Isaac C. Kidd
{{Short description|US Navy RADM, Medal of Honor recipient (1884–1941)}}
{{For-text|his son, also an admiral|Isaac C. Kidd Jr. (1919–1999)}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2009}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= Isaac C. Kidd
|image= Isaac C. Kidd.NH50176.jpg
|image_size= 200px
|alt=
|caption= Captain Isaac C. Kidd while he was chief of staff to the commander, Base Force, U.S. Fleet
|nickname=
|birth_date= {{Birth date|1884|3|26}}
|birth_place= Cleveland, Ohio
|death_date= {{Death date and age|1941|12|7|1884|3|26}}
|death_place= Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii
|placeofburial= Hull of USS Arizona
|placeofburial_label= Resting place
|allegiance= United States
|branch= United States Navy
|serviceyears= 1906–1941
|rank= Rear admiral
|servicenumber=
|unit=
|commands= {{USS|Vega|AK-17}}
Port of Cristóbal, Panama Canal Zone
Officer Detail Section, Bureau of Navigation
Destroyer Squadron 1
{{USS|Arizona|BB-39}}
Battleship Division 1
|battles= World War I
World War II
- Attack on Pearl Harbor{{KIA}}
|awards= Medal of Honor
Purple Heart
|relations= Admiral Isaac C. Kidd Jr. (son)
|laterwork=
}}
Isaac Campbell Kidd (March 26, 1884 – December 7, 1941) was a rear admiral in the United States Navy. He was the father of Admiral Isaac C. Kidd Jr. Kidd Sr. was killed on the bridge of {{USS|Arizona|BB-39|6}} during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The highest-ranking casualty at Pearl Harbor, he became the first U.S. Navy flag officer killed in action in World War II as well as the first killed in action against any foreign enemy.
He was a posthumous recipient of his nation's highest military honor—the Medal of Honor. A {{sclass|Fletcher|destroyer}}, {{USS|Kidd|DD-661|3}}, was commissioned in his honor on April 23, 1943. The second ship named after him, {{USS|Kidd|DDG-993|3}}, lead ship of four {{sclass|Kidd|destroyer|1}}s, was commissioned on March 27, 1981. An {{sclass|Arleigh Burke|destroyer|0}} guided missile destroyer, {{USS|Kidd|DDG-100|3}}, was the third ship named after him and was commissioned on June 9, 2007.{{cite web |url=https://www.navy.mil/ |title=U.S. Navy: Welcome Aboard |website=www.navy.mil |access-date=13 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970104104533/http://www.navy.mil/ |archive-date=4 January 1997 |url-status=live}}
Early years and military service
Kidd was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1884. He entered the U.S. Naval Academy in 1902, graduating with the Class of 1906 in February of that year. He was commissioned an ensign in 1908. Kidd participated in the 1907–1909 Great White Fleet cruise around the world while serving on the battleship {{USS|New Jersey|BB-16|2}}. Following service on the battleship {{USS|North Dakota|BB-29|2}} and armored cruiser {{USS|Pennsylvania|ACR-4|2}}, Kidd became the Aide and Flag Secretary to the Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet, the first of his many flagstaff assignments. He was an instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy in 1916–1917.
During and after World War I, Kidd was stationed on {{USS|New Mexico|BB-40|2}}, and then he had further staff and Naval Academy service. He was the executive officer of the battleship {{USS|Utah|BB-31|2}} in 1925–1926, then commanded the Navy transport {{USS|Vega|AK-17|2}} until becoming the captain of the port at Cristóbal, Panama Canal Zone from 1927 to 1930. Promoted to the rank of captain, he was the chief of staff to the commander, Base Force, United States Fleet in 1930–1932. After three years at the Bureau of Navigation in Washington, D.C., he was the commander of Destroyer Squadron One, Scouting Force, in 1935–1936, stationed in Long Beach, California. The Kidd family resided in a downtown Long Beach apartment building.{{cite news |last1=Archbold |first1=Rich |title=Long Beach remembers Pearl Harbor and its heroes: Rich Archbold |url=https://www.presstelegram.com/2016/04/29/long-beach-remembers-pearl-harbor-and-its-heroes-rich-archbold/ |work=Press Telegram |date=29 April 2016}}
During the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Rear Admiral Kidd was the commander of Battleship Division One and the chief of staff and aide to the commander, Battleship Battle Force. At his first knowledge of the attack, he rushed to the bridge of {{USS|Arizona|BB-39|6}}, his flagship, and "courageously discharged his duties as Senior Officer Present Afloat until Arizona blew up from a magazine explosion and a direct bomb hit on the bridge which resulted in the loss of his life."{{cite web |url=http://www.public.navy.mil/surfor/ddg100/Pages/namesake.aspx |title=USS Kidd DDG 100 - Named for Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd |publisher=United States Navy |access-date=14 November 2016 |archive-date=5 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171105234505/http://www.public.navy.mil/surfor/ddg100/Pages/namesake.aspx |url-status=dead }}
Further research into the attack on Pearl Harbor indicates RADM Kidd was not the SOPA (Senior Officer Present Afloat) when the attack began. RADM William R. Furlong, commander Battle Forces Pacific was on board his flagship, the minelayer USS Oglala. RADM Furlong was senior by two years promoted on 23 Jun 1938.{{cite web |last1=Furlong |first1=William R. |title=Interwar Period |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_R._Furlong |website=Wikipedia |access-date=9 February 2025}} RADM Kidd was promoted in 1940.{{cite web |last1=Kidd |first1=Isaac C. |title=Kidd, Isaac C. |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/us-people/k/kidd-isaac-c.html |website=Naval History and Heritage Command |access-date=9 February 2025}}
Kidd's body was never recovered and to this day he is considered missing in action. U.S. Navy salvage divers located his Naval Academy ring fused to a bulkhead on Arizona{{'}}s bridge.{{cite web |url=http://www.militaryaerospace.com/blogs/mil-aero-blog/2011/12/a-naval-academy-class-ring-gives-mute-testimony-to-disaster-at-pearl-harbor-70-years-ago-today.html |title=A Naval Academy class ring gives mute testimony to disaster at Pearl Harbor 70 years ago today |website=militaryaerospace.com |last=Keller |first=John |access-date=14 November 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510075114/http://www.militaryaerospace.com/blogs/mil-aero-blog/2011/12/a-naval-academy-class-ring-gives-mute-testimony-to-disaster-at-pearl-harbor-70-years-ago-today.html }} A trunk containing his personal memorabilia was found in the wreck and sent to his widow.{{Cite web |url=http://www.usskidd.com/radmkidd.html |title=Rear Admiral Isaac Campbell Kidd, Sr.(1884–1941) |access-date=2016-12-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101129052949/http://usskidd.com/radmkidd.html |archive-date=2010-11-29 |url-status=dead }} Rediscovered in the attic by his children, both the trunk and its contents are now displayed in the museum at the USS Arizona Memorial.
Awards and decorations
Admiral Kidd posthumously received the Medal of Honor and the Purple Heart. His other awards include the Army of Cuban Pacification Medal, Mexican Service Medal, World War I Victory Medal with Atlantic Fleet Clasp, American Defense Service Medal with Fleet Clasp, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with one bronze battle star for Pearl Harbor (posthumous), and the World War II Victory Medal (posthumous).
{{clear}}
| style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|colspan="4"|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Medal of Honor ribbon.svg|width=106|alt=A light blue ribbon with five white five pointed stars}} |
| {{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Purple Heart ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Army of Cuban Pacification service ribbon.png|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Mexican Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} |
| {{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=World War I Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=American Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific Campaign ribbon.svg|width=106}} |
| {{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Navy Rifle Marksmanship Ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Navy Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon.svg|width=106}} |
| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;" |
| colspan="6"|Medal of Honor |
| colspan="2" align=center |Purple Heart |
| colspan=2|World War I Victory Medal with Atlantic Fleet Clasp |American Defense Service Medal |
| colspan=2|World War II Victory Medal |
=Medal of Honor citation=
For conspicuous devotion to duty, extraordinary courage, and complete disregard of his own life, during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, by Japanese Forces on December 7, 1941. He immediately went to the bridge and as Commander Battleship Division ONE, courageously discharged his duties as Senior Officer Present Afloat until the {{USS|Arizona|BB-39|6}}, his Flagship, blew up from magazine explosions and a direct bomb hit on the bridge, which resulted in the loss of his life.
Namesake and relations
- Three U.S. Navy destroyers have been named in Admiral Kidd's honor. See {{USS|Kidd}}.
- Kidd's son, Admiral Isaac C. Kidd Jr., served in the US Navy from December 19, 1941, to 1978, eventually serving as Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet.
- Kidd's grandson [https://www.barrancofuneralhome.com/obituary/capt-isaac-kidd-iii-usnr-ret-cappy Isaac C. Kidd III] retired with the rank of Navy Captain.
- Camp Kidd
- Admiral Kidd Park in West Long Beach, California, dedicated to Kidd by the Long Beach City Council on March 25, 1942{{cite web |title=Admiral Kidd Park |url=https://www.longbeach.gov/park/park-and-facilities/directory/admiral-kidd-park/ |website=www.longbeach.gov |language=en}}
See also
{{Portal|Biography}}
References
{{Reflist}}
:{{NHC}}
:{{DANFS}}
- {{Cite web |access-date=September 29, 2010 |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/pers-us/uspers-k/ic-kidd.htm |title=Isaac C. Kidd, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy. |archive-date=December 6, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206200511/http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/pers-us/uspers-k/ic-kidd.htm |url-status=dead }}
- {{Cite web |access-date=May 19, 2016 |url=http://www.public.navy.mil/surfor/ddg100/Pages/namesake.aspx |title=USS Isaac C. Kidd, "Named for Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd", U.S. Navy Hosting |archive-date=November 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171105234505/http://www.public.navy.mil/surfor/ddg100/Pages/namesake.aspx |url-status=dead }}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kidd, Isaac Campbell}}
Category:United States Navy personnel killed in World War II
Category:Deaths by Japanese airstrikes during the attack on Pearl Harbor
Category:United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients
Category:Military personnel from Cleveland
Category:United States Naval Academy alumni
Category:United States Navy rear admirals (upper half)
Category:United States Navy World War II admirals
Category:World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor
Category:United States Navy personnel of World War I