of visionaries.”[3, pg. 6] Despite his doubts in modern diplomacy, Leahy did well in his role as ambassador. He became close with the leader of Vichy France, Marshal Philippe Petain, who reportedly wrote a post war letter to Leahy imploring him to testify on his behalf when Petain was on trial. Leahy summarily denied Petain’s request.[4]
In May 1942, his wife of 38 years passed away in France and was later buried in Arlington. [4] Not more than two months after her death, and after serving two years in his role as ambassador, Leahy was recalled to the United States by the president himself. On July 21, 1942 Roosevelt appointed him to a newly created position titled: “Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief,” or better known today as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.[7,pg 196] This position is the most senior position in the United States military. It was now Leahy’s duty to follow all parts of the war and advise Roosevelt on all military strategy. [7] The advice that Roosevelt had spurned from Leahy in 1937, which had demonstrated Leahy’s foresight and tactical ability, must have played a role in the president’s decision to appoint him his chief war advisor.
During and after the war, Leahy was described as “a deep water sailor unwillingly at a desk post.”[3, pg. 6] He was a man who wanted to listen to the other side of the argument and was known to be an open minded man who listened to what his subordinates had to say before making his decisions. In 1944, when Allied forces were thrusting towards the heart of Germany and Japan was on the defensive, Roosevelt became authorized by Congress to promote America’s top military leaders to a five star status. The names on the list include Eisenhower, MacArthur, Marshall, Nimitz, and others, men who are now legends of the time. Out of all these legends, Leahy was the first military leader to be promoted to 5-star status of fleet admiral, and thus was the most senior of the whole list. Fleet Admiral was the highest rank ever achieved by a naval officer up to that point and Leahy was the top man on the list.[9] Interestingly, Leahy remains an unsung hero even though throughout the war, Leahy was Roosevelt’s, and Later Truman’s closest military advisor, and influenced many major decisions.
The Yalta Conference/The Atom Bomb
Nearing the end of the war, when it became clear that Germany would fall, a historic meeting of world leaders took place. It was called the Yalta conference, and the “big three” world leaders, Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt met to discuss the reorganization of Europe and the terms of German surrender. Leahy was Roosevelt’s aide during this conference. All three agreed that they would demand Germany’s unconditional surrender.[1] Furthermore, Stalin agreed to join the war against Japan as long as the territories Japan had taken from Russia were returned and The People’s Republic of Mongolia was preserved.[1] Only a few weeks after the Yalta conference, Roosevelt died and Truman was appointed president. Leahy took his place as top military advisor to a second president.
Another world-changing event he was involved in was the decision to use the atomic bomb on Japan. At first, knowing just how much time and money had been sunk into a weapon that he thought had no clear promise of contributing to the war effort, he called the Manhattan Project “the biggest fool thing we have ever done. The atomic bomb will never go off, and I speak as an expert in explosives.”[8,pg 499] When it became clear the atomic bomb would actually work, he was still vehemently opposed to its use. In his memoirs he talked about the decision Truman faced. According to Leahy, initially, Truman opposed the idea.[2] Eventually, Truman was convinced to drop the bomb by being persuaded that it would save hundreds of thousands of American and Japanese lives. Leahy’s opinion of the weapon was the Atomic bomb would not help the allies win the war against Japan, and that the Japanese were already beaten and ready to surrender because of the naval blockade and effective conventional bombing campaign. [2] Truman chose to ignore his advice and gave the go ahead to drop the two bombs the United States had produced on urban targets in Japan. Leahy remained bitter about Truman’s decision to drop the bomb long after the war, and thought that the only reason it was dropped was because the scientists wanted to see it tested after the vast sums of money that had been invested in the project. There may have been some merit to Leahy’s stance, because the Japanese surrendered only after the Soviet Union had invaded their territory, and not just directly because of the bomb. He records in his book I was There that a scientist from the Manhattan Project once told him that he wished the bomb hadn’t worked, and Leahy agreed with the scientist’s sentiment.[2] He never changed his opinion about atomic weapons and hated the use of them until his death.
After WWII
After the war, Leahy served as the head of the joint chiefs of staff for several more years before finally permanently retiring in 1949. In July 1959 he died and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.[6] Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy died as a largely unsung hero of World War II,[9] one who had built up the United States Navy before the war, been a governor, ambassador, and top military advisor to two presidents. He was a man that demanded and deserved respect and was involved in many world-changing events.
Primary Sources
1. Leahy, William D.(1954) “Notes on the Yalta Conference.” The Wisconsin Magazine of History38, no. 2: 67-112.
2. William D. Leahy (1950) “I Was There” New York: Whittlesey House, pp. 440-442
3. Trohan, W. (1945, Jul 01). Admiral William D. Leahy. Chicago Daily Tribune
4. Darrah, D. (1942, Apr 28). Laval Pays Call on Adm. Leahy at U.S. Embassy. Chicago Daily Tribune; Apr 28: pp. 5
5. Chicago Tribune Press Service (1939, May 13) “President Names Admiral Leahy Island Governor” Chicago Daily Tribune; May 13, pp. 8
Secondary Sources
6. Naval History and Heritage Command (2016) “Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy Seventh Chief of Naval Operations” Web. U.S. Navy
7. Emerson, William. (1958) “Franklin Roosevelt as Commander-in-Chief In World War II.” Military Affairs 22, no. 4: 181-207
8. Louis Morton (1957) “The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb” Center of Military History, United States Army, pp. 499
9. Harsch, Joseph (1985) “Biography of World War II’s modest, unsung hero: Admiral Leahy” The Christian Science Monitor, web
10. Chen, Peter “William Leahy Timeline” World War II Database"
FYI [COL Mikel J. Burroughs Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Lt Col Charlie Brown LTC Greg Henning LTC Jeff Shearer Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. "Bill" Price Maj Marty Hogan CPT Scott Sharon CWO3 Dennis M. SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SSG William Jones SGT John " Mac " McConnell SP5 Mark Kuzinski PO1 H Gene Lawrence PO2 Kevin Parker PO3 Bob McCord
(4)
(0)
1SG Steven Imerman
Great article. A bit of trivia- when Roosevelt was talking about creating what became the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Marshall told him the only man everyone in the various services would accept at the top was Leahy. That was when he was recalled from Vichy, France.
(2)
(0)
(0)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google