78 Facts About Jerauld Wright

Admiral Jerauld Wright was an officer in the United States Navy.

Jerauld Wright served as the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Atlantic Command and the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Atlantic Fleet, and became the second Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, from April 1,1954, to March 1,1960, serving longer in these three positions than anyone else in history.

Jerauld Wright was born on June 4,1898, in Amherst, Massachusetts, the second son of Major General William M Wright, an officer in the United States Army, and the former Marjorie R Jerauld, who had another son, William Mason Wright, Jr.

Life for young Jerry Jerauld Wright was a succession of United States Army posts, such as Fort Porter, Fort Omaha, the Presidio, and the Jefferson Barracks, as well as overseas tours of duty in Cuba and the Philippines.

Jerauld Wright was a recipient of the Army Distinguished Service Medal.

Later, Jerauld Wright accompanied his father on inspection tours of US military installations in the Philippines.

Jerauld Wright's growing interest in a naval career was further encouraged by his father, giving his son a very practical perspective:.

Jerauld Wright entered the academy on July 31,1914, the youngest midshipman to enter the academy since the American Civil War.

Jerauld Wright graduated on June 26,1917, as part of the Class of 1918, ranked 92nd out of 193, the youngest member in his class.

Dyer showed the flag in port visits to Gibraltar, La Spezia, Venice, Trieste, Spoleto, Corfu, and Constantinople during a nine-month cruise of the Mediterranean following the signing of the Armistice ending World War I Following Dyer's return August 1919, Wright supervised her overhaul at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Jerauld Wright furthered his hands-on education of gunnery and ordnance while serving as an instructor at the Gunnery School on the battleship Colorado.

Jerauld Wright served as a naval aide for two Presidents of the United States, including Calvin Coolidge from September 1924 to June 1926, with additional duties as a watch and division officer on board the presidential yacht Mayflower, and Herbert Hoover during his pre-inaugural goodwill tour of Latin America in November 1928.

Jerauld Wright subsequently served on board Sequoia during its commissioning and fitting-out period.

Jerauld Wright developed an interest in gunnery and ordnance after he was turned down for naval aviation because he had exophoria.

Commander Jerauld Wright served two tours at the United States Naval Academy as the Battalion Commander for the First Battalion, from June 1934 to June 1935, and the Battalion Commander for the Second Battalion, from June 1939 to March 1941.

In March 1942, Captain Jerauld Wright was detached from the Mississippi for temporary duty on the staff of Admiral Ernest J King, the Commander-in-Chief of the US Fleet, before being assigned to Admiral Harold R Stark's staff in London, effective June 3,1942.

Captain Wright was assigned to the planning staff of Lieutenant General Dwight D Eisenhower, who would lead the British-American invasion of North Africa.

Diplomat Robert D Murphy, the US consul general in Algiers, spearheaded efforts to gather pre-invasion intelligence and cultivate diplomatic contacts in French North Africa, and Wright would find himself intimately involved in his pre-invasion activities.

On October 16,1942, Captain Jerauld Wright was summoned to Operation Torch's staff headquarters at Norfolk House in London for an important meeting with General Eisenhower, alongside other senior officers.

Jerauld Wright would serve as the liaison with the French Navy, with the specific objective of convincing the French to have their fleet anchored in Toulon join the Allied cause.

Jerauld Wright met with Capitaine de vaisseau Jean Barjot and learned that the French Navy was opposed to US entry into North Africa, although the army and air force supported it.

On October 26,1942, Captain Jerauld Wright was directed to take part in the mission to extract Giraud, code-named Operation Kingpin.

Captain Jerauld Wright was awarded his first Legion of Merit in recognition of his participation in Operation Kingpin.

Captain Jerauld Wright accompanied General Clark, who concluded that Darlan could, with certain conditions, deliver the general ceasefire and oversee the post-invasion occupation, and that Giraud lacked the political ability to accomplish these goals.

Jerauld Wright worked closely with his US Army counterparts, and he considered Patton "a great fellow" who grew to appreciate the effectiveness of naval gun support for his landing force.

However, Wright was critical of Lieutenant General Carl A Spaatz, USAAF, and Air Vice-Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham, RAF, regarding the lack of cooperation on close air support from the Allied air forces.

Jerauld Wright did praise Air Vice-Marshal Sir Hugh Pughe Lloyd, RAF, for providing air support from Malta.

However, Jerauld Wright felt that the Army's decision to forgo pre-invasion naval gun bombardment was ill-considered, even for the sake of maintaining the element of surprise.

Captain Jerauld Wright was awarded a second Legion of Merit for his contributions on Operation Husky and Operation Avalanche.

Jerauld Wright received a Letter of Commendation for his actions as the commanding officer of the Santa Fe during this engagement.

Jerauld Wright concurred that this controversial decision was the correct one given the importance of protecting the landing force.

The final engagements that Jerauld Wright participated in as the commanding officer of USS Santa Fe were the invasion of Leyte and the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

Captain Jerauld Wright received the Silver Star in recognition of his participation in the towing of the Canberra and Houston back to Uliti.

In November 1944, Rear Admiral Jerauld Wright took command of Amphibious Group Five, a newly created unit of the Amphibious Forces, US Pacific Fleet, commanded by Vice Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner.

Jerauld Wright was ordered to Pearl Harbor to begin planning the invasion of the Japanese home islands, which would begin with Operation Olympic, the invasion of the southern island of Kyushu.

Rear Admiral Jerauld Wright was awarded a Bronze Star, with a combat "V" device, for his leadership as the commander of Task Group 51.2 during Operation Iceberg.

Jerauld Wright's force showed the flag, making port visits at Tianjin, Qingdao, Port Arthur, and Qinhuangdao.

At the final port call at Jinsen, Jerauld Wright acted as the senior-ranking member of the committee that accepted the surrender of Japanese naval forces throughout Korea.

In October 1945, Jerauld Wright joined the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations as the head of its Operational Readiness Division, helping to organize this newly created organization.

Jerauld Wright organized OP-34 into four sections, and working with his sister divisions, Jerauld Wright directed the development of a host of manuals on tactical doctrine based upon experience from World War II.

Jerauld Wright involved civilian think tanks, such as the Operation Evaluation Group, in projects undertaken by OP-34.

Jerauld Wright succeeded Rear Admiral Walter DeLaney as the chairman of the Joint Army-Navy Assessment Committee, an inter-service agency set up in 1943 to analyze and assess Japanese naval and merchant marine shipping losses caused by US and Allied forces during World War II.

On November 24,1948, Jerauld Wright assumed command of Amphibious Forces US Atlantic Fleet, a position that he held through November 1,1950.

Jerauld Wright received his third star, effective September 14,1950, at the conclusion of his tour of duty as COMPHIBLANT.

Jerauld Wright served as the deputy US representative to Standing Group of the newly formed North Atlantic Treaty Organization, serving from November 1950 to February 1952.

Jerauld Wright became the Commander-in-Chief, US Naval Forces Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, an important US Navy fleet command, effective June 14,1952.

Mountbatten felt that the Sixth Fleet should be assigned to his command while Jerauld Wright wanted to maintain control of the fleet, particularly its nuclear-armed aircraft carriers, pursuant to both US Navy policy and Federal law.

Jerauld Wright made a 14-day goodwill trip to the Middle East that culminated with a courtesy call with the newly crowned King Saud bin Abdul Aziz in Jidda, Saudi Arabia.

Later, Jerauld Wright attended the coronation ceremonies of King Hussein of Jordan in May 1953.

Admiral Jerauld Wright made the arrangements for United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom Winthrop Aldrich to present a bronze plaque of John Paul Jones from the Naval Historical Center to the British government, initiating his longtime association with the famous naval hero of the American Revolution.

Also, Jerauld Wright would become the head of NATO's Eastern Atlantic Area, reporting to Admiral McCormick, the first Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic.

Jeruald Jerauld Wright was promoted to the rank of Admiral effective April 1,1954.

Fortunately, Jerauld Wright was a known commodity since he had served as the deputy US representative to NATO's Standing Group from November 1950 to February 1952.

Admiral Jerauld Wright has extensive background and naval command experience in positions of vital importance and he is an officer of outstanding character and ability.

Admiral Jerauld Wright has served as Deputy US Representative to the Standing Group of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and is thoroughly cognizant of the duties and responsibilities of SACLANT.

Jerauld Wright inherited a US Atlantic Fleet in transition as the US Navy was going through a modernization period to replace warships and aircraft built during World War II.

Jerauld Wright spearheaded the establishment of the SACLANT ASW Research Centre, created on May 2,1959, in La Spezia, Italy, to serve as a clearinghouse for NATO's anti-submarine efforts.

Jerauld Wright was recalled to active duty on January 12,1961, to serve as the US Navy representative on the Central Intelligence Agency Board of National Estimates, and after completing his BNE assignment, and was released from active duty effective May 13,1963.

Ambassador Jerauld Wright presented his credentials to President Chiang Kai-shek on June 29,1963.

Ambassador Wright won praise for his sensitive handling of the aftermath to the assassination of John F Kennedy from both the embassy staff and government officials of the Republic of China.

Jerauld Wright closely monitored the tense military situation between Taiwan and mainland China, particularly the potential flashpoint of Qemoy.

Jerauld Wright successfully concluded a Status of Forces Agreement with the Republic of China.

On July 25,1965, Jerauld Wright stepped down as the US Ambassador of the Republic of China, closing the final chapter on his public life.

The future wife of Wright was born Phyllis B Thompson on April 2,1906, in New York City.

Jerauld Wright graduated from Miss Porter's School and made her debut in 1924 with Janet Lee, the future mother of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

Jerauld Wright worked for the Women's Organization for National Prohibition Reform in New York.

Phyllis Jerauld Wright wrote about her experiences as a navy wife and the wife of an ambassador in a Navy Wife's Log and a Taiwan Scrapbook She was a former president of the Sulgrave Club and a member of the Metropolitan and Chevy Chase clubs.

Phyllis Thompson Jerauld Wright died on October 20,2002, at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, from cancer.

Jerauld Wright was survived by her two children, Marion Wright of Denver and William Wright of Arlington.

Jerauld Wright was interred with her late husband at the Arlington National Cemetery.

In retirement, Jerauld Wright pursued an interest in painting, whose whimsical style was similar to Grandma Moses.

Jerauld Wright's artwork was displayed in exhibits at the Brook Club, the Knickerbocker Club, and the Sulgrave Club.

Jerauld Wright was a long-time member of the United States Naval Institute, serving as its president from 1959 to 1960 and was a frequent contributor to its Proceedings, including an insightful December 1951 article on the challenges facing the newly created NATO.

Jerauld Wright died on April 27,1995, of pneumonia in Washington, DC, at the age of 96.

Jerauld Wright was survived by his wife of 56 years, Phyllis; a son, William Mason Wright of Arlington; and a daughter, Marion Jerauld Wright of Denver.

Jerauld Wright was buried with full military honors in Section 2 of the Arlington National Cemetery next to his father and mother, and would be joined by his wife Phyllis upon her death in 2002.

Jerauld Wright received honorary degrees from the Rose Polytechnic Institute, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and the College of William and Mary.

Jerauld Wright Island is an ice-covered island 35 miles long, lying at the north edge of Getz Ice Shelf about midway between Carney Island and Martin Peninsula, on the Bakutis Coast, Marie Byrd Land.