From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima: The World War II Experience of Admiral Thomas H. Moorer
Thomas Hinman Moorer grew up in Eufaula, Alabama, and graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1933. After completing aviation training at Pensacola Naval Air Station in 1936, he flew with fighter squadrons based on the USS Langley, the USS Lexington, and the USS Enterprise. In late 1941, he was flying PBY patrol bombers in the Pacific, and was present when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. In fact, Admiral Moorer’s plane was one of the first and only planes to launch on December 7.
Moorer’s incredible story did not end there. In 1942, his plane was shot down off the coast of Australia. He was rescued shortly thereafter, only to be on board when the rescue ship was attacked and sunk. Moorer would earn the Distinguished Flying Cross three months later when he braved enemy-controlled skies to fly supplies into and evacuate the island of Timor. He saw numerous assignments throughout the war, which took him to Britain as well as Japan immediately following the surrender.
In the years following World War II, Moorer’s career continued to advance. He was promoted to vice admiral in 1962, and took command of the Navy’s Seventh Fleet. In 1964 he was promoted to full admiral and became commander in chief of the Pacific Fleet. The following year he became the commander of NATO’s U.S. Atlantic Command and the U.S. Atlantic Fleet – the first naval officer to command both the Pacific and Atlantic Fleets. He was appointed Chief of Naval Operations by President Johnson in 1967, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by President Nixon nearly three years later. He retired from the Navy on July 2, 1974.
Admiral Moorer was one of the earliest supporters of the World War II Veterans Committee and the American Veterans Center, and one of our best friends. For our first several years, he would speak at the Center’s annual conference, always eager to teach the lessons he had learned to the younger generations.
Thomas Moorer passed away on February 5, 2004. However, before he died, he sat down with us to recount his experiences in World War II. In this issue, we are honored to share that story and to help preserve the memory and the legacy of this great man of the Greatest Generation.
In the years following World War II, Moorer’s career continued to advance. He was promoted to vice admiral in 1962, and took command of the Navy’s Seventh Fleet. In 1964 he was promoted to full admiral and became commander in chief of the Pacific Fleet. The following year he became the commander of NATO’s U.S. Atlantic Command and the U.S. Atlantic Fleet – the first naval officer to command both the Pacific and Atlantic Fleets. He was appointed Chief of Naval Operations by President Johnson in 1967, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by President Nixon nearly three years later. He retired from the Navy on July 2, 1974.
Admiral Moorer was one of the earliest supporters of the World War II Veterans Committee and the American Veterans Center, and one of our best friends. For our first several years, he would speak at the Center’s annual conference, always eager to teach the lessons he had learned to the younger generations.
Thomas Moorer passed away on February 5, 2004. However, before he died, he sat down with us to recount his experiences in World War II. In this issue, we are honored to share that story and to help preserve the memory and the legacy of this great man of the Greatest Generation.
Thomas Moorer passed away on February 5, 2004. However, before he died, he sat down with us to recount his experiences in World War II. In this issue, we are honored to share that story and to help preserve the memory and the legacy of this great man of the Greatest Generation.
When fighting broke out in Europe, the clouds of war grew thicker and thicker for us. We had been very isolationistic in the United States, and remained so even after the war broke out in Europe. Mr. Roosevelt even made a statement to the effect that he would “not send one American to fight in a European war.†Yet at the same time, he was doing a little undercover work; we were covering British ships against the German submarines, and instituted the Lend-Lease law. And Mr. Churchill and Mr. Roosevelt were meeting. They made an agreement that the United States would move our ships to the Pacific while the British would take care of the Atlantic. In fact, we built a tremendous dry dock at a place called Roosevelt Roads in Puerto Rico which, unknown to many officers, was created should the British be forced to abandon their bases in England should Hitler invade.
So the Enterprise and the Yorktown and the American carriers went through the Panama Canal over to the Pacific. They were ordered to Hawaii as part of what was called the “Hawaiian Detachment,†which was in reality the entire fleet. And this is how the fleet came to be based at Pearl Harbor by the time of the attack.
