Ralph Andrew Ofstie (16 November 1897 – 18 November 1956) was a

Vice Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

in the

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 ...

, an escort carrier commander in World War II, Deputy

Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the highest-ranking officer of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an Admiral (United States), admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the United States Secretary ...

(Air), and Commander of the U.S. Sixth Fleet. He was born in

Eau Claire Eau Claire (French for "clear water", ''pl.'' ''eaux claires'') is the name of a number of locations and features in North America. The name is pronounced as if it were spelled "O'Clare". Place names (Canada) Communities *Eau Claire, Calgary, a n ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

and his hometown was Everett, Washington.

Naval Academy and World War I

Ofstie was born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, in 1897 to a Norwegian father and Swedish mother who had emigrated from Stjørdal, Norway in 1896.1956 Admiral Ralph Ofstie - Historiefortellere

(PDF) (Norwegian) ''historiefortelleren.no'' Retrieved 7 March 2019 He enrolled in 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 ...

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

in 1915, graduated tenth of his class and was commissioned an Ensign in June 1918. 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 served on the destroyer and the cruiser where he saw duty in the Eastern Atlantic and in European Waters. He was promoted to

Lieutenant (junior grade) Lieutenant junior grade is a 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 abbreviations), i ...

in August 1918. After the war, he was transferred to the destroyer .

Early career

In 1920 Ofstie reported to

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 ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

for Navy Pre-Flight School. Upon completion, he attended Naval Flight Training school which he completed in 1921 and was designated a Naval Flight Officer. His first air squadron was Fighter Squadron VF-1 "Wolfpack" where he served from 1922 to 1924. With other Navy pilots in the 1920s, Ofstie participated in annual flight competitions with Army pilots in the Curtiss Marine aircraft. In 1924-1925 he was assigned as Commanding Officer of Scouting Squadron VS-6. From 1927 to 1929 he served as Aviation Officer of the

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...

. From 1929 to 1933 Ofstie served in the Flight Test Division at Naval Air Station Anacostia. Returning to sea aboard the carrier in 1933, Ofstie took command of Fighter Squadron VF-6 for the next two years. Promoted to Lieutenant Commander he was assigned as Assistant Naval Attaché in Tokyo, Japan, and upon completion of that duty he returned to sea as Navigator on the carrier . As an interim assignment, he served on staff duty aboard the carrier USS ''Saratoga'' in 1939 before returning to the ''Enterprise''. Before the United States entered

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 ...

, Ofstie served on staff duty on the carrier in 1940. With the war in Europe already underway, he next served as Assistant Naval Attaché in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

World War II

Ofstie's first wartime assignment in the United States was as a commander on the staff 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 ...

Chester W. Nimitz Chester William Nimitz (; 24 February 1885 – 20 February 1966) was a fleet admiral in the United States Navy. He played a major role in the naval history of World War II as Commander in Chief, US Pacific Fleet, and Commander in Chief, ...

, Commander United States Pacific Fleet, at

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. Promoted to captain, from 6 November 1943 to 7 August 1944 he commanded the large carrier . During his tenure on ''Essex'', Ofstie was involved in several naval actions. ''Essex'' took part in her first amphibious assault at the

Battle of Tarawa The Battle of Tarawa was fought on 20–23 November 1943 between the United States and Japan on Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands, and was part of Operation Galvanic, the U.S. invasion of the Gilberts. Nearly 6,400 Japanese, Koreans, and Am ...

. Her second amphibious assault delivered in company with Task Group 58.2 was against the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The territory consists of 29 c ...

in January to February 1944. As part Task Group 68.2 ''Essex'' participated in the attack against Truk,

Operation Hailstone Operation Hailstone was a large-scale United States Navy air and surface attack on Truk Lagoon on 17–18 February 1944, conducted as part of the American offensive drive against the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Pacific Ocean theatre of Worl ...

, in February 1944. ''Essex'' struck Marcus and Wake Islands in May 1944 and finally deployed with Task Force 58 to support the

Battle of the Philippine Sea The Battle of the Philippine Sea was a major naval battle of World War II on 19–20 June 1944 that eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious r ...

and the occupation of the

Mariana Islands The Mariana Islands ( ; ), also simply the Marianas, are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, between the 12th and 21st pa ...

in June 1944.

Escort Carrier Commander and Battle off Samar

In August 1944 Ofstie was promoted to rear admiral and was assigned as Commander Task Group 32.7/Carrier Division 26 with his flag in the escort carrier for the invasion of

Palau Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands ...

in September. Keeping his flag in ''Kitkun Bay'', Carrier Division 26 moved to the

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 ...

to support the

Battle of Leyte Gulf The Battle of Leyte Gulf () 23–26 October 1944, was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some criteria the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved. By late 1944, Japan possessed fewer capital sh ...

. Ofstie was assigned to Rear Admiral Clifton Sprague's Task Unit 77.4.3 code name "Taffy III" where his unit was heavily involved in the Battle off Samar. Pitted against a Japanese naval force consisting of 4 battleships, 6 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, and 11 destroyers, led by Vice Admiral

Takeo Kurita was a vice admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. Kurita commanded IJN 2nd Fleet, the main Japanese attack force during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle in history. Biography Early life Takeo Kurit ...

, Ofstie's COMCARDIV 26 escort carrier was sunk by Japanese naval gunfire. For this service at Samar, Ofstie 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 ...

. Rear Admiral Ofstie's last sea command in World War II was as COMCARDIV 26 at the

Invasion of Lingayen Gulf The Invasion of Lingayen Gulf (; ; ; ), 3–13 January 1945, was an Allies of World War II, Allied Amphibious warfare, amphibious operation in the Commonwealth of the Philippines, Philippines during World War II. In the early morning of 6 Janua ...

, Philippines, in January 1945. Next, he was assigned to the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey of Japan where he played a key role in interviewing many of the surviving Japanese officials.

Post war service

In 1946, Ofstie was assigned to the Joint Chiefs of Staff Evaluation Group and served at the nuclear tests at

Bikini Atoll Bikini Atoll ( or ; Marshallese language, Marshallese: , , ), known as Eschscholtz Atoll between the 19th century and 1946, is a coral reef in the Marshall Islands consisting of 23 islands surrounding a central lagoon. The atoll is at the no ...

. On 11 October 1949, Rear Admiral Ofstie testified before a committee and stated, "strategic air warfare, as practiced in the past and as proposed for the future, is militarily unsound and of limited effect, is morally wrong, and is decidedly harmful to the stability of a post-war world." These comments were related to the " Revolt of the Admirals". During the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

from 1950 to 1951 Ofstie was Commander of Task Force 77. After the Korean War he served as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Air).

Last duties and death

Ofstie's last tour of duty was as Commander, Sixth Fleet in European waters from 1955 to 1956. After only a year, however, Ofstie fell ill and returned to Bethesda Naval Hospital where he died on November 18, 1956. Vice Admiral Ralph Andrew Ofstie and his wife, Captain Joy Bright Hancock (Ofstie), are buried together in Section 30, Grave 2138, 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. ...

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ofstie, Ralph 1897 births 1956 deaths United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy admirals People from Eau Claire, Wisconsin Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit Burials at Arlington National Cemetery United States Navy World War II admirals Military personnel from Wisconsin