This Military Service Page was created/owned by
David Kendall (Dave), TM2
to remember
Hustvedt, Olaf Mandt, VADM USN(Ret).
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Contact Info
Home Town Chicago, IL
Last Address Washington, D.C.
Date of Passing Dec 22, 1978
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
Legion of Merit
Awarded for Actions During World War II
Service: Navy
Rank: Rear Admiral
General Orders: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 322 (January 1944)
Citation: The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Legion of Merit to Rear Admiral Olaf M. Hustvedt, United States Navy, for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the Government of the United States from 25 October 1941 to 4 May 1943, as Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief, United States Atlantic Fleet. Rear Admiral Hustvedt assisted in organizing the fleet and its bases, and in establishing sound command relationship in the early months of the war.
Mariana and Palau Islands Campaign (1944)/Battle of Philippine Sea
From Month/Year
June / 1944
To Month/Year
June / 1944
Description The Battle of the Philippine Sea (June 19–20, 1944) was a major naval battle of World War II that eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious invasion of the Mariana Islands during the Pacific War. The battle was the last of five major "carrier-versus-carrier" engagements between American and Japanese naval forces, and pitted elements of the United States Navy's Fifth Fleet against ships and aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy's Mobile Fleet and nearby island garrisons.
The aerial part of the battle was nicknamed the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot by American aviators for the severely disproportional loss ratio inflicted upon Japanese aircraft by American pilots and anti-aircraft gunners. During a debriefing after the first two air battles a pilot from USS Lexington remarked "Why, hell, it was just like an old-time turkey shoot down home!" The outcome is generally attributed to American improvements in pilot and crew training and tactics, technology (including the top-secret anti-aircraft proximity fuze), and ship and aircraft design. Although at the time the battle appeared to be a missed opportunity to destroy the Japanese fleet, the Imperial Japanese Navy had lost the bulk of its carrier air strength and would never recover. During the course of the battle, American submarines torpedoed and sank two of the largest Japanese fleet carriers taking part in the battle.
This was the largest carrier-to-carrier battle in history.
