Thomas C Hart (FF 1092) - Naval Cruise Book

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BIOGRAPHY OF ADMIRAL THOMAS C. HART UNITED STATES NAVY Thomas Charles Hart was born on June 12, 1877 in Genesse County, Michigan. He was the heroic Commander-in- Chief of the United States Asiatic Fleet whose distinguished career spanned 52 years and three major wars and was followed by service as a United States Senator. Following graduation from the Naval Academy with the Class of 1897, Admiral Hart served in the battleship MASSACHUSETTS and took part in the Battle of Santiago, Cuba, as engineering officer of the tacht VIXEN. After duty in the wooden steam frigate HARTFORD and the battleship INDIANA, he taught Ordnance and Gunnery at the Naval Academy from 1902-1904. He was then assigned to the battleship MISSOURI. Admiral Hart's first command was the destroyer LAWRENCE, followed by command of the destroyer HULL. His next assignment was to the Bureau of Ordnance, followed in early 1909 by a tour as Aide to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy. He later was Ordnance Officer of me battleship VIRGINIA, Gunnery Officer of the battleship NORTH DAKOTA and Executive Officer of the battleship MINNESOTA. In February 1916, the Admiral rose to command of a submarine division and took two such divisions into European waters in World War I, during which he rose to the rank of Captain. In April 1917, he assumed command of the submarine Base at New London, Connecticut, and followed as Commanding Officer of the cruiser CHICAGO and as Chief of Staff of the Atlantic Submarine Force. He commanded the cruiser MISSISSIPPI and served as Commander of all Atlantic Fleet submarine divisions before achieving flag rank in 1929. The Admiral became Superintendent of his alma mater, the Naval Academy, in 1931, commanded a cruiser Scouting Force in 1935 and served on the Navy's General Board in 1936. Then after achieving the four stars of a full Admiral, Thomas C. Hart relieved Admiral Harry E. Yarnell as Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Asiatic Fleet in July 1939. Samuel Eliot Morison, the noted naval historian, described Hart at the time of his assumption of the Fleet Command: small, taut, wiry and irascible, Admiral Hart had the reputation in the Navy of being very much of a strict disciplinarian. He was respected as a student of the art of war and as an administrator. As General Douglas MacArthur's naval counterpart, Admiral Hart was responsible for the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans. His small fleet fought valiantly against the Japanese. It was during this period that the first attempt at a combined command in the Pacific was made, consisting of American, British, Dutch, and Australian elements and called ABDA. The Admiral became its naval commander, struggled with the problems inherent in the combined command, and fought hard before his duty was interrupted by orders to return to Washington in 1942. Though Admiral Hart was transferred to the retired list on July 1, 1942, he continued active duty as chairman of the Navy Department's Board of Awards and as a member of the General Board, which acted principally on matters specifically referred to it by the Secretary of the Navy, and drafted many of the executive orders on naval matters which later came from The White House. o In February 1944, Secretary Of the Navy, Frank Knox, appointed the Admiral to examine witnesses and take testimony pertinent to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. This duty took him through the Pacific Ocean, areas from which he returned in April, 1944. He continued as a member of the General Board until February 9, 1945, when he w8S relieved of active duty to accept appointment as a United States Senator from Connecticut. f H Admirgld hartjbecame a Republican member of the Senate on February 15, and ably served the nation until his term 0 0 'Ce explf .011 anllafy 3, 1947 Che did not seek election in 19463. During his tenure, the Senator supported terminal leave pay for enlisted men returning from the war, and sought legislation granting benefits to American prisoners of war- On July 4, 1971, at the age of 94, Admiral Thomas C. Hart died at his home in Sharon, Connecticut. v,3,5g5,,3. f,,ff,5:,,.-. ,f.,,- , -,,- f -,,,- , My f,.- f. .,,. M,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,.,,..,..., 4li

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