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Robert Cox, YNCS
to remember
Kinkaid, Thomas Cassin, ADM USN(Ret).
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Contact Info
Home Town Hanover, NH
Last Address Bethesda, MD
Date of Passing Nov 17, 1972
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
Thomas Cassin Kinkaid is known for his service during World War II. He built a reputation as a "fighting admiral" in the aircraft carrier battles of 1942 and commanded the Allied forces in the Aleutian Islands Campaign.
He was Commander Allied Naval Forces and the Seventh Fleet under General of the Army Douglas MacArthur in the Southwest Pacific Area, where he conducted numerous amphibious operations, and commanded an Allied fleet during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle of World War II and the last naval battle between battleships in history.
Other Comments:
The USS Kinkaid (DD-965), named for Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid ), was a Spruance-class destroyer launched in 1974. She was decommissioned in 2003 and sunk in 2004.
Army Distinguished Service Medal
Awarded for Actions During World War II
Service: Navy
General Orders: War Department, General Orders No. 38 (April 3, 1947)
Citation:
"The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Admiral Thomas Cassin Kinkaid (NSN: 0-6585), United States Navy, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility in the Southwest Pacific Area, from January to September 1945.
...
As Commander of the Allied Naval Forces supporting SIXTH Army, he demonstrated a consummate mastery of all phases of joint Army-Navy activity as well as a conspicuously outstanding knowledge of strategic warfare and naval tactics as he directed the planning and execution of naval support of amphibious operations in the Admiralties and Philippine Islands. His employment of naval forces against the Japanese Fleet in the Battle for Leyte Gulf resulted in disaster for the enemy and removed a dangerous threat to the entire plan for the liberation of the Philippine Islands.
...
Through his seasoned, resourceful leadership, and consistently noteworthy professional competence in the most capable execution of devastating naval blows, Admiral Kinkaid made a distinguished and most significant contribution to the successful and expeditious conclusion of the Philippine Liberation Campaign."
Description The Battle of Leyte Gulf, also called the Battles for Leyte Gulf, and formerly known as the Second Battle of the Philippine Sea, is generally considered to be the largest naval battle of World War II and, by some criteria, possibly the largest naval battle in history.
It was fought in waters near the Philippine islands of Leyte, Samar and Luzon from 23–26 October 1944, between combined US and Australian forces and the Imperial Japanese Navy. On 20 October, United States troops invaded the island of Leyte as part of a strategy aimed at isolating Japan from the countries it had occupied in Southeast Asia, and in particular depriving its forces and industry of vital oil supplies. The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) mobilized nearly all of its remaining major naval vessels in an attempt to defeat the Allied invasion, but was repulsed by the US Navy's 3rd and 7th Fleets. The IJN failed to achieve its objective, suffered very heavy losses, and never afterwards sailed to battle in comparable force. The majority of its surviving heavy ships, deprived of fuel, remained in their bases for the rest of the Pacific War.
The Battle of Leyte Gulf consisted of four separate engagements between the opposing forces: the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, the Battle of Surigao Strait, the Battle of Cape Engaño and the Battle off Samar, as well as other actions.
It was the first battle in which Japanese aircraft carried out organized kamikaze attacks. By the time of the battle, Japan had fewer aircraft than the Allied forces had sea vessels, demonstrating the difference in power of the two sides at this point of the war.
