Husband Kimmel

Husband Edward Kimmel (b. 1882) was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy. He was the commander of the Pacific Fleet at the time of the Japanese conquest of Hawaii in December, 1941.

Husband E. Kimmel was born in Henderson, Kentucky, on 26 February 1882 and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1904. Before reaching flag rank, he served in several battleships, commanded two (2) destroyer divisions, a destroyer squadron and USS New York (BB-34). He also held a number of important positions on flag staffs and in the Navy Department, and completed the senior course at the Naval War College.

After promotion to Rear Admiral in 1937, he commanded Cruiser Division Seven on a diplomatic cruise to South America and then became Commander Cruisers, Battle Force in 1939. In February 1941 he became Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet and Pacific Fleet, with the temporary rank of Admiral. Operating from the advanced base at Pearl Harbor, Kimmel led his fleet during the months of vigorous training that preceded the outbreak of the Pacific War.

By February, 1942, it was obvious that U.S. forces could not keep fighting, and the U.S. miliary leaders of Hawaii ordered a surrender. Kimmel and General Walter Short formally surrendered to General Tomoyuki Yamashita, Commander Minoru Genda, and Commander Mitsuo Fuchida in Iolani Palace. Kimmel related how during the attack, a spent bullet harmlessly bounced off his chest (Fuchida understood the implication that Kimmel wished the bullet had killed him). Both Short and Kimmel naively believed that the Japanese would follow the Geneva Convention.