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Harry D. Felt
Admiral Harry Donald Felt (June 21, 1902 – February 25, 1992) was a naval aviator in the United States Navy who led U.S. carrier strikes during World War II and later served as commander in chief of Pacific Command (CINCPAC) from 1958 to 1964.
Born in Topeka, Kansas, to Harry Victor Felt and Grace Greenwood Johnson, Felt attended public school in Goodland, Kansas before moving with his family to Washington, D.C. at the age of ten. Lacking money for college, Felt entered a cram school to prepare for the U.S. Naval Academy and was appointed in 1919.
At the Academy, Felt earned good grades but graduated in 1923 with an unremarkable class rank of 152 out of 413, having accumulated nearly as many demerits as anyone in his class.
As a junior officer, Felt served five years aboard the battleship Mississippi and the destroyer Farenholt before applying for flight training out of sheer boredom. From then on, naval aviation became his career focus. While training at Naval Air Station Pensacola from 1928 to 1929, Felt met Kathryn Cowley, whom he married on August 3, 1929, after warning her that the Navy would always come first. She later remarked that even as a newlywed, Felt's life was "just fly, fly, fly".
Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Felt was transferred to command the air group on the carrier Saratoga, with a promotion to Commander in January 1942. During the Battle of the Eastern Solomons on August 24, 1942, Felt led Air Group 3 (AG-3) from the Saratoga in an attack that sank the Japanese light carrier Ryūjō. Diving with his second wave of bombers through enemy flak and fighters, Felt personally scored the first of his group's several 1,000-pound bomb hits on the carrier.
In January 1943, Felt was assigned as the commanding officer of Naval Air Station Daytona Beach, and in February, he became the commanding officer of Naval Air Station Miami. He was promoted to captain in July of the same year. In March 1944, Felt became the first naval aviator assigned to the U.S. Military Mission to Moscow. He later commanded the escort carrier Chenango from February 1945 to January 1946, which included heavy participation in the Battle of Okinawa from March through June. Following the battle, Felt was involved in Operation Magic Carpet, ferrying servicemen home at the war's end.
After the war, Felt was assigned to the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations before attending the National War College from 1947 to 1948. He commanded the carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt in the Atlantic and Mediterranean from August 3, 1948, to July 11, 1949. He was on the staff at the Naval War College from 1949 to 1951, becoming chief of staff in the spring of 1950 and serving as acting president from October 17, 1950, to December 1, 1950. He was promoted to rear admiral in January 1951.
In March 1951, Felt was assigned to command the Middle East Force in the Persian Gulf, becoming the first flag officer to serve in that position. He later described his principal adversaries during that tour as the British, who greatly resented American intrusion into what they considered to be their exclusive sphere of influence. After returning to the Navy Department in October, Felt worked for Rear Admiral Arleigh Burke as the assistant director of the Strategic Plans Division.
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Harry D. Felt
Admiral Harry Donald Felt (June 21, 1902 – February 25, 1992) was a naval aviator in the United States Navy who led U.S. carrier strikes during World War II and later served as commander in chief of Pacific Command (CINCPAC) from 1958 to 1964.
Born in Topeka, Kansas, to Harry Victor Felt and Grace Greenwood Johnson, Felt attended public school in Goodland, Kansas before moving with his family to Washington, D.C. at the age of ten. Lacking money for college, Felt entered a cram school to prepare for the U.S. Naval Academy and was appointed in 1919.
At the Academy, Felt earned good grades but graduated in 1923 with an unremarkable class rank of 152 out of 413, having accumulated nearly as many demerits as anyone in his class.
As a junior officer, Felt served five years aboard the battleship Mississippi and the destroyer Farenholt before applying for flight training out of sheer boredom. From then on, naval aviation became his career focus. While training at Naval Air Station Pensacola from 1928 to 1929, Felt met Kathryn Cowley, whom he married on August 3, 1929, after warning her that the Navy would always come first. She later remarked that even as a newlywed, Felt's life was "just fly, fly, fly".
Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Felt was transferred to command the air group on the carrier Saratoga, with a promotion to Commander in January 1942. During the Battle of the Eastern Solomons on August 24, 1942, Felt led Air Group 3 (AG-3) from the Saratoga in an attack that sank the Japanese light carrier Ryūjō. Diving with his second wave of bombers through enemy flak and fighters, Felt personally scored the first of his group's several 1,000-pound bomb hits on the carrier.
In January 1943, Felt was assigned as the commanding officer of Naval Air Station Daytona Beach, and in February, he became the commanding officer of Naval Air Station Miami. He was promoted to captain in July of the same year. In March 1944, Felt became the first naval aviator assigned to the U.S. Military Mission to Moscow. He later commanded the escort carrier Chenango from February 1945 to January 1946, which included heavy participation in the Battle of Okinawa from March through June. Following the battle, Felt was involved in Operation Magic Carpet, ferrying servicemen home at the war's end.
After the war, Felt was assigned to the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations before attending the National War College from 1947 to 1948. He commanded the carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt in the Atlantic and Mediterranean from August 3, 1948, to July 11, 1949. He was on the staff at the Naval War College from 1949 to 1951, becoming chief of staff in the spring of 1950 and serving as acting president from October 17, 1950, to December 1, 1950. He was promoted to rear admiral in January 1951.
In March 1951, Felt was assigned to command the Middle East Force in the Persian Gulf, becoming the first flag officer to serve in that position. He later described his principal adversaries during that tour as the British, who greatly resented American intrusion into what they considered to be their exclusive sphere of influence. After returning to the Navy Department in October, Felt worked for Rear Admiral Arleigh Burke as the assistant director of the Strategic Plans Division.
