Dixie Kiefer (April 5, 1896 – November 11, 1945) was a

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 ...

officer who served 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 ...

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, ...

of and

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latit ...

of . He was one of the Navy's best known figures during the war.

Early life

Born in

eastern Idaho Eastern Idaho is the area of Idaho lying east of the Magic Valley region. It is generally understood to include: Bannock, Bear Lake, Bingham, Bonneville, Butte, Caribou, Clark, Custer, Franklin, Fremont, Jefferson, Madison, Oneida, Powe ...

Blackfoot The Blackfoot Confederacy, ''Niitsitapi'' or ''Siksikaitsitapi'' (ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ, meaning "the people" or " Blackfoot-speaking real people"), is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up the Blackfoot or Bla ...

, Kiefer was the son of Mr. and Mrs. H. G. Kiefer and graduated from Lincoln High School in

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Linco ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the so ...

. He entered the

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

in 1915 and was commissioned in June 1918. His first assignment was USS ''Corona'', a small anti- submarine patrol vessel operating in European waters during the last part of

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, ...

Naval aviator

In the 1920s, Kiefer became a pilot in the fledgling aviation branch of the Navy. On 11 November 1924, he made the first ever night take-off from a warship. His plane, a

Vought UO-1 __NOTOC__ The Vought FU was a biplane fighter aircraft of the United States Navy in service during the late 1920s. Design and development Pleased with the company's VE-7, in 1926 the Navy gave Vought a $459,709 contract for 20 convertible land/ ...

, was launched by

catapult A catapult is a ballistic device used to launch a projectile a great distance without the aid of gunpowder or other propellants – particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. A catapult uses the sudden release of store ...

from USS ''California'' in the harbor of

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

. The only illumination was ''California'' searchlights, directed 1,000 yards in the distance.

World War II

By World War II, Kiefer had risen to the rank of

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain ...

. He served as

Executive Officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, ...

of the aircraft carrier in the

Battle of Coral Sea The Battle of the Coral Sea, from 4 to 8 May 1942, was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and naval and air forces of the United States and Australia. Taking place in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, the battl ...

and

Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The U.S. Navy under A ...

. He received the

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

for Coral Sea and the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is eq ...

for Midway. When ''Yorktown'' was sunk at Midway, Kiefer shattered his right leg and ankle while leaping from the ship. After recovering from his injuries, Kiefer was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and given command of the new carrier , which was commissioned at the

Norfolk Navy Yard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility th ...

on 8 May 1944. He was popular with his sailors and was credited with training the carrier's air group and crew into an efficient wartime team. Reportedly, Kiefer would use the bullhorn 4-5 times a day to hurry his flight deck crew or else "that admiral over there will give me hell." When the ship passed through the Panama Canal, Kiefer ensured that nearly the entire 3,000 crew received shore leave. On 21 January 1945, ''Ticonderoga'' was hit by two Japanese ''

kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to ...

'' bombers. 144 men were killed and 200 injured. The first kamikaze hit started large fires among gasoline and planes in the hangar deck. Kiefer had port-side compartment deliberately flooded to put a 10-degree list on the ship. This caused the flaming gasoline to slide overboard – a procedure not used before. Then he maneuvered the ship to upwind of the burning wreckage. A second kamikaze hit ''Ticonderoga'' later that day. The explosion from that hit injured Kiefer, with 65 wounds from bomb shrapnel and a broken arm. Nonetheless he remained in command on the bridge for eleven hours, not leaving until it was reported that all of the other injured were treated. While recovering from his injuries, Kiefer was made an honorary

commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore, a ...

in a ceremony at

Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a large complex consisting of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The 14 original Art Deco ...

. He also served as commander of the Naval Air Station at

Quonset, Rhode Island Quonset Point (), also known simply as Quonset, is a small peninsula in Narragansett Bay in the town of North Kingstown, Rhode Island. Its name is widely known from the Quonset hut, which was first manufactured there. ''Quonset'' is an Algonqui ...

. He received the

from

Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

James V. Forrestal James Vincent Forrestal (February 15, 1892 – May 22, 1949) was the last Cabinet-level United States Secretary of the Navy and the first United States Secretary of Defense. Forrestal came from a very strict middle-class Irish Catholic fami ...

, who called him "the indestructible man". He had not yet recovered when he died at age 49 on 11 November 1945 – his arm was still in a cast. He was killed in the crash of his Navy transport plane on Mount Beacon,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, while returning to Quonset from

Caldwell, New Jersey Caldwell is a borough located in northwestern Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, about west of New York City and north-west of Newark, the state's most populous city. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's populat ...

. Kiefer was said to be the most battered officer in the Navy. He broke his left ankle and split his kneecap playing football as a youth. His left elbow was smashed when a fellow pilot "buzzed" him in a

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...

and hit his arm with a wingtip float. The crew of ''Ticonderoga'' said of him, "He's got so much metal in him the ship's compass follows him when he walks across the deck." Kiefer was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county i ...

Awards and decorations

References

External links

Arlington National Cemetery

- Dixie Kiefer {{DEFAULTSORT:Kiefer, Dixie 1896 births 1945 deaths People from Blackfoot, Idaho People from Lincoln, Nebraska Military personnel from Kansas City, Missouri United States Navy commodores United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy personnel of World War II Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Silver Star Burials at Arlington National Cemetery United States Navy personnel of World War I