Harry D. Felt
Encyclopedia
Admiral
Harry Donald Felt (June 21, 1902 – February 25, 1992) was an aviator
in the United States Navy
who led U.S. carrier strikes during World War II
and later served as commander in chief of Pacific Command
(CINCPAC) from 1958 to 1964.
to Harry Victor Felt and the former Grace Greenwood Johnson, Felt attended public school in Goodland, Kansas
before moving with his family to Washington, D.C.
at the age of ten. Lacking money for college, Felt entered a cram school for the U.S. Naval Academy
and was appointed to the academy in 1919.
At the Academy, Felt received good marks but graduated in 1923 with the unremarkable class rank of 152 out of 413, having accumulated almost as many demerits as anyone in his class.
As a junior officer, Felt served five years aboard the battleship Mississippi
and the destroyer Farenholt
before applying for flight training out of sheer boredom. From then on, naval aviation was his life. While training at Naval Air Station Pensacola
from 1928 to 1929, Felt met his future wife, Kathryn Cowley, whom he married on August 3, 1929 after warning her that the Navy would always come first. She later reported that even as a newlywed, Felt's life was "just fly, fly, fly."
on August 24, 1942, Felt led Air Group 3 (AG-3) from in an attack that sank the Japanese light carrier Ryujo
. Diving with his second wave of bombers through enemy flak and fighters, Felt personally scored the first of his group's several 1000-lb bomb hits on the carrier.
In January 1943, he was commanding officer of Naval Air Station Daytona Beach, and of Naval Air Station Miami in February. He was promoted to captain in July. In March 1944, Felt became the first naval aviator assigned to the U.S. Military Mission to Moscow. He commanded the escort carrier from February 1945 to January 1946, a tour that included heavy participation in the Battle of Okinawa
from March through June, followed by Magic Carpet duty ferrying servicemen home at war's end.
before attending the National War College
from 1947 to 1948. He commanded the carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt
in the Atlantic and Mediterranean from August 3, 1948 to July 11, 1949. He was on staff at the Naval War College
from 1949 to 1951, becoming chief of staff in the spring of 1950 and acting as president from October 17, 1950 to December 1, 1950. He was promoted to rear admiral in January 1951.
In March 1951, Felt was sent to command the Middle East Force in the Persian Gulf
, the first flag officer to serve in that billet. He later described his principal adversaries during that tour to have been the British, who greatly resented American intrusion into what they considered to be their exclusive sphere of influence
. Returning to the Navy Department in October, Felt worked for Rear Admiral Arleigh Burke
as assistant director of the Strategic Plans Division.
He was Commander Carrier Division 15 in 1953–54, practicing anti-submarine warfare from the escort carrier Rendova
; Commander Carrier Division Three in the spring of 1954, operating attack carriers Essex and Philippine Sea in the South China Sea
; and assistant chief of naval operations (fleet readiness) from 1954 to 1956.
, Arleigh Burke, tapped his former assistant to be his vice chief, a promotion that leapfrogged Felt over a score of senior admirals and carried the rank of full admiral. As vice chief of naval operations
, Felt enjoyed "a reputation for eating admirals for breakfast, lunch and dinner." "The majority of naval officers in the Pentagon when told that Admiral Felt wanted to see them would practically start quivering in their boots," recalled Admiral David McDonald
, future chief of naval operations. Burke joked that he kept Felt around because during the war Burke had learned the value of a "no" man. When Burke retired in 1961, Newsweek
rated Felt as a 20-1 longshot to succeed Burke as chief of naval operations.
Vice Admiral William P. Mack recalled the antics of the diminutive vice chief: "He would grab three-star officers by the lapels, literally shake them, and say, 'Why don't you do so and so or such and such?' They'd be thirty or forty pounds heavier than he was, but that didn't bother him at all. He was there for two years, which was probably about a year too long, because morale was getting pretty low. As I told Admiral Burke, it was just a matter of time before someone was going to slug him. You can't operate like that. Admiral Felt wasn't big enough to defend himself. I said that one of these days he's going to come at someone who's going to wipe up the corridor with him, regardless of how many stars he has."
By the end of Felt's second year as vice chief, even Burke had had about enough of him. "It isn't pleasant to fight continually with a good friend, and after a while you wonder whether he's all that good a friend." Furthermore, Burke suspected that Felt had become an automatic faultfinder, which if true would render his advice as useless as that of an automatic yes-man. When a four-star command opened up in the Pacific, Burke appointed Felt, claiming virtuously, "I couldn't
hold him back just selfishly to keep him in the vice chief's job."
on July 31, 1958, Felt immersed himself in the details of its operation, bombarding his staff with scribbled black pencil missives dubbed "Feltgrams" that invariably concluded, "Advise me ASAP. What do you think? No? Why? Resp'y, F." Although his job title was officially abbreviated as "CINCPAC", he was informally nicknamed "CINCFELT" within the command, due to his larger-than-life personality. During his tenure as CINCPAC, Felt directed American military operations in three regional hotspots: Taiwan
, Laos
, and Vietnam
.
On August 23, 1958, People's Liberation Army
forces commenced shelling Republic of China
forces on the islands of Quemoy and Matsu
, initiating the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis
. Felt immediately deployed the Seventh Fleet
to help the Nationalist government defend Quemoy's supply lines. "We didn't go to war then because we were strong and moved in a deterrent force," he later concluded. During the crisis, Felt and his staff planned for the use of tactical nuclear weapon
s in the Taiwan Strait because they believed the use of such weapons would not trigger World War III
and because "we didn't have a plan to do it any other way".
A fervent anti-communist
, Felt advocated American military intervention in Laos
to suppress the Soviet-backed Pathet Lao
insurrection and to interdict the flow of supplies from North Vietnam
to Communist insurgents in South Vietnam
through the Laotian town of Tchepone. In a meeting with Defense Secretary
Robert S. McNamara, Felt declared, "We have the Seventh Fleet and we have the planes to wipe Tchepone off the face of the earth." Instead, after an initial buildup of ships and Marines near Laotian borders, all American forces were withdrawn in accordance with a 1962 Geneva Conference
in which all parties pledged to respect Laotian sovereignty. North Vietnam continued to supply South Vietnamese insurgents via Laos along what would become the Ho Chi Minh Trail
.
. In internal administration debates, he warned that the proposed American intervention lacked a sound strategic concept and "would commit the U.S. to another Korea-type support and assistance situation" from which "we can't pull out at will without damaging repercussions." In a conference with General Maxwell D. Taylor
, military representative to President John F. Kennedy
, Felt stressed that introducing U.S. troops into Indochina would be perceived throughout Asia as the reintroduction of white colonialism
into Vietnam, would provoke intensified Communist aggression, and would entangle U.S. soldiers in military engagement with the Viet Cong. In early 1962, Felt presciently predicted that Viet Cong forces would seek "a prolonged form of attritional warfare" that could not "be defeated by purely military means." His favored policy was to organize, train, and equip indigenous Vietnamese forces, but to keep U.S. troops out of the country.
Nevertheless, on February 8, 1962, by order of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
, Felt created the U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam
(MACV) as a sub-unified command headed by General Paul D. Harkins
. As Harkins' superior in the chain of command
, Felt was criticized for exercising excessive control over MACV field operations. Felt denied many of Harkins' equipment requests, interfered with details of Harkins' tactical planning, forbade Harkins to communicate with the Joint Chiefs of Staff without advance permission from CINCPAC, and actually bypassed Harkins to direct certain tactical operations himself from his headquarters in Hawaii. Many observers argued that reporting to CINCPAC was hindering MACV operations and that MACV should be an independent command under the direct supervision of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but Felt and his successors as CINCPAC blocked multiple attempts to remove MACV from their control, arguing that allowing MACV to bypass the unified regional commander would violate the principle of unity of command in the region.
Felt was publicly optimistic about the American intervention, declaring at a 1963 press conference that the war could be won in three years. He bristled at members of the press who did not seem sufficiently enthusiastic about ongoing American military operations. Introduced to Associated Press
correspondent Malcolm W. Browne at a Saigon press conference, Felt growled, "So you're Browne. Why don't you get on the team?"
. He died on February 25, 1992, and is buried beside his wife in Arlington National Cemetery
. He had one son, Donald Linn Felt, a naval aviator and jet pilot who commanded the carrier Midway
before retiring at the rank of rear admiral.
He was awarded the Navy Distinguished Service Medal
for his service as CINCPAC; the Navy Cross
for "extraordinary heroism and distinguished service" at the Battle of the Eastern Solomons
; the Distinguished Flying Cross
; the Legion of Merit
as commander of USS Chenango
during operations off Okinawa, for which the ship received a Navy Unit Commendation
; the Order of the Rising Sun
, First Class, by the government of Japan; and the Medal of Cloud and Banner with special Grand Cordon, by the Republic of China. Cape Felt, in Antarctica, is named after him, as vice chief of naval operations during the International Geophysical Year
.
Felt had a terrifying reputation as an arrogant, caustic, hard-driving perfectionist. "Many people were afraid of him...he was pretty rough," commented Vice Admiral Lawson P. Ramage
. A former aide described him as "mean as hell", and his staff complained that he worked "as though there were no holidays, Saturdays and Sundays, and expects others to do the same." "He was small in stature, but a blunt, tough, demanding taskmaster who brought discomfiture to his peers and earned the antipathy, if not animosity, of his subordinates," judged former subordinate and future four-star admiral Ignatius J. Galantin
. A crack poker
player, Felt unapologetically summarized his philosophy as "Trust everybody, but always cut the cards."
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Harry Donald Felt (June 21, 1902 – February 25, 1992) was an aviator
United States Naval Aviator
A United States Naval Aviator is a qualified pilot in the United States Navy, Marine Corps or Coast Guard.-Naming Conventions:Most Naval Aviators are Unrestricted Line Officers; however, a small number of Limited Duty Officers and Chief Warrant Officers are also trained as Naval Aviators.Until 1981...
in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
who led U.S. carrier strikes during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and later served as commander in chief of Pacific Command
United States Pacific Command
The United States Pacific Command is a Unified Combatant Command of the United States armed forces responsible for the Pacific Ocean area. It is led by the Commander, Pacific Command , who is the supreme military authority for the various branches of the Armed Forces of the United States serving...
(CINCPAC) from 1958 to 1964.
Early career
Born in Topeka, KansasKansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
to Harry Victor Felt and the former Grace Greenwood Johnson, Felt attended public school in Goodland, Kansas
Goodland, Kansas
Goodland is a city in and the county seat of Sherman County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,489.-History:...
before moving with his family to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
at the age of ten. Lacking money for college, Felt entered a cram school for the U.S. Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
and was appointed to the academy in 1919.
At the Academy, Felt received good marks but graduated in 1923 with the unremarkable class rank of 152 out of 413, having accumulated almost as many demerits as anyone in his class.
As a junior officer, Felt served five years aboard the battleship Mississippi
USS Mississippi (BB-41)
USS Mississippi , a , was the third ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the 20th state, and the second battleship to carry the name. Commissioned in 1917, too late to serve in World War I, she served extensively in the Pacific in World War II, for which she earned eight battle stars...
and the destroyer Farenholt
USS Farenholt (DD-332)
The first USS Farenholt was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy following World War I. She was named for Oscar Farenholt.-History:...
before applying for flight training out of sheer boredom. From then on, naval aviation was his life. While training at Naval Air Station Pensacola
Naval Air Station Pensacola
Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola , "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United States Navy base located next to Warrington, Florida, a community southwest of the Pensacola city limits...
from 1928 to 1929, Felt met his future wife, Kathryn Cowley, whom he married on August 3, 1929 after warning her that the Navy would always come first. She later reported that even as a newlywed, Felt's life was "just fly, fly, fly."
World War II
Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Felt was transferred to command the air group on the carrier , with promotion to Commander in January 1942. During the Battle of the Eastern SolomonsBattle of the Eastern Solomons
The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons (also known as the Battle of the Stewart Islands and, in Japanese sources, as the , took place on 24–25 August 1942, and was the third carrier battle of the Pacific campaign...
on August 24, 1942, Felt led Air Group 3 (AG-3) from in an attack that sank the Japanese light carrier Ryujo
Japanese aircraft carrier Ryujo
Ryūjō was a light aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was laid down by Mitsubishi at Yokohama in 1929, launched in 1931 and commissioned on 9 May 1933. Her final design resulted in a top-heavy unstable vessel and within a year she was back at Kure Naval Yard for modification...
. Diving with his second wave of bombers through enemy flak and fighters, Felt personally scored the first of his group's several 1000-lb bomb hits on the carrier.
In January 1943, he was commanding officer of Naval Air Station Daytona Beach, and of Naval Air Station Miami in February. He was promoted to captain in July. In March 1944, Felt became the first naval aviator assigned to the U.S. Military Mission to Moscow. He commanded the escort carrier from February 1945 to January 1946, a tour that included heavy participation in the Battle of Okinawa
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945...
from March through June, followed by Magic Carpet duty ferrying servicemen home at war's end.
Postwar
After the war, Felt was assigned to the Office of the Chief of Naval OperationsChief of Naval Operations
The Chief of Naval Operations is a statutory office held by a four-star admiral in the United States Navy, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Navy. The office is a military adviser and deputy to the Secretary of the Navy...
before attending the National War College
National War College
The National War College of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. It was officially established on July 1, 1946, as an upgraded replacement for the...
from 1947 to 1948. He commanded the carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt
USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42)
USS Franklin D. Roosevelt was the second of three Midway class aircraft carriers. To her crew, she was known as the "Swanky Franky," "Foo-De-Roo," or "Rosie," with the last nickname probably the most popular. Roosevelt spent most of her active deployed career operating in the Mediterranean Sea as...
in the Atlantic and Mediterranean from August 3, 1948 to July 11, 1949. He was on staff at the Naval War College
Naval War College
The Naval War College is an education and research institution of the United States Navy that specializes in developing ideas for naval warfare and passing them along to officers of the Navy. The college is located on the grounds of Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island...
from 1949 to 1951, becoming chief of staff in the spring of 1950 and acting as president from October 17, 1950 to December 1, 1950. He was promoted to rear admiral in January 1951.
In March 1951, Felt was sent to command the Middle East Force in the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
, the first flag officer to serve in that billet. He later described his principal adversaries during that tour to have been the British, who greatly resented American intrusion into what they considered to be their exclusive sphere of influence
Sphere of influence
In the field of international relations, a sphere of influence is a spatial region or conceptual division over which a state or organization has significant cultural, economic, military or political influence....
. Returning to the Navy Department in October, Felt worked for Rear Admiral Arleigh Burke
Arleigh Burke
Admiral Arleigh Albert '31-knot' Burke was an admiral of the United States Navy who distinguished himself during World War II and the Korean War, and who served as Chief of Naval Operations during the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations.-Early life and naval career:Burke was born in Boulder,...
as assistant director of the Strategic Plans Division.
He was Commander Carrier Division 15 in 1953–54, practicing anti-submarine warfare from the escort carrier Rendova
USS Rendova (CVE-114)
USS Rendova was a Commencement Bay class escort carrier of the United States Navy.She was originally assigned the name Mosser Bay and completed as the Willamette, she was laid down by Todd-Pacific Shipyards, Inc., Tacoma, Washington, 15 June 1944; launched 29 December 1944; sponsored by Mrs....
; Commander Carrier Division Three in the spring of 1954, operating attack carriers Essex and Philippine Sea in the South China Sea
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
; and assistant chief of naval operations (fleet readiness) from 1954 to 1956.
Vice Chief of Naval Operations
Promoted to vice admiral in 1956, Felt commanded the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean for six months before the new chief of naval operationsChief of Naval Operations
The Chief of Naval Operations is a statutory office held by a four-star admiral in the United States Navy, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Navy. The office is a military adviser and deputy to the Secretary of the Navy...
, Arleigh Burke, tapped his former assistant to be his vice chief, a promotion that leapfrogged Felt over a score of senior admirals and carried the rank of full admiral. As vice chief of naval operations
Vice Chief of Naval Operations
The Vice Chief of Naval Operations is the second highest ranking officer in the United States Navy. In the event that the Chief of Naval Operations is absent or is unable to perform his duties, the VCNO assumes the duties and responsibilities of the CNO. The VCNO may also perform other duties...
, Felt enjoyed "a reputation for eating admirals for breakfast, lunch and dinner." "The majority of naval officers in the Pentagon when told that Admiral Felt wanted to see them would practically start quivering in their boots," recalled Admiral David McDonald
David L. McDonald
David Lamar McDonald, USN, was an Admiral of the United States Navy, who served as the 17th Chief of Naval Operations , 1 August 1963 – 1 August 1967, during the Vietnam War era.-Military career:...
, future chief of naval operations. Burke joked that he kept Felt around because during the war Burke had learned the value of a "no" man. When Burke retired in 1961, Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
rated Felt as a 20-1 longshot to succeed Burke as chief of naval operations.
Vice Admiral William P. Mack recalled the antics of the diminutive vice chief: "He would grab three-star officers by the lapels, literally shake them, and say, 'Why don't you do so and so or such and such?' They'd be thirty or forty pounds heavier than he was, but that didn't bother him at all. He was there for two years, which was probably about a year too long, because morale was getting pretty low. As I told Admiral Burke, it was just a matter of time before someone was going to slug him. You can't operate like that. Admiral Felt wasn't big enough to defend himself. I said that one of these days he's going to come at someone who's going to wipe up the corridor with him, regardless of how many stars he has."
By the end of Felt's second year as vice chief, even Burke had had about enough of him. "It isn't pleasant to fight continually with a good friend, and after a while you wonder whether he's all that good a friend." Furthermore, Burke suspected that Felt had become an automatic faultfinder, which if true would render his advice as useless as that of an automatic yes-man. When a four-star command opened up in the Pacific, Burke appointed Felt, claiming virtuously, "I couldn't
hold him back just selfishly to keep him in the vice chief's job."
Commander in Chief, Pacific
In 1958, Felt was offered the command of all U.S. forces in the Pacific and Far East, and he jumped at the opportunity to avoid spending the rest of his career behind a desk. Upon becoming commander in chief of Pacific CommandUnited States Pacific Command
The United States Pacific Command is a Unified Combatant Command of the United States armed forces responsible for the Pacific Ocean area. It is led by the Commander, Pacific Command , who is the supreme military authority for the various branches of the Armed Forces of the United States serving...
on July 31, 1958, Felt immersed himself in the details of its operation, bombarding his staff with scribbled black pencil missives dubbed "Feltgrams" that invariably concluded, "Advise me ASAP. What do you think? No? Why? Resp'y, F." Although his job title was officially abbreviated as "CINCPAC", he was informally nicknamed "CINCFELT" within the command, due to his larger-than-life personality. During his tenure as CINCPAC, Felt directed American military operations in three regional hotspots: Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, and Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
.
On August 23, 1958, People's Liberation Army
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
forces commenced shelling Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
forces on the islands of Quemoy and Matsu
Matsu Islands
The Matsu Islands are a minor archipelago of 19 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait administered as Lienchiang County , Fujian Province of the Republic of China . Only a small area of what is historically Lienchiang County is under the control of the ROC...
, initiating the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis
Second Taiwan Strait Crisis
The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, also called the 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis, was a conflict that took place between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China governments in which the PRC shelled the islands of Matsu and Quemoy in the Taiwan Strait in an attempt to seize them from...
. Felt immediately deployed the Seventh Fleet
United States Seventh Fleet
The Seventh Fleet is the United States Navy's permanent forward projection force based in Yokosuka, Japan, with units positioned near Japan and South Korea. It is a component fleet force under the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of the forward-deployed U.S. fleets, with...
to help the Nationalist government defend Quemoy's supply lines. "We didn't go to war then because we were strong and moved in a deterrent force," he later concluded. During the crisis, Felt and his staff planned for the use of tactical nuclear weapon
Tactical nuclear weapon
A tactical nuclear weapon refers to a nuclear weapon which is designed to be used on a battlefield in military situations. This is as opposed to strategic nuclear weapons which are designed to menace large populations, to damage the enemy's ability to wage war, or for general deterrence...
s in the Taiwan Strait because they believed the use of such weapons would not trigger World War III
World War III
World War III denotes a successor to World War II that would be on a global scale, with common speculation that it would be likely nuclear and devastating in nature....
and because "we didn't have a plan to do it any other way".
A fervent anti-communist
Anti-communism
Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
, Felt advocated American military intervention in Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
to suppress the Soviet-backed Pathet Lao
Pathet Lao
The Pathet Lao was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The group was ultimately successful in assuming political power after the Laotian Civil War. The Pathet Lao were always closely associated with Vietnamese communists...
insurrection and to interdict the flow of supplies from North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
to Communist insurgents in South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
through the Laotian town of Tchepone. In a meeting with Defense Secretary
United States Secretary of Defense
The Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...
Robert S. McNamara, Felt declared, "We have the Seventh Fleet and we have the planes to wipe Tchepone off the face of the earth." Instead, after an initial buildup of ships and Marines near Laotian borders, all American forces were withdrawn in accordance with a 1962 Geneva Conference
Geneva Conference
Several international or multinational conferences have been called the Geneva Conference, because they were held in the city of Geneva, Switzerland...
in which all parties pledged to respect Laotian sovereignty. North Vietnam continued to supply South Vietnamese insurgents via Laos along what would become the Ho Chi Minh Trail
Ho Chi Minh trail
The Ho Chi Minh trail was a logistical system that ran from the Democratic Republic of Vietnam to the Republic of Vietnam through the neighboring kingdoms of Laos and Cambodia...
.
Vietnam War
Felt strongly opposed deploying American soldiers into VietnamVietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. In internal administration debates, he warned that the proposed American intervention lacked a sound strategic concept and "would commit the U.S. to another Korea-type support and assistance situation" from which "we can't pull out at will without damaging repercussions." In a conference with General Maxwell D. Taylor
Maxwell D. Taylor
General Maxwell Davenport "Max" Taylor was an United States Army four star general and diplomat of the mid-20th century, who served as the fifth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff after having been appointed by the President of the United States John F...
, military representative to President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, Felt stressed that introducing U.S. troops into Indochina would be perceived throughout Asia as the reintroduction of white colonialism
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
into Vietnam, would provoke intensified Communist aggression, and would entangle U.S. soldiers in military engagement with the Viet Cong. In early 1962, Felt presciently predicted that Viet Cong forces would seek "a prolonged form of attritional warfare" that could not "be defeated by purely military means." His favored policy was to organize, train, and equip indigenous Vietnamese forces, but to keep U.S. troops out of the country.
Nevertheless, on February 8, 1962, by order of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Joint Chiefs of Staff is a body of senior uniformed leaders in the United States Department of Defense who advise the Secretary of Defense, the Homeland Security Council, the National Security Council and the President on military matters...
, Felt created the U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam
Military Assistance Command, Vietnam
The U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, MACV, , was the United States' unified command structure for all of its military forces in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War.-History:...
(MACV) as a sub-unified command headed by General Paul D. Harkins
Paul D. Harkins
Paul Donal Harkins was Deputy Chief of Staff during World War II to George S. Patton Jr. and later became a U.S. Army General and the first Military Assistance Command, Vietnam commander from 1962 to 1964.-Early life:...
. As Harkins' superior in the chain of command
Chain of Command
Chain of Command may refer to:* Chain of command, in a military context, the line of authority and responsibility along which orders are passed* "Chain of Command" , the fifth episode of the first season of Beast Wars...
, Felt was criticized for exercising excessive control over MACV field operations. Felt denied many of Harkins' equipment requests, interfered with details of Harkins' tactical planning, forbade Harkins to communicate with the Joint Chiefs of Staff without advance permission from CINCPAC, and actually bypassed Harkins to direct certain tactical operations himself from his headquarters in Hawaii. Many observers argued that reporting to CINCPAC was hindering MACV operations and that MACV should be an independent command under the direct supervision of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but Felt and his successors as CINCPAC blocked multiple attempts to remove MACV from their control, arguing that allowing MACV to bypass the unified regional commander would violate the principle of unity of command in the region.
Felt was publicly optimistic about the American intervention, declaring at a 1963 press conference that the war could be won in three years. He bristled at members of the press who did not seem sufficiently enthusiastic about ongoing American military operations. Introduced to Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
correspondent Malcolm W. Browne at a Saigon press conference, Felt growled, "So you're Browne. Why don't you get on the team?"
Legacy
Felt retired in July 1964 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age, and spent his later years in Honolulu, HawaiiHawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. He died on February 25, 1992, and is buried beside his wife in Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
. He had one son, Donald Linn Felt, a naval aviator and jet pilot who commanded the carrier Midway
USS Midway (CV-41)
USS Midway was an aircraft carrier of the United States Navy, the lead ship of her class, and the first to be commissioned after the end of World War II...
before retiring at the rank of rear admiral.
He was awarded the Navy Distinguished Service Medal
Navy Distinguished Service Medal
The Navy Distinguished Service Medal is a military award of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps which was first created in 1919. The decoration is the Navy and Marine Corps equivalent to the Army Distinguished Service Medal, the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, and the Coast...
for his service as CINCPAC; the Navy Cross
Navy Cross
The Navy Cross is the highest decoration that may be bestowed by the Department of the Navy and the second highest decoration given for valor. It is normally only awarded to members of the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and United States Coast Guard, but can be awarded to all...
for "extraordinary heroism and distinguished service" at the Battle of the Eastern Solomons
Battle of the Eastern Solomons
The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons (also known as the Battle of the Stewart Islands and, in Japanese sources, as the , took place on 24–25 August 1942, and was the third carrier battle of the Pacific campaign...
; the Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a medal awarded to any officer or enlisted member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself or herself in support of operations by "heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight, subsequent to November 11, 1918." The...
; the Legion of Merit
Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...
as commander of USS Chenango
USS Chenango (CVE-28)
The second USS Chenango was launched on 1 April 1939 as Esso New Orleans by the Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, in Chester, Pennsylvania, sponsored by Mrs...
during operations off Okinawa, for which the ship received a Navy Unit Commendation
Navy Unit Commendation
The Navy Unit Commendation of the United States Navy is an award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944...
; the Order of the Rising Sun
Order of the Rising Sun
The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji of Japan. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese Government, created on April 10, 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight from the rising sun...
, First Class, by the government of Japan; and the Medal of Cloud and Banner with special Grand Cordon, by the Republic of China. Cape Felt, in Antarctica, is named after him, as vice chief of naval operations during the International Geophysical Year
International Geophysical Year
The International Geophysical Year was an international scientific project that lasted from July 1, 1957, to December 31, 1958. It marked the end of a long period during the Cold War when scientific interchange between East and West was seriously interrupted...
.
Felt had a terrifying reputation as an arrogant, caustic, hard-driving perfectionist. "Many people were afraid of him...he was pretty rough," commented Vice Admiral Lawson P. Ramage
Lawson P. Ramage
Lawson Paterson "Red" Ramage was a vice admiral in the United States Navy and a noted submarine commander. During his career, Ramage was decorated with the Medal of Honor, two Navy Crosses, two Distinguished Service Medals, the Silver Star and the Bronze Star.-Early life and career:Taking his...
. A former aide described him as "mean as hell", and his staff complained that he worked "as though there were no holidays, Saturdays and Sundays, and expects others to do the same." "He was small in stature, but a blunt, tough, demanding taskmaster who brought discomfiture to his peers and earned the antipathy, if not animosity, of his subordinates," judged former subordinate and future four-star admiral Ignatius J. Galantin
Ignatius J. Galantin
Ignatius Joseph "Pete" Galantin was a four star United States Navy admiral, World War II Navy Cross recipient, and the first commander of the Naval Material Command.-Early career:...
. A crack poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
player, Felt unapologetically summarized his philosophy as "Trust everybody, but always cut the cards."
Dates of rank
- EnsignEnsignAn ensign is a national flag when used at sea, in vexillology, or a distinguishing token, emblem, or badge, such as a symbol of office in heraldry...
- 1923 - Lieutenant, Junior GradeLieutenant, Junior GradeLieutenant is a junior commissioned officer rank in the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, United States Merchant Marine USMM, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, with the pay grade...
- - LieutenantLieutenantA lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
- 1931 - Lieutenant-Commander -
- CommanderCommanderCommander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
- January 1942 - Captain - July 1943
- Rear AdmiralRear admiral (United States)Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. The uniformed services of the United States are unique in having two grades of rear admirals.- Rear admiral :...
- January 1951 - Vice AdmiralVice admiral (United States)In the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, and the United States Maritime Service, vice admiral is a three-star flag officer, with the pay grade of...
- April 1956 - AdmiralAdmiralAdmiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
- September 1, 1956