Robert Lee Ghormley was born in Portland, Oregon, on 15 October 1883. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in June 1906 and served in cruisers during the next five years. In 1911-13, Lieutenant Ghormley was Aide and Flag Lieutenant to the Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet, participating in the 1912 campaign in Nicaragua. That was followed by duty at the U.S. Naval Academy. Lieutenant Commander Ghormley spent most of World War I in the battleship Nevada and as a flag aide. Late in the conflict, he became Assistant Director of the Naval Overseas Transportation Service. In 1920-22, he commanded USS Niagara and the destroyer Sands, including Mediterranean Sea duty in the latter.
Promoted to the rank of Commander in July 1921, Ghormley served as Aide to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy during 1923-25 and as Executive Officer of the battleship Oklahoma for the next two years. In 1927 he became Secretary of the Navy's General Board, in Washington, D.C.. Captain Ghormley was Chief of Staff to the commanders of the Battle Force and U.S. Fleet during the early 1930s. After working with the Chief of Naval Operations, he became Commanding Officer of USS Nevada in 1935 and a year later returned to the U.S. Fleet staff. In 1938 he completed the senior course at the Naval War College.
Rear Admiral Ghormley was Director of the War Plans Division and Assistant Chief of Naval Operations until August 1940, when he went to England as Special Naval Observer. In the rank of Vice Admiral, he served as Commander South Pacific Area and South Pacific Force in June-October 1942, during the critical early stages of the campaign to seize and hold Guadalcanal and Tulagi. After a few months' duty in Washington, D.C., he returned to the Pacific to become Commandant of the 14th Naval District in Hawaii. In December 1944, Vice Admiral Ghormley became Commander, U.S. Naval Forces, Germany, and served in that position until December 1945. He spent his last months of active duty as a member of the General Board, at the Navy Department, and retired in August 1946. Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley died on 21 June 1958.
This page features selected views of Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley.
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the "Online Library's" digital images, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
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Photo #: NH 49309 Captain Robert L. Ghormley, USN Photographed in October 1935, while he was Commanding Officer of USS Nevada (BB-36). U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 51KB; 590 x 765 pixels |
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Photo #: 80-G-12864-A Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley, USN Photographed in 1942. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 67KB; 595 x 765 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: NH 56936 Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. (left, front) During a visit to the Naval Training Station, Newport, Rhode Island, circa 1923. Also present in the front row are Lieutenant Commander Charleton E. Battle, Jr., of the Newport Training Station, and Rear Admiral Clarence S. Williams, President of the Naval War College. Standing behind and to the left of Mr. Roosevelt is Commander Robert L. Ghormley, Aide to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Note old, and well-polished, Dahlgren boat howitzers flanking the flagpole. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 111KB; 740 x 595 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 58423 Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN, Commander in Chief Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas Confers with south Pacific area officers, possibly on board USS Argonne (AG-31) at Noumea, New Caledonia, on 28 September 1942. Those present are, from left to right: Major General Richard K. Sutherland, U.S. Army, Chief of Staff to General MacArthur; Admiral Nimitz; Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley, Commander South Pacific Force; and Major General Millard F. Harmon, USAAF, Commanding General U.S. Army Forces South Pacific Area. Collection of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 97KB; 740 x 605 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 62671 Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN (right) and Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley, USN Conferring at a southwest Pacific base, circa 1943. Collection of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 116KB; 600 x 765 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 62432 Senior Pacific Fleet Flag Officers Photographed at Commander in Chief Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas headquarters, at Pearl Harbor, 14 November 1943. They are (from left to right): Vice Admiral William L. Calhoun, Commander Service Force, Pacific Fleet; Vice Admiral John H. Towers, Commander Air Force, Pacific Fleet; Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley, Commandant, Fourteenth Naval District; and Vice Admiral Aubrey W. Fitch, Commander Aircraft, South Pacific Force. Collection of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 100KB; 600 x 765 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 62429 President Franklin D. Roosevelt (seated, center) Poses with Hawaii Territorial Governor Ingram M. Stainback and Army Lieutenant General Robert C. Richardson, on board USS Baltimore (CA-68) at Pearl Harbor, 26 July 1944. Standing directly behind them are Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley (left) and Rear Admiral William R. Furlong. Conversing in the left background are General Douglas MacArthur and Admiral William D. Leahy. Collection of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 113KB; 740 x 620 pixels |
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If you want higher resolution reproductions than the "Online Library's" digital images, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Page made 26 October 2001