Isaac Campbell Kidd Jr. (August 14, 1919 – June 27, 1999) was an
American admiral in the
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 ...
who served as the Supreme Allied Commander of
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
's Atlantic Fleet, and also as commander in chief of the
U.S. Atlantic Fleet
The United States Fleet Forces Command (USFF) is a service component command of the United States Navy that provides naval forces to a wide variety of U.S. forces. The naval resources may be allocated to Combatant Commanders such as United Stat ...
from 1975 to 1978. He was the son of Rear Admiral
Isaac C. Kidd
Isaac Campbell Kidd (March 26, 1884 – December 7, 1941) was an American Rear Admiral in the United States Navy. He was the father of Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, Jr. Kidd was killed on the bridge of during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. ...
, who was killed on the bridge of the battleship during the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawa ...
.
In 1978 Kidd was among a number of retired four-star officers who testified before Congress in favor of the controversial
SALT II
The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) were two rounds of bilateral conferences and corresponding international treaties involving the United States and the Soviet Union. The Cold War superpowers dealt with arms control in two rounds o ...
arms control pact.
Biography
Graduation
Born in
Cleveland, Ohio, Kidd graduated from the
U.S. Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) 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 ...
in 1941; he was commissioned an
ensign
An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diff ...
on December19, 1941, just 12 days after his father was killed aboard his flagship. As ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...
'' described the event, when Kidd received his commission as ensign "the U.S. Naval Academy and its guests broke into a thunderous cheer— an unprecedented demonstration in honor of Ensign Kidd and his father." 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 ...
he served as a gunnery and operations officer on
destroyers in both Europe and the Pacific, and participated in various Allied landings in the Mediterranean as well as at
Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima (, also ), known in Japan as , is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands and lies south of the Bonin Islands. Together with other islands, they form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The highest point of Iwo Jima is Mount Suribachi at high. ...
.
Naval service
His 23 years at sea during his 37-year naval career included 15 years in command of destroyers, destroyer divisions and squadrons and three U.S. fleets in the Atlantic, Pacific and Mediterranean; he also served as executive assistant and senior aide to the
Chief of Naval Operations in the early 1960s, earning citations for his efforts in the
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the Unite ...
and several other crises. In 1967, he headed the court of inquiry into the
USS ''Liberty'' incident during the Six-Day War in June of that year. From 1975 to 1978, Kidd served as Commander in Chief of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet.
Retirement
Shortly after his 1978 retirement, Kidd was among a number of retired four-star officers who testified before Congress in favor of the controversial SALT II arms control pact. Kidd declared that while he was not entirely thrilled with the proposed treaty's verification procedures, "the alternative of having no ceiling at all, considering our position at this point in the so-called race, I find totally unacceptable."
He also taught the law of the sea at the
College of William and Mary
The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William ...
. His six children included Navy Captain Isaac C. KiddIII.
Kidd died of cancer at age 79 at his home in
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C.
In 2020, the population was 159,467. ...
, and was buried in the
Naval Academy Cemetery.
Awards and decorations
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kidd, Isaac C. Jr.
1919 births
1999 deaths
United States Navy personnel of World War II
College of William & Mary faculty
United States Naval Academy alumni
United States Navy admirals
Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal
Recipients of the Legion of Merit
Burials at the United States Naval Academy Cemetery
Military personnel from Cleveland
Deaths from cancer in Virginia
Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal