The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia: Oldendorf, Jesse B. (original) (raw)
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The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia | |
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Oldendorf, Jesse Bartlett (1887-1974)
"Oley" Oldendorf was born in Riverside, California, and graduated from theU.S. Naval Academy in 1909. He served in cruisersand destroyersand as a flag secretary before becoming commanding officer of the destroyerDecatur in 1922. Afterteaching navigation at the Academy, he commanded the heavy cruiser Houston,but was assigned to the staff of the Naval War College in September 1941, thereby just avoiding being caught in the debacle in the Far East following the outbreak of war.
In January 1942 Oldendorf was promoted to rear admiral and given command of convoy escort forces in the Aruba sector of the Caribbean, one of the most important tankerlanes. He continued to command various escort forces until January 1944, when he was given command of Cruiser Division 4 in the Pacific. His division participated in amphibious landingsin the Marshalls, the Marianas, and at Peleliu, and participated in the raid on Truk. He was in tactical command at the Battle of SurigaoStrait during the Leytecampaign, where he fought an almost flawless set piece action in which a Japanesesquadron was virtually annihilated at small cost to the Americans.
My theory was that of the old-time gambler: Never give a sucker a chance. If my opponent is foolish enough to come at me with an inferior force, I'm certainly not going to give him an even break.
It was the last battleship vs. battleship action in history.
Oldendorf became a vice admiral in December 1944 and commanded Battleship Squadron 1, consisting of all the older battleships in the Navy. He was injured at Lingayen Gulf when his barge hit a mooring buoy and did return to active duty until 1 July 1945, when he replaced Lee as senior battleship commander in the Pacific. Six weeks later Oldendorf was wounded again when Pennsylvania was attacked at Buckner Bay, Okinawa by a single aircraft that put a torpedo into her. Pennsylvania thus became the last major ship to be damaged in action during the war. Oldendorf retired in 1949 as a full admiral.
Oldendorf was a good officer, capable of paying attention to detail without losing sight of the long term goal.
Service record
| 1887-2-16 | Born in Riverside, California | |
|---|---|---|
| 1909 | Graduates from Naval Academy, standing 141st in a class of 174. | |
| 1922 | Commander, Decatur | |
| 1930 | BB New York | |
| 1935 | Commander | Executive officer, BB West Virginia |
| 1940-11-1 | Captain | Commander, CA Houston |
| 1941-9 | Staff, Naval War College | |
| 1942-3-31 | Rear admiral | Commander, Aruba-Curacao Area |
| 1944-1 | Commander, Cruiser Division 4 | |
| 1944-12-15 | Vice admiral | Commander, Battleship Squadron 1 |
| 1945-3-11 | Injured in boat accident at Ulithi | |
| 1945-8 | Wounded in kamikaze attack | |
| 1945 | Commander, 11 Naval District | |
| 1947 | Commander, Western Sea Frontier | |
| 1949-9-1 | Admiral | Retires |
| 1974-4-22 | Dies at Portsmouth, Virginia |
References
Dupuyet al. (1992)
Morison (1958, 1959)
Pettibone (2006)
Tuohy (2007)
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2007, 2009, 2011 by Kent G. Budge. Index
