Mitscher, << MIHCH ehr, >> Marc Andrew (1887-1947), was an aviator and officer in the United States Navy . In 1919, Mitscher took part in the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean . During World War II (1939-1945), he commanded the famous Task Force 58 in the South Pacific Ocean . From January to October 1944, his force of aircraft carriers , battleships , cruisers , and destroyers sank or damaged 795 Japanese ships and destroyed 4,425 enemy planes.
Mitscher was born on Jan. 26, 1887, in Hillsboro, Wisconsin . He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1910. In 1916, he became a Naval aviator. On May 8, 1919, Mitscher flew one of three U.S. Navy seaplanes attempting to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Two of the planes—including the one piloted by Mitscher—were forced to land at sea near the Azores in the North Atlantic Ocean. The third aircraft completed the crossing, reaching Portugal on May 27. The crossing included stops in Newfoundland and the Azores. For his efforts in the crossing, Mitscher received the Navy Cross, the Navy’s second highest decoration for valor.
In the 1920’s and 1930’s, Mitscher served on the aircraft carriers Langley and Saratoga before taking command of the seaplane tender Wright. In October 1941, Mitscher took command of the aircraft carrier Hornet . On April 18, 1942, Hornet launched the first U.S. bombing raid on Tokyo —the famous Doolittle Raid. In June, Hornet joined the carriers Yorktown and Enterprise to defeat the Japanese at the Battle of Midway . Mitscher left Hornet in July to command air groups in Hawaii and, in 1943, the Solomon Islands .
During the June 1944 Battle of the Philippine Sea , Vice Admiral Mitscher—now commander of Task Force 58—famously illuminated his carriers at night. This move put the ships at risk of Japanese attack, but it allowed most of his returning warplanes to land safely. His leadership also proved crucial during the later battles of Leyte Gulf , Iwo Jima , and Okinawa . Before the end of the war, Mitscher added two gold stars to his Navy Cross. Gold stars represent the repeated earning of the decoration.
In July 1945, Mitscher became deputy chief of naval operations for air. He became an admiral in 1946 and took command of the Navy’s Eighth Fleet. Mitscher died of a heart attack on Feb. 3, 1947, in Norfolk , Virginia .
