Thomas H. Moorer, died in February 2004. I am saddened that I did not know who he was until I read his obituary.
Thomas H. Moorer was most well-known for his appointment to chief of naval operations by Lyndon Johnson in 1967 and for his service on the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Vietnam War. Moorer’s story that led him to this post is a very fascinating one.
Moorer was a Navy lieutenant pilot stationed at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He was one of the few pilots who actually got airborne that morning and fought in the air against attacking Japanese fighters.
A year later, while leading a push back against Japanese forces moving towards Australia, Moorer and his crew were shot down by a swarm of nine Japanese fighters. Moorer bounced his plane off the water three times, slowing it and finally making a successful water landing. After being adrift, Moorer and his crew were rescued by a Philippine freighter.
Amazingly, just minutes after they were pulled from the water, the Philippine freighter was attacked by Japanese dive bombers and sunk. Moorer led the ship’s evacuation into two life boats and successfully guided the survivors to a deserted island, where, finally, two days later, Australian fliers saw the large S.O.S. that Moorer and his men had made on the sand from beach debris.
Moorer would go on to become the navy’s youngest rear admiral in history at age 45 in 1958. Moorer would later be appointed to the Joint Chiefs and serve as Chairman from 1972 to 1974. Upon his passing, I felt it only right to tell his amazing story and to thank him for his service.
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