Background
Ernest King was born on November 23, 1878, in Lorain, Ohio to James Clydesdale King and Elizabeth Keam King.
Ernest King was born on November 23, 1878, in Lorain, Ohio to James Clydesdale King and Elizabeth Keam King.
He developed an early interest in a naval career and entered the U. S. Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1897. He graduated in 1901, standing fourth in a class of 67.
He developed an early interest in a naval career and entered the U. S. Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1897. He graduated in 1901, standing fourth in a class of 67. During the next several years King was assigned to a variety of posts, including an instructorship at the Naval Academy. By 1911 his excellent record led to appointment as flag secretary to the commander in chief of the Atlantic Fleet. In 1914 he received his first command. During World War I King served as chief of staff to the commander in chief, Atlantic Fleet, and was promoted to captain. Following the war he saw some service with submarines but concentrated on the growing area of naval aviation, graduating from flight training at the age of 48. After a tour as captain of the aircraft carrier Lexington, he was promoted to rear admiral and appointed chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics. In 1938 he became vice admiral and was assigned as commander, Aircraft, Battle Force, a position that put him in charge of all American aircraft carriers. In June 1939 King was assigned to the General Board of the Navy, a traditional final post for senior flag officers. However, with the outbreak of World War II, he was reassigned. In January 1941 he was promoted to admiral and appointed commander in chief of the Atlantic Fleet. In this post he made major contributions to the Allied effort in the development of antisubmarine tactics in the Atlantic and also did top-level staff work with representatives of the U. S. Army and the British military services. Following Pearl Harbor, King assumed the positions of commander in chief of the U. S. Fleet and chief of Naval Operations. Realizing that global war required major changes in the Navy's command structure, he devoted much of his energy to organizational matters. He solved some of the problems raised by the transition from battleship to carrier operations by elevating the status of aviation officers and, in 1943, by creating the post of deputy chief of Naval Operations (Air). He also stressed the acquisition of escort vessels for Atlantic convoys. As a member of both the Joint and Combined Chiefs of Staff, King played a major role in developing Allied strategy. Although accepting the decision to defeat Germany first, he pressed for allocation of more resources to the Pacific theater. His determination to gain the maximum possible control over Pacific operations for the Navy produced numerous conflicts with Army leaders. He overcame the Army's opposition to Adm. Chester Nimitz's plan for a dual approach to Japan but was unsuccessful in substituting an attack on Formosa for Gen. Douglas MacArthur's campaign to retake the Philippines. King also championed the Navy's view that a naval blockade and air attacks could force Japan to surrender without an invasion of the home islands. The importance of King's overall contribution should not be underestimated. Starting with the devastated fleet and shattered morale following Pearl Harbor, he directed the expansion of the U. S. Navy into the mightiest fleet in world history. He twice testified before the Senate Military Affairs Committee against unification of the Armed Forces. He retired in December 1945, having been promoted to the five-star rank of fleet admiral. He died on June 25, 1956, in Portsmouth, N. H.
Ernest King served 55 years on active duty in the United States Navy, one of the longest careers on record for that service. King is the only man to have ever held the posts of Chief of Naval Operations and Commander in Chief, United States Fleet simultaneously, making him one of the most powerful U. S. Navy officers ever to serve.
Quotations:
"I don't care how good they are. Unless they get a kick in the ass every six weeks, they'll slack off. "
"Don't tell them anything. When it's over, tell them who won. "
As a naval officer, King was highly intelligent and extremely capable, but controversial and difficult to serve with, over, or under. King's blunt honesty and his short temper made him numerous enemies, leaving a mixed legacy.
Quotes from others about the person
John Ray Stakes described him as:
"…perhaps the most disliked Allied leader of World War II. Only British Field Marshal Montgomery may have had more enemies. .. King also loved parties and often drank to excess. Apparently, he reserved his charm for the wives of fellow naval officers. On the job, he "seemed always to be angry or annoyed. ""
There was a famous tongue-in-cheek remark about King, made by one of his daughters and repeated by Navy personnel at the time, that "he is the most even-tempered person in the United States Navy. He is always in a rage. " Franklin D. Roosevelt once described King as a man who "shaves every morning with a blow torch. "
While at the Naval Academy, King met Martha Rankin ("Mattie") Egerton, a Baltimore socialite, whom he married in a ceremony at the Naval Academy Chapel on 10 October 1905. They had six daughters, Claire, Elizabeth, Florence, Martha, Eleanor and Mildred; and then a son, Ernest Joseph King, Jr.
