Edwin B. Hooper
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Edwin Bickford Hooper (February 26, 1909 – September 12, 1986) was a vice admiral of the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
—his naval service spanned 5 decades from 1930 to the 1970. He served in World War II, Korean and Vietnam Wars and made important contributions to gunnery, ship operations, ordnance, amphibious operations, military logistics and study of naval history. He directed the gunfire in an important battleship-against-battleship action in 1942; was involved in the early days of
United States Atomic Energy Commission The United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by the U.S. Congress to foster and control the peacetime development of atomic science and technology. President Harry ...
; established the navy's long range study group; led the Service Force during the Vietnam war; and was the navy's historian—writing several navy histories including the first volume on the Vietnam War.


Early life and naval career

Hooper was born in Winthrop, Massachusetts, in a house across the street from the Winthrop Yacht Club, where his father owned a yawl. His parents were Fred A. Hooper and Flora Foster. He attended Huntington High School and then the
United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) 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 United States Secre ...
from 1927 to 1931. Hooper served on from 1931 to 1936. In 1934, he married Elizabeth Withers Patrick, daughter of Captain Bower Reynolds Patrick (a navy chaplain) and sister of G. S. Patrick. From 1936 to 1938, Hooper served on the . In 1939, Hooper attended Naval Academy Post-Graduate School and took a newly established fire control ordnance course. In 1940, he attended the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...
, studied servo-mechanisms and received a master's degree in engineering. Students in his class included three important naval officers: Alfred G. Ward, Horacio Rivero Jr. and Lloyd Mustin.


World War II – gunnery

In 1941, Hooper served on the developing and improving fire control techniques to aim the gunfire of the 16 inch and 5 inch guns. During the night action off Guadalcanal (14 November 1942 – 15 November 1942) (
Guadalcanal Campaign The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by the United States, was an Allies of World War II, Allied offensive against forces of the Empire of Japan in the Solomon Islands during th ...
), Hooper served as assistant gunnery officer and directed the fire of 16-inch and 5-inch guns. The USS ''Washington'' sank the Japanese battleship ''Kirishima'', using primarily 16-inch gunfire, and simultaneously engaged the Japanese cruiser ''Atago'', using 5-inch gunfire. The ''Atego'' was damaged and returned to Japan for repairs. In the months before the battle, Hooper had uncovered and corrected small systematic errors in the fire control of the 16-inch guns and, as a result, very accurate naval gunfire led to the rapid sinking of the ''Kirishima''. Hooper was awarded the Bronze Star for the Guadalcanal Battle, was promoted and made gunnery officer on the USS ''Washington'' – the most junior U.S. officer to hold that position in World War II. In 1944, Hooper served as gunnery officer on the . In 1945 while on the USS ''Alaska'', Hooper suffered a series of heart attacks and, after his recovery, became officer in charge of ordnance, maintenance, and improvement on the staff of Commander, Service Force, United States Pacific Fleet.


Atomic Energy Commission, underway replenishment, and ordnance (nuclear)

From 1947 to 1949, Hooper was assigned to the Military Applications Group of the
United States Atomic Energy Commission The United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by the U.S. Congress to foster and control the peacetime development of atomic science and technology. President Harry ...
. He was involved in gaining approval for the 1948 Eniwetok tests (
Operation Sandstone Operation Sandstone was a series of nuclear weapon tests in 1948. It was the third series of American tests, following Trinity in 1945 and Crossroads in 1946, and preceding Ranger. Like the Crossroads tests, the Sandstone tests were carried o ...
) and attended one of the tests. From 1949 to 1950, Hooper was assigned as captain of the (AO-19) a fleet oiler. As captain, Hooper developed and tested techniques for resupplying ships in high seas and cold waters off Baffin Island and Greenland. From 1950 to 1952, Hooper was assistant for nuclear applications in
Bureau of Ordnance The Bureau of Ordnance (BuOrd) was a United States Navy organization, which was responsible for the procurement, storage, and deployment of all naval weapons, between the years 1862 and 1959. History The Bureau of Ordnance was established as part ...
and was responsible for developing the Mark 8 nuclear bomb and the
Mark 90 nuclear bomb The Mark 90 nuclear bomb, given the nickname "Betty", was a Cold War nuclear depth charge, developed by the United States in 1952. It had a length of , a diameter of , and a weight of , and it carried a Mark 7 nuclear warhead with a yield of 32 ...
, which could be flown on navy aircraft. In 1952 and 1953, Hooper attended the
National War College In the United States, the National War College (NWC) is a school within the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National ...
.


Korean War, ordnance (conventional) and naval studies

From 1953 to 1954, Hooper was Chief of Staff for the Destroyer Flotilla Three stationed in Japan. The Flotilla had 78 destroyers; many of which were operating off Korea. The Flotilla was under the command of Rear Admiral William K. Mendenhall Jr. Since Mendenhall was involved in Korean armistice negotiations at Pan Mun Jom, Hooper operated the Flotilla on a day-to-day basis. From 1954 to 1955, Hooper was captain of the a destroyer tender . From 1955-1958, Hooper was assigned to Bureau of Ordnance for Research as Assistant Chief. Hooper guided the development of
ASROC The RUR-5 ASROC (for "Anti-Submarine Rocket") is an all-weather, all sea-conditions anti-submarine missile system. Developed by the United States Navy in the 1950s, it was deployed in the 1960s, updated in the 1990s, and eventually installed ...
, an anti-submarine missile system, and the
Mark 37 Torpedo The Mark 37 torpedo is a torpedo with electrical propulsion, developed for the US Navy after World War II. It entered service with the US Navy in the early 1950s, with over 3,300 produced. It was phased out of service with the US Navy during the ...
. Hooper gained approval for the development of the
AIM-9 Sidewinder The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a short-range air-to-air missile. Entering service with the United States Navy in 1956 and the Air Force in 1964, the AIM-9 is one of the oldest, cheapest, and most successful air-to-air missiles. Its latest variants rema ...
. From 1958-1959, Hooper was commander of
Destroyer Squadron 26 Destroyer Squadron 26 (DESRON 26) is a destroyer squadron of the United States Navy. It was first created in 1950. It has seen action in the Korean War, service in the Atlantic, in the Vietnam War. From 1974 for a period it became the 'Mod Squad', ...
, which was stationed in Norfolk, Virginia, and, from 1959 to 1961, was first director of the Institute of Naval Studies in Newport, Rhode Island. This institute conducted studies into long-range operations and goals of the U.S. Navy.


Vietnam War – amphibious operations and logistics

From 1961 to 1962, Hooper was the Commander of Amphibious Group One in the Pacific and a key member of the staff was Phil H. Bucklew. Initially, the command was located in Coronado, California, and, during this period, a training Exercise Seawall in Washington State was conducted the Army's 4th Division. In 1962, the command was transferred to Subic Bay PI and Hooper was Operational Commander of the
SEATO The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) was an international organization for collective defense in Southeast Asia created by the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty signed in September 1954 in Manila, Philippines. The formal insti ...
Exercise Tulungan. Tulungan involved landing U.S. Marines and Philippine Army units into
Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...
PI and was, in many ways, a final training exercise before the Vietnam War. The military commanders ( Rear Admiral Miller, Brigadier general
Ormond R. Simpson Ormond Ralph Simpson (16 March 191521 November 1998) was a highly decorated officer of the United States Marine Corps with the rank of lieutenant general, who held a number of important assignments throughout his career. He is most noted as com ...
, Vice Admiral Blackburn and General Robert E. Cushman, Jr. ) and some of the troops were later involved in the war. During the exercise, troops were landed by boat, aircraft and helicopter – testing techniques used in the Vietnam War. During 1962, there was a low level conflict in New Guinea between the Dutch and Indonesia and the amphibious group wrote contingency plans to support evacuations. From 1962 to 1965, Hooper worked in the Office of the Naval Operations in research and development. Hooper was part of the team that negotiated the establishment of the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (
AUTEC The United States Navy's Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC) is a laboratory that performs integrated three-dimensional hydrospace/aerospace trajectory measurements covering the entire spectrum of undersea simulated warfare  ...
). In 1965, Hooper became commander of the Service Force for the Pacific
ComServPac Service Force, United States Pacific Fleet, usually known as COMSERVPAC, was a service support command of the United States Pacific Fleet from 1942 until 1973. It was the reincarnation of the former Base Force. The Service Force comprised the suppl ...
. As the principal logistics agent for the Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Hooper commanded over 56,000 navy personnel who manned more than 128 ships, 22,000 non-military personnel, 14 overseas shore activities including Naval Support Activity Saigon and numerous other mobile support units and staffs of the Pacific Service Force. The command had 78 types of ships – underway replenishment ships, repair ships, salvage ships, survey ships, hospital ships, and icebreakers. Hooper help establish and operate the major logistical bases in Danang, Chu Lai Base Area, Chu Lai and Cam Ranh Bay that supported both army and marine forces in Vietnam. The , when it was captured, was nominally under the command of the Service Force.


Navy's historian and last years

In 1968, Hooper returned to Washington, D.C., worked in the Office of Naval Operations, and then as a senior member of the Joint Logistics Review Board, which studied logistics in the Vietnam War. During this time he was promoted to vice admiral. In 1970, Hooper retired from active navy duty and returned on limited duty as the navy's historian. Hooper co-authored the first volume of the navy's history of the Vietnam War. When Hooper finally retired in 1976, Admiral Hyman G. Rickover sent Hooper a letter, which stated that "One of the most worthwhile aspects of my duty in Washington has been know a man as intelligent, kind, sincere, competent, and helpful as you." After retiring, Hooper wrote a book on the use of naval power, which was published after his death in 1986. A small scholarship fund was established in his name.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hooper, Edwin B. 1909 births 1986 deaths United States Navy personnel of World War II Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Naval Academy alumni Burials at the United States Naval Academy Cemetery United States Navy admirals