Background
He was born on May 27, 1888 in Port Huron, Michigan, United States, the son of Frederick Ward Sherman and Charlotte Esther Wolfe.
(This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)
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He was born on May 27, 1888 in Port Huron, Michigan, United States, the son of Frederick Ward Sherman and Charlotte Esther Wolfe.
Appointed to the U. S. Naval Academy in 1906, he performed well in athletics, especially sailing, and in scholarship, graduating twenty-fourth in the class of 1910.
His initial sea duty (1910 - 1913) was in the Atlantic Fleet aboard the armored cruiser Montana and the battleship Ohio, and in the Pacific Fleet on the armored cruiser Maryland, In March 1912 Sherman received his commission as ensign. Transferring to submarine duty aboard the former monitor submarine tender Cheyenne early in 1914, he helped evacuate refugees from western Mexican ports in April and May in addition to tending Pacific Torpedo Flotilla subs.
In April 1915 he began two and a half years in the West Coast-based submarines H-3 and H-2, commanding the latter until its transfer to the Caribbean late in 1917. In December 1917, Sherman, now a lieutenant commander, reported to Quincy, Massachussets, as prospective commanding officer of the sub 0-7. Following its commissioning in April 1918, he patrolled the East Coast until the end of World War I. He was navigator of the battleship Minnesota, which returned American troops from Europe early in 1919.
Sherman's interwar duties were fairly routine: he rotated among shore billets at the Navy Department and elsewhere, submarine and destroyer commands, and shipboard service on heavy fleet units before finally establishing him-self in naval aviation. He served in the Bureau of Engineering (1919 - 1921); commanded Submarine Division 9 (1921 - 1924); received instruction in the junior course of the Naval War College (1924 - 1925); had two tours of duty in the Division of Fleet Training, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (1925-1926, 1931 - 1932); served as gunnery officer on the battleship West Virginia (1926 - 1929); and returned ashore to the Bureau of Navigation (1929 - 1931). After a year as navigator of the cruiser Detroit (1932 - 1933), Sherman led Destroyer Divisions 8 (1933-1934) and 1 (1934 - 1935), then served as aide to the commandant of the Eleventh Naval District, Admiral W. T. Tarrant.
During 1935-1936 he took flight training at Pensacola, Fla. , where he was designated naval aviator at the age of forty-seven. His initial assignments were as executive officer of the aircraft carrier Saratoga (1936 - 1937), then of the Naval Air Station at San Diego, Calif. (1937 - 1938).
Promoted to the rank of captain in June 1938, Sherman commanded Patrol Wing 3 at Coco Solo, Canal Zone for one year. Based at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the ship was at sea near Midway on December 7, 1941; its planes searched for the enemy fleet on succeeding days. Since the fleet needed experienced aviation officers to command in the early days of World War II, Sherman was a natural and popular choice.
Sherman took the Lexington into the first American offensive operations in the South Pacific and remained in demand for high combat command throughout World War II. After the Lexington saw initial action against Japanese aircraft near Rabaul in February 1942, Sherman acted as task force air commander for successful long-range air strikes against Lae and Salamaua, New Guinea, in March. When the Japanese pushed southward toward Allied sea-lanes, the Battle of the Coral Sea ensued on May 4-8, the first carrier-to-carrier battle in history.
Immediately promoted to rear admiral, Sherman spent the summer at United States Fleet headquarters in Washington, then returned to the South Pacific in October. The following month he hoisted his flag on the carrier Enterprise as commander of Carrier Division 2 and spent the next six months supporting American operations in the Solomon Islands and experimenting with new carrier tactical formations.
A favorite of South Pacific commander Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr. , Sherman in July 1943 became commander of Carrier Division 1 aboard the Saratoga, with which during November he covered Halsey's landings at Bougainville in the northern Solomons and neutralized Japanese fleet units at Rabaul. His task group participated in the invasion of the Gilbert Islands later in the month, with Sherman transferring to the Bunker Hill for the final air operations that neutralized Rabaul during December and January.
He participated (August 1944 - May 1945) in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the Philippines and Iwo Jima operations, and the long Okinawa campaign. Relieved of command in June 1945, he was promoted to vice admiral the next month and designated commander of the First Fast Carrier Force, Pacific (Task Force 58). The war ended just as he returned to sea.
Sherman commanded the Fifth Fleet from January to September 1946, then retired early in 1947 with the rank of full admiral. He was a staff writer for the Chicago Tribune (1946 - 1948) and published a thin history of the wartime carriers, Combat Command (1950), which reflected little autobiographical content.
Sherman, whose nickname was "Ted, " died in San Diego.
Frederick Carl Sherman sucessfully participated in World War I, World War II and was promoted to the rank of full admiral. Sherman was the author of famous book Combat Command, a history of the Pacific Theater of World War II, drawing on his personal experiences. Sherman was a three-time recipient of the Navy Cross, Distinguished Service Medal (3), Legion of Merit.
(This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)
Quotes from others about the person
He was "a regular old sea dog' who had taken up air warfare with great zest; officers and men adored him, " according to Samuel Eliot Morison.
According to Reynolds, he was "explosive, zealous, demanding, showy, irritable due to (his) own ego and bad teeth problems; an intelligent, superb tactician, loving a good fight; though normally quiet and calm in battle, (he) took risks and preferred independent command . .. Sherman, "the only air admiral to lead fast carrier forces . .. almost continually, deserves special credit for advancing the multicarrier task formation and for his dynamic leadership at Rabaul, Leyte, and Okinawa. . .. A Halsey-type slugger and influenced by an explosive personality, Sherman was by any measure the best of the latecomer air admirals to command carriers in battle".
He married Fanny Jessop on November 22, 1915; they had one son.
