Husband Edward Kimmel (26 February 1882 – 14 May 1968) was an Admiral of the US Navy who served as commander-in-chief of the US Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor in 1941. He was demoted to the rank of Rear Admiral after the Attack on Pearl Harbor, and he retired from the navy in early 1942.
Biography[]
Husband Edward Kimmel was born on 26 February 1882 in Henderson, Kentucky, the son of a Confederate States Army soldier. He married the daughter of Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid, and he graduated from the US Navy Academy in 1904. During the Interwar Years, he commanded two destroyer divisions, a destroyer squadron, and the battleship USS New York, and he was promoted to Rear Admiral in 1937. In January 1941, he reached the rank of Admiral and commander-in-chief of the US Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and he paid attention to detail, even at the expense of large-scale structural planning. On 18 February 1941, he expressed his concerns to the United States government that a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor was imminent, and he tore off his four-star shoulder boards in recognition of his impeding dismissal. He was working on a plan to relieve Wake Island when he was dismissed ten days after the attack, and he retired in early 1942. He died in Groton, Connecticut on 14 May 1968.