Harvey Edward Overesch (January 20, 1893 – January 20, 1973) was a Vice admiral in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

and

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player. A native of

Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette ( ) is a city in and is the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Lafayette ...

, Overesch attended

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

for two years before enrolling 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 ...

at 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 ...

. He played at the

end End, END, Ending, or ENDS may refer to: End Mathematics *End (category theory) * End (topology) * End (graph theory) * End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) * End (endomorphism) Sports and games *End (gridiron football) *End, a division ...

positions for the

Navy Midshipmen football The Navy Midshipmen football team represents the United States Naval Academy in NCAA Division I Division I (NCAA)#Football Bowl Subdivision, FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) college football. The Naval Academy completed its final season as an NCA ...

team. In December 1913, he was elected as the captain of the 1914 Navy football team. He was also selected as a third-team All-American by

Walter Camp Walter Chauncey Camp (April 7, 1859 – March 14, 1925) was an American college football player and coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". Among a long list of inventions, he created the sport's line of scrimmage a ...

in 1914. Overesch also competed for Navy's basketball team and on its eight-oared crew. He won the Navy Athletic Association sword in 1915 for "greatest personal excellence in athletics" in the Academy's Class of 1915. He was given the nickname "Swede" at the Naval Academy. Overesch became a career officer in the U.S. Navy, attaining the rank of vice admiral. In November 1937, he was serving as a naval attache in

Shanghai, China Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, when Japanese forces attacked the city. Overesch provided the Associated Press with his first-hand account of watching the battle from the upper floors of a Chinese teahouse with the nearest fighting less than 50 yards away. Overesch served for three years with the Pacific Fleet from 1939 to 1942. In May 1942, Overesch returned to Annapolis as the athletic director of the U.S. Naval Academy. In June 1942, Overesch was appointed as the Commandant of Midshipmen at the Naval Academy. He served as Commandant until December 1943, at which time Overesch was assigned to sea duty. He was the commander of the heavy cruiser from 1944 to March 1945. In June 1944, the ''San Francisco'' under Overesch's command participated in the naval battle known as the Marianas Turkey Shoot. In 1951, Overesch was appointed by Director of Central Intelligence, General

Walter Bedell Smith General (United States), General Walter Bedell "Beetle" Smith (5 October 1895 – 9 August 1961) was a senior officer (armed forces), officer of the United States Army who served as General Dwight D. Eisenhower's chief of staff at Allied Forc ...

to serve as CIA Commander, Far East Command ("FECOM"). By He served at Pershing Heights, Tokyo, Japan as Chief CIA North Asian Command overseeing covert operations in mainland China, Japan, Hong Kong, North and South Korea, Taiwan, Okinawa, and the Philippines. He served in Japan until 1955, when he was transferred the United States Embassy in London. Overesch was married to Emily Forman of Baltimore. He died on January 20, 1973.

Decorations

Vice Admiral Harvey Overesch's ribbon bar:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Overesch, Harvey 1893 births 1973 deaths Navy Midshipmen athletic directors Navy Midshipmen football players United States Navy admirals United States Navy World War II admirals United States Navy personnel of World War I United States Naval Academy alumni Recipients of the Legion of Merit Sportspeople from Lafayette, Indiana

Decorations

See also

References