Marc Mitscher
| Marc Andrew Mitscher | |
|---|---|
Vice Admiral Marc A. Mitscher during World War II
|
|
| Nickname(s) | "Pete" |
| Born | January 26, 1887 Hillsboro, Wisconsin |
| Died | February 3, 1947 (aged 60) Norfolk, Virginia |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Navy
|
| Years of service | 1910–1947 |
| Rank |
 Admiral
|
| Service number | 7591 |
| Commands held |
USS Wright USS Hornet Commander Air, Solomon Islands Fast Carrier Task Force Eighth Fleet Atlantic Fleet |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards |
Navy Cross (3) Navy Distinguished Service Medal (3) Legion of Merit |
Marc Andrew "Pete" Mitscher (January 26, 1887 – February 3, 1947) was a pioneer in naval aviation who became an admiral in the United States Navy, and served as commander of the Fast Carrier Task Force in the Pacific during the latter half of World War II.
Mitscher was born in Hillsboro, Wisconsin on January 26, 1887, the son of Oscar and Myrta (Shear) Mitscher. Mitscher's grandfather, Andreas Mitscher (1821–1905), was a German immigrant from Traben-Trarbach. His other grandfather, Thomas J. Shear, was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. During the western land boom of 1889, when Marc was two years old, his family resettled in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where his father, a federal Indian agent, later became that city's second mayor. His uncle, Byron D. Shear, would also become mayor.
Mitscher attended elementary and secondary schools in Washington, D.C. He received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland in 1904 through Bird Segle McGuire, then U.S. Representative from Oklahoma.
An indifferent student with a lackluster sense of military deportment, Mitscher's career at the naval academy did not portend the accomplishments he would achieve later in life. Nicknamed after Annapolis's first midshipman from Oklahoma, Peter Cassius Marcellus Cade, who had "bilged-out" in 1903, upperclassmen compelled young Mitscher to recite the entire name as a hazing. Soon he was referred to as "Oklahoma Pete", with the nickname shortened to just "Pete" by the winter of his youngster year.
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Wikipedia