John Sylvester
Encyclopedia
John "Jack" Sylvester was an officer 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 served from the 1930s to the 1960s and rose to the rank of Vice Admiral
Vice 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...

.

Background

He grew up in Wellston, Ohio
Wellston, Ohio
Wellston is a city in Jackson County, Ohio, United States, in the southeastern part of the state. Founded in 1873 as an iron and coal producing center, the city was named after founder Harvey Wells, a member of the Ohio Constitutional Convention. The city was incorporated in 1876. The population...

, the grandson of the city's first physician and son of the editor of the Wellston Telegram. He had a brother, George R., and a sister, Janet (later Mrs. Hiram Callahan). Sylvester attended the United States 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 graduated among the top of his class in 1926.

Career

Joining the fleet in 1926, Sylvester served in 1937 as flag lieutenant to Admiral Harry E. Yarnell
Harry E. Yarnell
Admiral Harry Ervin Yarnell was an American naval officer whose career spanned 51 years and three wars, from the Spanish-American War through World War II.-Early life and Naval career:...

, commander of the U.S. Asiatic Fleet, and married Yarnell's daughter Ruth. Much of his career was spent in the Pacific or East Asia, including postings to Shanghai, Tsingtao, Hong Kong and the Philippines. He served as commanding officer of the from 18 October 1951 to 4 September 1952 while the battleship was serving as flagship to Rear Admiral James L. Holloway, Jr.
James L. Holloway, Jr.
Admiral James Lemuel Holloway, Jr. was a four-star admiral in the United States Navy who served as superintendent of the United States Naval Academy from 1947–1950; as chief of naval personnel from 1953–1957; and as commander in chief of all United States naval forces in the eastern Atlantic and...

, the commander of the cruiser force, Atlantic Fleet
United States Fleet Forces Command
The United States Fleet Forces Command is an Atlantic Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources that are under the operational control of the United States Northern Command...

 between deployments to the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

. Promoted to Rear Admiral in 1953, he was made special assistant to the chief of the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project in California. In 1955 Sylvester served as Task Force commander for Operation Wigwam
Operation Wigwam
Operation Wigwam involved a single test of the Mark 90 Betty nuclear bomb. It was conducted between Operation Teapot and Operation Redwing on May 14, 1955, about 500 miles southwest of San Diego, California. 6,800 personnel aboard 30 ships were involved in Wigwam...

, a test of an underwater detonation of a nuclear bomb. He served as Commander, Amphibious Forces, Pacific Fleet
United States Pacific Fleet
The United States Pacific Fleet is a Pacific Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources under the operational control of the United States Pacific Command. Its home port is at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii. It is commanded by Admiral Patrick M...

, from 1958 to 1960. From 1960 to 1965 he served as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Logistics, and retired in 1965 with the rank of Vice Admiral.

Sylvester died on July 26, 1990, at Georgetown University Hospital
Georgetown University Hospital
Georgetown University Hospital is one of the national capital area's oldest academic teaching hospitals and is affiliated with Georgetown University School of Medicine. GUH is a not-for-profit, acute-care teaching and research facility located in Northwest Washington, DC...

 in 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....


Personal life

His first wife was Ruth Yarnell Sylvester, who died in 1948. His second wife was Geraldine Clark Sylvester. One of his sons would go on to attend the Naval Academy, as well as two grandsons. A second son, John Sylvester, Jr., would join the Foreign Service
United States Foreign Service
The United States Foreign Service is a component of the United States federal government under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of approximately 11,500 professionals carrying out the foreign policy of the United States and aiding U.S...

and, driven by the family connection to East Asia, serve a variety of tours in Japan and South East Asia in the 1960s.
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