William Veazie Pratt (28 February 1869 – 25 November 1957) was an

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...

in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. He served as the

President of the Naval War College The president of the Naval War College is a flag officer in the United States Navy. The President's House in Newport, Rhode Island is their official residence. The office of the president was created along with the Naval War College as a whol ...

from 1925 to 1927, and as the 5th

Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the professional head of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the secretary of the Navy. In a separate capacity as a memb ...

from 1930 to 1933.

Early life

William V. Pratt was born in

Belfast, Maine Belfast is a city in Waldo County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 6,938. Located at the mouth of the Passagassawakeag River estuary on Belfast Bay and Penobscot Bay. Belfast is the county seat ...

. He was the son of Nichols Pratt, who served in the Union Navy during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

with the rank of acting master.

Naval career

After graduating from the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

in 1889, Pratt served in several cruisers and gunboats, visiting Europe, South America and Asia. During 1895–97, Ensign Pratt had the first of three instructor tours at the Naval Academy. He was assigned to the gunboat during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

and to the

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several ...

afterwards. While in the latter, he returned to Asiatic waters, where he saw action in the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War or Filipino–American War ( es, Guerra filipina-estadounidense, tl, Digmaang Pilipino–Amerikano), previously referred to as the Philippine Insurrection or the Tagalog Insurgency by the United States, was an arm ...

. A second Naval Academy session followed in 1900–1902, after which he served in the

North Atlantic Fleet The North Atlantic Squadron was a section of the United States Navy operating in the North Atlantic. It was renamed as the North Atlantic Fleet in 1902. In 1905 the European and South Atlantic squadrons were abolished and absorbed into the Nort ...

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the ...

. Lieutenant Commander Pratt's final Naval Academy tour took place in 1905–1908. He then was executive officer of the

s and . Promoted to the rank of commander in 1910, Pratt was an instructor at the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associ ...

in 1911–1913 and spent the next two years in the

Atlantic Torpedo Flotilla The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, much of that as commanding officer of its

, the scout cruiser . Captain Pratt was assigned to the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

and at the Army War College in 1915–1917. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

he served in Washington, D.C. as Assistant Chief of Naval Operations in 1918. Pratt was at sea in 1919–1921 as commanding officer of the

battleship A battleship is a large armour, armored warship with a main artillery battery, battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1 ...

and as Commander

Destroyer Force In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in 1 ...

, Pacific Fleet. Following promotion to

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often rega ...

in mid-1921, he was a member of the

General Board The General Board of the United States Navy was an advisory body of the United States Navy, somewhat akin to a naval general staff and somewhat not. The General Board was established by general order 544, issued on March 13, 1900 by Secretary ...

in Washington, D.C., and served as a technical advisor during the negotiations that led to the Washington Naval Limitations Treaty of February 1922. He commanded a battleship division in 1923–1925 and was president of the court of inquiry that examined the 8 September 1923

Honda Point Disaster The Honda Point disaster was the largest peacetime loss of U.S. Navy ships. On the evening of September 8, 1923, seven destroyers, while traveling at 20 knots (37 km/h), ran aground at Honda Point (also known as Point Pedernales; the cliffs ...

. Assignments followed to the General Board and as president of the Naval War College. In 1927, he returned to sea as Commander Battleship Divisions,

Battle Fleet The United States Battle Fleet or Battle Force was part of the organization of the United States Navy from 1922 to 1941. The General Order of 6 December 1922 organized the United States Fleet, with the Battle Fleet as the Pacific presence. This f ...

. A year later, he became Commander Battle Fleet in the rank of admiral and in 1929–1930 was commander in chief of

United States Fleet The United States Fleet was an organization in the United States Navy from 1922 until after World War II. The acronym CINCUS, pronounced "sink us", was used for Commander in Chief, United States Fleet. This was replaced by COMINCH in December 1941 ...

. Pratt's work with the U.S. Fleet was interrupted in early 1930 by a trip to England to participate in the London conference that further limited the size of the world's major navies. He became

in September 1930 and spent nearly three years in that post, during a time when Depression-era demands for economy made it very difficult to maintain the Navy's size and readiness. During his tenure, he also helped Coast Guard Commandant

Harry G. Hamlet Harry Gabriel Hamlet (27 August 1874 – 24 January 1954) was the seventh Commandant of the United States Coast Guard, from 1932 to 1936. Early life and career Hamlet was born in Eastport, Maine, and was the son of Captain Oscar G. Hamlet, ...

in discouraging President Franklin D. Roosevelt from merging the Navy and Coast Guard. Pratt agreed with President Herbert Hoovers's emphasis on disarmament and went along with postponement of new construction and cutting the fleet. Other naval officers disagreed sharply with Hoover's policies.

Later life

Retired at the beginning of July 1933, Pratt lived thereafter in Maine and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, he wrote a regular column for a nationally circulated magazine and spent several months on active Navy Department duty in 1941 studying measures to counter the German

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

threat. Pratt died in 1957. Like his father, Pratt was a companion of the District of Columbia Commandery of the

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or simply the Loyal Legion is a United States patriotic order, organized April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Army. The original membership was composed of members ...

Legacy

In 1960, the

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed ...

USS ''William V. Pratt'' (DLG-13, later DDG-44) was named in honor of Admiral Pratt.

References

External links

Admiral William Veazie Pratt, U. S. Navy
(book by Gerald E. Wheeler)

William V. Pratt Memoirs, 1939 MS 514
held by Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy {{DEFAULTSORT:Pratt, William V. 1869 births 1957 deaths United States Navy personnel of World War I People from Belfast, Maine Military personnel from Maine United States Naval Academy alumni Presidents of the Naval War College United States Navy admirals Chiefs of Naval Operations Naval War College faculty Naval War College alumni Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal