World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseWilliam Daniel Leahy was born in Hampton, Iowa, United States. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1897. As a junior officer aboard the battleship Oregon, he participated in the Battle of Santiago during the Spanish-American War. Around the turn of the century, he served with the Asiatic Fleet and commanded the gunboat USS Mariveles. After several postings both home and abroad, he briefly served in WW1 as the captain of USS Princess Matotika and transported American troops to Europe. His career grew at a steady rate during the inter-war years with him holding progressively greater commands. In 1933, he became the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation, then in 1936, now a vice admiral, he was named the Commander in Chief of the Navy's Battle Force with his flag aboard battleship California. In Jan 1937, he was named the Chief of Naval Operations. He retired from the Navy in 1939; upon which occasion, his long-time friend Franklin Roosevelt told him that, "Bill, if we have a war, you're going to be right back here helping me run it." After his retirement, he was sent to Puerto Rico as its governor then later to Vichy France as the American ambassador.

ww2dbaseAs war wore on, Roosevelt felt more and more pressure to have a trusted naval officer at his side as his advisor during strategic conferences. On 6 Jul 1942, with George Marshall and Ernest King's approval, Leahy was reactivated by Roosevelt and was named the President's Chief of Staff (or, officially, Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy). On 15 Dec 1944, he became the first American naval officer to hold the rank of fleet admiral. After the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by atomic bombs, he expressed disapproval on the decision. "[I]n being the first to use it, we had adopted an ethical standard common to the barbarians of the Dark Ages", he said. "I was not taught to make war in that fashion, and wars cannot be won by destroying women and children."

ww2dbaseLeahy resigned from the Navy in Mar 1949. He died at Bethesda Naval Hospital on 20 Jul 1959.

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3.  C. Peter Chen says:
20 Jul 2015 07:23:10 PM

Thank you, the incorrect timeline entry has been fixed.

4.  Alan Chanter says:
9 Sep 2015 10:08:52 AM

Admiral Leahy,worn out by the diplomatic intrigues that surrounded him and mourning the death of his beloved wife, had his last meeting with Pétain on April 27, 1942. the French Marshal assured the Ambassador of his continued comradeship and his desire for the United States and France to remain friends. Darlan said much the same in his final meeting with the Admiral, pledging that Vichy forces would never act against America.

On May 1, Leahy began his long journey home. The embassy was placed in the hands of a charge d'affaires, with no new ambassador on the way - a sign of American disappointment. The diplomatic staff left behind continued to serve, but without an ambassador of Leahy's ability there was little that could be accomplished in the face of the Vichy regime's lack of resolve and Laval's pro-Axis stance.

Shortly after Allied troops landed in French North Africa in November 1942, Vichy police interned the embassy's remaining American staff, and when the Germans invaded their Vichy Ally, the U.S. diplomats were moved to house arrest at Baden Baden, until eventually being exchanged for German diplomats in March 1944.