Frederick J. Horne

Horne was born in New York City, New York, on February 14, 1880, to George Edward Horne and the former Marguerite Agnes Cooper. He was appointed from the state of New York to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, on May 20, 1895. As a naval cadet, he served in the Spanish–American War aboard the gunboat and the battleship during the summer of 1898; he participated in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba on July 3, 1898. He graduated from the academy on January 28, 1899. He fulfilled the two years' sea duty required before he could be commissioned as an officer as a passed midshipman aboard the protected cruiser , the gunboat , the gunboat , the gunboat , the distilling ship , and the hospital ship . During those assignments, he participated in 15 engagements of the Philippine–American War. He was commissioned ensign with date of rank January 28, 1901. After receiving his commission, he continued to serve at sea aboard the gunboat , the wooden screw sloop , and as chief engineer of the gunboat . In 1904, he returned to the Naval Academy as an instructor in the Department of Engineering. Upon returning to the United States, Horne reported to the Office of Naval Intelligence in Washington, D.C., for a month of special duty. After serving as a member of the Naval Examining Board in the Navy Department, Horne temporarily relieved Captain Ernest J. King as commanding officer of the aircraft tender on January 3, 1927. Moffett had assigned King to Wright before he had received the necessary flight training in order to ensure King got command of the tender; Horne served as a caretaker captain while King qualified as a naval aviation observer at Pensacola. King resumed command of Wright on June 6, 1927. Horne commanded the aircraft carrier from April 20, 1929, to September 5, 1930, then served as Commander Aircraft Squadrons, Scouting Fleet from September 20, 1930, to June 5, 1931. His title was changed to Commander Carrier Division 1, U.S. Fleet, in October 1930, then changed again on February 13, 1931, to Commander Aircraft, Scouting Force, and Commander Division 1. He reported to the Fourteenth Naval District, Pearl Harbor on July 18, 1931, as chief of staff to the commandant, a position he held for two years. ==Flag officer==

As a rear admiral, Horne served as Commander Train Squadron, Base Force, and as Commander, Base Force, from June 1933 to June 1934; as a member of the Naval Examining Board until March 1935; as Commander Cruiser Division 6, Scouting Force from April 1, 1935, to June 18, 1935; and as Commander Aircraft, Base Force, until June 9, 1936, Commander Aircraft, Battle Force in June 1937. Promoted to the temporary rank of vice admiral, Horne served as Commander Aircraft, Battle Force (COMAIRBATFOR), from June 9, 1936, to January 29, 1938. King succeeded Horne as COMAIRBATFOR in January 1938, and Horne reverted to his permanent rank of rear admiral. General Board From March 15, 1938, Horne was a member of the General Board of the Navy, In 1939, Horne headed an influential board that established personnel policies for the expansion of naval aviation. Convened on June 29, 1939, by the Secretary of the Navy "to study matters concerning the regular and reserve aviation personnel of the Navy and Marine Corps," the Horne Board's other members were Commander George D. Murray, Commander Edwin T. Short, Marine Lieutenant Colonel L. C. Merritt, and Lieutenant Commander Walton W. Smith. The rapid expansion of naval aviation had created a demand for pilots far in excess of the supply of qualified Naval Academy graduates. After six months of study, the Board submitted its report on December 22, 1939. "Naval aviation is an essential part of the fleet. ... Naval Aviators should be required to maintain qualification for general duty in the line", the Horne Board declared, rejecting proposals to create a separate Aviation Corps within the Navy, or to designate officers for Aviation Duty Only. The Board instead recommended commissioning a number of reserve naval aviators and transferring them to the regular line of the Navy, which was the approach eventually adopted by the Navy Department. ==World War II==

In late 1940, King left the General Board to become commander-in-chief of the Atlantic Fleet. A year later, in the aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, King was elevated to Commander in Chief, United States Fleet, and promptly forced Chief of Naval Operations Harold R. Stark to release his assistant, Rear Admiral Royal E. Ingersoll, to succeed King in command of the Atlantic Fleet. To take Ingersoll's place, King suggested Stark select either Horne, who was awaiting retirement on the General Board, or Rear Admiral Russell Willson, the superintendent of the Naval Academy: "Take the one you want to replace Ingersoll and I will take the other as my chief of staff." Stark picked Horne, who served as assistant to the chief of naval operations from December 27, 1941, to March 25, 1942, Horne was promoted to vice admiral on March 10, 1942. During the war, Horne was actually de facto CNO, since King was preoccupied with his COMINCH and Joint Chiefs of Staff duties. King and Horne informally agreed that King would manage the war, leaving logistical matters to Horne and his top assistant, Rear Admiral Lynde D. McCormick. He was awarded the Legion of Merit for providing "astute guidance in staff planning and logistical collaboration concerned with problems of logistical supply", However, on February 11, 1944, Congressman Carl Vinson, the chairman of the House Naval Affairs Committee, revoked his support for Knox's proposal. Knox died in April, ending the proposal. In September 1944, King elevated his COMINCH chief of staff, Vice Admiral Richard S. Edwards, to the newly created position of "Deputy COMINCH-Deputy CNO," which inserted Edwards above Horne in the chain of command. Horne's unhappiness at the effective demotion resulted in a flurry of newspaper and radio criticism, which King tried to quell by issuing a press statement on October 4, 1944, that asserted "the duties now assigned to Vice Admiral Edwards do not constitute a demotion of Vice Admiral Horne or anyone else." After the war, King was more candid. "Of course Horne would have liked to be CNO. Who wouldn't? But I am afraid he was not quite frank with me. I eased him out, finally." Horne was placed on the retired list on August 1, 1946, but remained on active duty as special assistant and head of the Board of Review for Decorations and Medals until April 1947. ==Personal life==

In retirement, Horne resided in Coronado, California. He married Alma Beverly Cole McClung on August 4, 1903; A Christian Scientist, Horne neither smoked nor drank. He and his wife Alma were regarded with affection by the young couples they entertained at their home during the war. One staff officer remembered Horne as "the greatest listener I ever knew". Horne was widely admired as an exceptional administrator. "I don't believe that the country will ever know the full contribution to the prosecution of the recent war by this quiet, modest, sincere, but tremendously effective and capable naval officer", said New York Congressman W. Sterling Cole. Truman Committee staffer John J. Tolan marveled, "In an entire lifetime, one is extremely fortunate to watch such men at work." Tolan once asked Horne why he spent so much time drawing and redrawing boxes in organizational charts. Horne replied, "It isn't the drawing of the boxes that takes my time. It is the selection of the names that go in the boxes. Sometimes, in order to use the right man to his full capacity, you have to change the boxes." Captain Paul Pihl, an aircraft procurement officer on Horne's staff, blamed a number of the Navy's wartime supply failures on Horne's hands-off management style and lack of logistics expertise. "It was his job", Pihl said after the war, "and he didn't have the faintest idea what the hell he was going to do with it. Horne had had no previous experience with logistics, and he tended to go by the old Navy tradition that you didn't get involved in what was happening in the engine room unless something went wrong, and then you brought a person up and bawled him out for it." Horne was also an outspoken critic of the Nuremberg Trials, having stated: "As it has been my belief that the after-war emotional hysteria was responsible for the trial and imprisonment of the German high-ranking military and naval officers, and that we should reflect with shame upon our efforts for revenge upon men doing what we would do for our own country, I am glad to have my name included in any effort to atone for the injustice done to Admiral Doenitz and to any others who were likewise unfairly treated because they loved their country." ==Awards==

Horne's decorations include: • Naval Aviator insignia • Navy Cross • Navy Distinguished Service Medal • Legion of Merit • Navy Unit Commendation • Spanish Campaign Medal • Santiago Medal • Philippine Campaign Medal • World War I Victory Medal • American Defense Medal • American Campaign Medal • European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal • World War II Victory Medal Horne also received a number of foreign honors: • The guided-missile cruiser was named in his honor. ==Notes==