Felix Budwell Stump (December 15, 1894 – June 13, 1972) was an admiral in the United States Navy and Commander,

United States Pacific Fleet The United States Pacific Fleet (USPACFLT) is a theater-level component command of the United States Navy, located in the Pacific Ocean. It provides naval forces to the Indo-Pacific Command. Fleet headquarters is at Joint Base Pearl Harbor� ...

from July 10, 1953 until July 31, 1958.

Early life and career

Stump was born in

Parkersburg, West Virginia Parkersburg is a city in Wood County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. Located at the confluence of the Ohio River, Ohio and Little Kanawha River, Little Kanawha rivers, it is the state's List of municipalities in West Virginia ...

, spent his early life there and was appointed to 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 ...

in 1913. He served in the gunboat and as navigator aboard the cruiser during World War I in the Atlantic. After the war he served in the

pre-dreadnought battleship Pre-dreadnought battleships were sea-going battleships built from the mid- to late- 1880s to the early 1900s. Their designs were conceived before the appearance of in 1906 and their classification as "pre-dreadnought" is retrospectively appli ...

. Shortly thereafter Stump attended flight training at the

Naval Air Station Pensacola Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola (formerly NAS/KNAS until changed circa 1970 to allow Nassau International Airport, now Lynden Pindling International Airport, to have IATA code NAS), "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United Sta ...

in 1920-1921 followed by postgraduate instruction in Aeronautical Engineering at 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 ...

. From 1923 to 1925 he was a Naval Flight Officer in Torpedo Squadron 2 (VT-2) "Doer Birds" of the experimental carrier . He commanded the Cruiser Scouting Wing in 1928-1929 and served on the Staff of Commander Cruisers, Scouting Fleet in 1930–1931. Stump was commanding officer of s Scout-Bombing Squadron 2 (VSB-2) in 1936–1937. From 1938 to 1939 he served as navigator of . Promoted to commander in 1940, he served as executive officer of .

World War II

At the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Stump was Commanding Officer of ''Langley'' in

Manila Bay Manila Bay (; ) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the Manila, capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Philippines and ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. In January 1942 he was transferred to the Staff of the Commander in Chief, Asiatic Fleet for which he was awarded the U.S. Army's

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

. Stump was the first captain of the following her commission in 1943. In 1944 Stump was promoted to

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

and took command of Task Unit 52.11.2 and Carrier Division 24 embarked on the escort carrier for operations against

Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

. Following action at Saipan, Stump retained commanded Carrier Division 24 but was now assigned to Task Unit 77.4.2 (''Taffy II''). At the battles of

Leyte Gulf Leyte Gulf, also known simply as the Leyte, is a gulf in the Eastern Visayan region in the Philippines. The bay is part of the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, and is bounded by two islands; Samar in the north and Leyte in the west. On the ...

and

Samar Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...

he embarked aboard the in October 1944. For his role in these battles he was awarded the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Naval Service's 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 equivalent to the Army ...

. His flag remained on ''Natoma Bay'' through early 1945 while his sailors continued operations in the Philippines. In May 1945 he served as Chief of Naval Air Technical Training Command and kept that post until December 1948.

Post-war

From December 1948 to 1951 Stump served as commander of Naval Air Forces Atlantic Fleet, during which time he was promoted to vice admiral. From March 1951 until June 1953, Stump served as Commander,

United States Second Fleet The United States Second Fleet is a numbered fleet in the United States Navy responsible for operations in the East Coast and North Atlantic Ocean. Established after World War II, Second Fleet was deactivated in 2011, when the United States gov ...

. From July 10, 1953 to January 14, 1958, now promoted to full Admiral, he served as Commander US Pacific Command until his retirement, effective August 1, 1958. After his retirement, he was appointed to the position of Vice Chairman of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of

Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge (now Founding Forward) is an American non-profit, non-partisan, non-sectarian educational organization, founded in 1949. The foundation is located adjacent to the Valley Forge National Historical Park, near Vall ...

, Pennsylvania. Stump died of cancer at

Bethesda Naval Hospital Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC; formerly known as the National Naval Medical Center and colloquially referred to as Bethesda Naval Hospital, Walter Reed, or Navy Med) is a United States military medical center located in B ...

in 1972. The was named in his honor.

Decorations

Gallery

File:Stump Anderson.jpg, As commander in chief, U.S. Pacific Command, with Secretary of the Navy Robert B. Anderson, November 1953. File:NH 69403 Rear Admiral Calvin T. Durgin, USN Rear Admiral Felix Stump, USN.jpg , Rear Admiral Felix B. Stump (right) with Rear Admiral Calvin T. Durgin, 1945.

Early life and career

World War II

Post-war

Decorations

Gallery

References

Further reading