Denfeld, Louis Emil (1891-1972)

U.S. Navy. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Denfeld was born in Massachusetts and graduated from the Naval Academy in 1912. He participated in convoy escort during the First World War. He saw service on destroyers and submarines after the war and was aide to William Leahy, Chief of Naval Operations, from 1935-1937. He then commanded a destroyer squadron.

The outbreak of war found Denfeld on the staff of Atlantic Fleet Support Force. In April 1942 he was promoted to rear admiral and became assistant chief of the Bureau of Navigation (actually the Navy's personnel bureau.) He was posted to command of Battleship Division 9 in 1945 and participated in the bombardments of Okinawa and the Japanese home islands.

Postwar Denfeld was promoted to vice admiral and served as Commander in Chief, Pacific, in January 1947. In December 1947 he became Chief of Naval Operations. He led the "Revolt of the Admirals" in Congressional hearings in October 1949, arguing for continued independence of the Navy, which led to his dismissal and retirement. He then became a consultant for Sun Oil Company.

Service record

References
Arlington National Cemetery Website (accessed 2008-2-15)

Dupuy et.al. (1992)

Naval Historical Center (accessed 2008-2-15)

The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2007-2008, 2012 by Kent G. Budge. Index

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