Theodore E . Chandler Theodore Edson Chandler ( 26 December 1894 – 7 January 1945 ) was an admiral of the United States Navy during World War II , who commanded battleship and cruiser divisions in both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets . He was killed in action when Japanese kamikaze aircraft struck his flagship . He was the grandson of William E . Chandler ( 1835 – 1917 ) who served as Secretary of the Navy during the Chester A . Arthur administration and a U . S . Senator from New Hampshire and Lucy Lambert Hale ( 1841 – 1915 ) . Early life and career . Theodore Edson Chandler was born at Annapolis , Maryland , in 1894 on the day after Christmas . He entered the United States Naval Academy in July 1911 , and graduated on 5 June 1915 . The new officer received orders to report for duty in the battleship " Florida " ( BB - 30 ) . Ensign Chandler next served briefly on board " New Hampshire " ( BB - 25 ) beginning training in the use of torpedo es at the end of April 1917 . On 2 August , he completed that assignment and , four days later , joined the precommissioning complement of the destroyer " Conner " ( DD - 72 ) , then being fitted out at the Philadelphia Navy Yard . World War I and interwar years . In May 1918 , Lieutenant junior grade Chandler sailed in " Conner " to Brest , France , his destroyer ' s base during the last six months of World War I . After the Armistice , his service in European waters included a brief term as the temporary commanding officer of " Conner " . Chandler returned home in April and , in the following month , reported to the shipyard of the William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Co . to help outfit the destroyer " Chandler " ( DD - 206 ) , named in honor of his late grandfather , former Secretary of the Navy William E . Chandler . After her commissioning in September , he served in that ship until December 1920 , when he was detached to return to the United States . On 2 January 1921 , he reported for duty at the Naval Postgraduate School at Annapolis , Maryland , and began a 29 - month series of ordnance - related studies . On 1 June 1923 , he completed training duty and , after a brief leave of absence , reported to Newport News , Virginia , on 4 July for duty in conjunction with the outfitting of " West Virginia " ( BB - 48 ) . The battleship went into commission on 1 December , and Chandler served in her until 16 January 1925 when he transferred to " Colorado " ( BB - 45 ) . In June 1926 , newly promoted Lt . Comdr . Chandler came ashore once more for a two - year assignment at the Naval Mine Depot , Yorktown , Virginia . A nine - month tour of duty as gunnery officer in the light cruiser " Trenton " ( CL - 11 ) followed . He reported on board " General Alava " ( AG - 5 ) on 24 April 1929 but was detached only two days later to assume command of " Pope " ( DD - 225 ) . In October 1930 , he began another series of shore assignments , reporting initially to the Bureau of Ordnance and then to the Army Industrial College before rounding out duty ashore with a brief tour in the office of the Chief of Naval Operations . On 30 May 1932 , Chandler resumed sea duty as gunnery officer on the staff of the Commander Destroyers Battle Force . On 2 February 1934 , he assumed command of " Buchanan " ( DD - 131 ) . Between August 1935 and June 1938 , he served three successive tours as assistant naval attaché : first at Paris , then at Madrid , and finally at Lisbon . He arrived in Camden , New Jersey , in June 1938 to help fit out " Nashville " ( CL - 43 ) ; and he served as her executive officer until July 1940 . Next , he returned to Washington , D . C . for a 15 - month assignment in the office of the Chief of Naval Operations . Near the end of that tour of duty , he was promoted to captain on 18 July 1941 . World War II . Atlantic campaigns . Chandler relieved Capt . P . P . Powell as commanding officer of " Omaha " ( CL - 4 ) on 15 October . Shortly over three weeks later , an event occurred that highlighted Chandler ' s tour in command of the light cruiser . On the morning of 6 November 1941 , " Omaha " , in company with " Somers " ( DD - 381 ) , came across a darkened ship that acted suspiciously when challenged . That ship — although bearing the name " Willmoto " and purportedly operating out of Philadelphia , Pennsylvania — proved to be the German blockade runner " Odenwald " , bound for Germany with 3 , 857 metric tons of raw rubber in her holds . Scuttled by her crew , the German ship began to sink ; but Capt . Chandler sent a party on the German vessel that controlled the flooding and salvaged the ship . It proved to be the last time that American sailors received prize money . For most of the next 18 months , " Omaha " cruised the waters of the South Atlantic in search of German blockade runners and submarine s . That tour of duty ended in April 1943 , when Chandler was selected to command United States naval forces in the Aruba - Curaçao area . On 3 May 1944 , he was promoted to rear admiral . In July 1944 , Rear Admiral Chandler took command of Cruiser Division 2 ( CruDiv 2 ) , Atlantic Fleet . In that capacity , he participated in Operation Dragoon , the invasion of southern France in mid - August , and commanded the " Sitka - Romeo " force which captured the Iles d ' Hyeres just off the coast of Provence . Pacific campaigns . Shortly thereafter , Rear Admiral Chandler was given command of Battleship Division 2 ( BatDiv 2 ) of the Pacific Fleet . He reported for duty on 2 October in time to command his ships — part of Rear Admiral Jesse B . Oldendorf ' s bombardment group — during the Leyte invasion and helped to repulse the Japanese southern attack group — Vice Admiral s Shoji Nishimura ' s Force “ C ” and Kiyohide Shima ' s 2d Striking Force — in the Surigao Strait phase of the Battle for Leyte Gulf . On 8 December 1944 , Rear Admiral Chandler was shifted to command of CruDiv 4 and flew his flag above " Louisville " ( CA - 28 ) . During the voyage from Leyte to Lingayen for the invasion of Luzon , Chandler ' s cruisers came under heavy Japanese air attacks — mostly by kamikaze s . Late in the afternoon of 5 January 1945 , a group of 16 suicide planes swooped in on the force then about 100 miles ( 200 km ) from Manila Bay . One of the four successful kamikazes crashed into Rear Admiral Chandler ' s flagship at her number 2 turret , but she continued in her mission . The next day , however , the cruiser suffered more severely during a repeat performance . At 17 : 30 , another suicide plane plunged into the cruiser ' s starboard side at the bridge . His explosives wrought havoc with the flag bridge where Chandler stood . Even though horribly burned by gasoline flames , Chandler helped deploy fire hoses alongside enlisted men to stop the flames and then waited his turn for first aid with those same ratings . The admiral , his lungs scorched very severely , was beyond help . He died the next day in spite of the efforts of the medical department . Admiral Chandler is listed on the Tablets of the Missing at the Manila Philippines National Cemetery Namesakes . Two ships in the U . S . Navy have been named after Chandler . In October 1945 , the destroyer USS " Theodore E . Chandler " ( DD - 717 ) was named in his honor . In 1983 , Kidd Class guided missile destroyer USS " Chandler " was named after him .