James Fife , Jr . Admiral James Fife , Jr . ( January 22 , 1897 - November 1 , 1975 ) was a United States Navy admiral who was promoted to four star rank after retirement as a " tombstone admiral " . " Biography . Fife graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1918 and served in both World War I and World War II in submarines and surface combatants . Prior to the Second World War , he served aboard USS S - 3 ( SS - 107 ) and USS R - 22 ( SS - 99 ) , and was commanding officer of USS N - 7 ( SS - 59 ) , USS R - 19 ( SS - 96 ) and USS R - 18 ( SS - 95 ) . In addition to his service on submarines , he also served on the battleship USS Idaho ( BB - 24 ) and the destroyers USS Leary ( DD - 158 ) and USS Hatfield ( DD - 231 ) from 1923 until May 1935 . When the U . S . entered World War II , Admiral Fife was Chief of Staff of Submarine Squadron 20 in the Philippines ( part of the Asiatic Fleet under Admiral T . C . Hart ) . After the squadron was dissolved into Submarines , Asiatic Fleet , he served as Chief of Staff to Admiral Hart until May 1942 . About this time he and Captain J . E . Wilkes , his former squadron commander , were instrumental in identifying several deficiencies of the submarine force , especially the difficulties with the Mark 14 torpedo and the Hooven - Owens - Rentschler diesel engine . Fife would later conduct some of the experiments that isolated the Mark 14 torpedo ' s defective components in cooperation with Rear Admiral Charles A . Lockwood , then Commander , Submarines , Southwest Pacific . In late 1942 he served with General MacArthur as the representative of Admiral A . S . Carpender during the Buna campaign . Following this he commanded the submarines of Task Force 42 ( later Task Force 72 ) in Brisbane , Australia , where he meticulously planned and directed his submarines ' missions . In 1944 Admiral Fife transferred to the staff of Commander in Chief , U . S . Fleet ( COMINCH ) Admiral Ernest J . King in Washington , D . C . as a war planner . Admiral Fife was awarded the Navy Distinguished Service Medal for meritorious service as the Chief of Staff to Commander Submarines , Asiatic Fleet , the Air Medal ( by the Army ) , and a Gold Star in lieu of a second Distinguished Service Medal for action in the Pacific area . At the close of 1944 he returned to Australia as Commander , Submarines , Seventh Fleet ; Commander , U . S . Naval Forces , Western Australia ; and Commander Task Force 71 . As a result , he was awarded a Gold Star in lieu of a third Distinguished Service Medal . From April 1947 until 1950 , he commanded the Submarine Force , Atlantic Fleet ( COMSUBLANT ) . This assignment was followed by duty as Assistant Chief , and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations ( Operations ) . His final assignment before retirement was as U . S . Naval Commander in Chief , Mediterranean , under Admiral Mountbatten , Royal Navy . Fife retired from the Navy in August 1955 , and was promoted upon retirement to full admiral . In retirement he served as the Director of Mystic Seaport museum in Stonington , Connecticut . During his tenure at Mystic Seaport he oversaw a great expansion of the museum ' s exhibits and the refloating of the historic whaling ship Charles W . Morgan . He died in 1975 in Stonington , Connecticut and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery . Legacy . Fife bequeathed his estate in Stonington to the U . S . Navy , which turned it into a recreational area . Fife Hall , a navigation training facility at Naval Submarine Base New London is named in his honor . The USS Fife ( DD - 991 ) , commissioned 31 May 1980 and decommissioned in 2003 , was named in his honor .