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 ...

Jehu Valentine Chase (January 10, 1869 – May 24, 1937) was a career navy officer, who is most remembered for his leadership of USS ''Minnesota'' 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 ...

. Chase was born in Pattersonville,

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

on 10 January 1869, and graduated from 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 ...

6 June 1890. As commanding officer of the USS ''Minnesota'' when she was mined in September 1918, Chase 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 ...

in recognition of his seamanship and leadership in bringing his ship safely to port without loss of life. Admiral Chase was Commander in Chief of the

United States Fleet The United States Fleet was an organization in the United States Navy from 1922 until after World War II. The acronym CINCUS, pronounced "sink us", was used for the Commander in Chief, United States Fleet. This was replaced by COMINCH in December ...

, from 17 September 1930 to 15 September 1931, and Chairman of the

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 ...

from April 1932 until his retirement in February 1933. He died at

Coronado, California Coronado (Spanish language, Spanish for "Crowned") is a resort town, resort city in San Diego County, California, United States, across San Diego Bay from downtown San Diego. It was founded in the 1880s and incorporated in 1890. Its population ...

on 24 May 1937.

Family

Chase's father was Judge Valentine Chase of St. Mary Parish. Valentine Chase was an active Republican, and was murdered during

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

on 17 October 1868 by a group of unidentified men possibly associated with the

Knights of the White Camelia The Knights of the White Camelia was an American white supremacist organization that operated in the Southern United States in the late 19th century. Similar to and associated with the Ku Klux Klan, it opposed freedmen's rights. History The Kni ...

paramilitary organization. Chase's father-in-law,

Henry Clay Taylor Henry Clay Taylor (4 March 1845 – 26 July 1904) was a rear admiral in the United States Navy who served in the American Civil War and the Spanish–American War. He also served as Chief of the Bureau of Navigation and President of the Naval War ...

, was also a Rear Admiral of the U.S. Navy, and many of Chase's descendants have also served as Navy leaders. His two sons, Jay Valentine Chase and Harry Taylor Chase, each commanded ships during World War II; his great-grandson

James F. Caldwell Jr. James Franklin "Frank" Caldwell Jr. (born March 24, 1959) is a retired admiral in the United States Navy who last served as director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, a job once held by the program's creator, Admiral Hyman G. Rickover. He ...

rose to the rank of admiral and served as director of the

Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program Naval Reactors (NR), which administers the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, is an umbrella term for the U.S. government office that has comprehensive responsibility for the safe and reliable operation of the United States Navy's nuclear reactors ...

until his retirement in 2024. Chase's grandson Griff Chase served as a police officer of the Compton Police Department in the 1960s. He later committed

suicide by cop Suicide by cop (SbC), also known as suicide by police or law-enforcement-assisted suicide, is a suicide method in which a suicidal individual deliberately behaves in a threatening manner with intent to provoke a lethal response from a public sa ...

Harbor City Harbor City is a highly diverse neighborhood in the South Bay and Harbor region of Los Angeles, California, with a population upward of 36,000 people. Originally part of the Rancho San Pedro Spanish land grant, the Harbor City was brought int ...

after injuring his back and becoming an alcoholic.

Namesake

The USS ''Chase'' was named in Chase's honor.

Decorations

Admiral Chase's decorations included:

, Navy Spanish Campaign Medal and World War I Victory Medal with Clasp.

References

Footnotes

External links

* 1860s births 1937 deaths United States Naval Academy alumni People from Patterson, Louisiana United States Navy rear admirals (upper half) Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal {{USN-bio-stub