Frank Friday Fletcher (November 23, 1855 – November 28, 1928) was a

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 ...

admiral who served in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was awarded the U.S. military's highest decoration, the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

, for his actions as commander of navy forces at the

Battle of Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. Located in east ...

, Mexico. The , the most produced class of United States Navy destroyers, was named after him. He was also the uncle of

Frank Jack Fletcher Frank Jack Fletcher (April 29, 1885 – April 25, 1973) was an admiral in the United States Navy during World War II. Fletcher commanded five different task forces through the war; he was the operational task force commander at the pivotal batt ...

, another U.S. Navy admiral who also received the Medal of Honor for actions at Veracruz, and who commanded American naval forces at the battles of

Coral Sea The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down t ...

, Midway, in the Eastern Solomons, and the

Aleutian Campaign The Aleutian Islands campaign () was a military campaign fought between 3 June 1942 and 15 August 1943 on and around the Aleutian Islands in the American theater (World War II), American Theater of World War II during the Pacific War. It was t ...

during

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 ...

Biography

Frank Friday Fletcher Arlington National Cemetery

Fletcher was born on November 23, 1855, in

Oskaloosa, Iowa Oskaloosa is a List of cities in Iowa, city in, and the county seat of, Mahaska County, Iowa. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, Oskaloosa was a national center of bituminous coal mining. The population was 11,558 in the 2020 U ...

. He graduated from the

U.S. Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) 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 is the sec ...

in 1875 and spent the next year as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

on . Promoted to

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

in July 1876, he had sea duty on the sloops of war , , and before participating in 's voyage around the world in 1878–1881. Fletcher advanced to the rank of master (later

lieutenant, junior grade Lieutenant junior grade is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies. United States Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both ab ...

) in April 1882 and was next assigned to the

Hydrographic Office A hydrographic office is an organization which is devoted to acquiring and publishing hydrographic information. Historically, the main tasks of hydrographic offices were the conduction of hydrographic surveys and the publication of nautical ch ...

in Washington, D.C. In July 1884, he reported to for service in European waters. After ordnance training in late 1887, he had five years' duty at the

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 ...

, during which time he was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

and made notable contributions to gun mechanism design and shipboard navigation. From 1892 to 1895, Fletcher commanded the navy's first torpedo boat, , based at the Torpedo Station in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

, and developed the navy's first torpedo warfare doctrine. He then served in the battleship before returning to the Newport Torpedo Station in October 1896. After a brief tour as Assistant Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance in the spring of 1898, Lieutenant Fletcher became commanding officer of the converted yacht . From October 1898 to July 1901 he commanded the surveying ship and, in March 1899, was promoted to lieutenant commander. In the fall of 1901, Fletcher returned to ordnance duty and was closely involved with torpedo warfare. A year later he became Chief of Staff of the

Asiatic Fleet The United States Asiatic Fleet was a fleet of the United States Navy during much of the first half of the 20th century. Before World War II, the fleet patrolled the Philippine Islands. Much of the fleet was destroyed by the Japanese by Februar ...

and later in 1905 assumed command of the cruiser . Fletcher attended 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 associa ...

courses in both 1907 and 1908 and in 1908 was assigned to the navy's

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. The General Board was established by general order 544, issued on March 13, 1900 by Secretary of the Navy John ...

during the next year. That same year, he became a member of the District of Columbia Society of the

Sons of the American Revolution The Sons of the American Revolution (SAR), formally the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (NSSAR), is a federally chartered patriotic organization. The National Society, a nonprofit corporation headquartered in Louisvi ...

. He was promoted to

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

in May 1908 and from November of that year to March 1910 he commanded the battleship . In the spring of 1910, Fletcher became the Secretary of the Navy's Aide for Material. While in that post, he reached the rank of

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 ...

. From 1912 to 1914, he commanded battleship divisions of the Atlantic Fleet. In April 1914, Fletcher led U.S. Navy forces during the landings at Vera Cruz, Mexico, receiving the

for his "distinguished conduct in battle". In September 1914, Fletcher began two years as the Atlantic Fleet's Commander in Chief, and was elevated to the rank of

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many 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. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

in March 1915, the senior of the first three officers to hold the new four-star positions. He was a member of the General Board, the Joint Army and Navy Board and the

War Industries Board The War Industries Board (WIB) was a United States government agency established on July 28, 1917, during World War I, to coordinate the purchase of war supplies between the War Department (Department of the Army) and the Navy Department. Becaus ...

in 1916–1919, and was awarded the

Navy Distinguished Service Medal The Navy Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps which was first created in 1919 and is presented to Sailors and Marines to recognize distinguished and exceptionally meritorio ...

for "meritorious service" during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He was also awarded the

Army Distinguished Service Medal The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. ...

for his work as the navy representative on the War Industries Board. Admiral Fletcher retired on November 23, 1919, with the rank of rear admiral (as was customary at that time), and later served as an official advisor on contemporary defense issues. Fletcher died on November 28, 1928, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

. He was the uncle of

Admiral

Legacy

The was named for Fletcher and was the most numerous class of destroyers produced during

, with 175 completed, and one of the most successful designs of the war. The lead ship in the class, , was in commission from 1942 to 1969.

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy. Born: November 23, 1855, Oskaloosa, Iowa. Accredited to: Iowa. G.O. No.: 177, December 4, 1915. Citation:

For distinguished conduct in battle, engagements of Vera Cruz, 21 and 22 April 1914. Under fire, Rear Adm. Fletcher was eminent and conspicuous in the performance of his duties; was senior officer present at Vera Cruz, and the landing and the operations of the landing force were conducted under his orders and directions. In connection with these operations, he was at times on shore and under fire.

Awards

* Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Navy) *

Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Army) The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. ...

Spanish Campaign Medal The Spanish Campaign Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces which recognized those men of the U.S. military who had served in the Spanish–American War. Although a single decoration, there were two versions of the Spanish ...

Mexican Service Medal The Mexican Service Medal was an award of the United States military for service in Mexico from 1911 to 1919. History The Mexican Service Medal awarded by the Army was established by General Orders of the United States War Department on December ...

* World War I Victory Medal

Dates of rank

Midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

: June 18, 1870 *

Passed Midshipman A passed midshipman, sometimes called as "midshipman, passed", is a term used historically in the 19th century to describe a midshipman who had passed the lieutenant's exam and was eligible for promotion to lieutenant as soon as there was a vac ...

: June 21, 1875

References

: *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fletcher, Frank F. 1855 births 1928 deaths Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Naval War College alumni People from Oskaloosa, Iowa Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal Members of the Sons of the American Revolution United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy admirals United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients Battle of Veracruz (1914) recipients of the Medal of Honor United States Navy personnel of the Spanish–American War United States Navy World War I admirals Military personnel from Iowa