Theodore Stark Wilkinson Theodore Stark " Ping " Wilkinson ( December 22 , 1888 – February 21 , 1946 ) was a Vice - Admiral of the United States Navy during World War II . He also received the Medal of Honor for his actions in Veracruz , Mexico . Early life and career . Wilkinson entered the United States Naval Academy in 1905 and graduated first in the class of 1909 . He served the two years of sea duty then required by law prior to commissioning , in the battleship s and , before he received his ensign ' s commission on June 5 , 1911 . After instruction at George Washington University , Washington , D . C . , under the auspices of the Navy ' s Bureau of Ordnance ( BuOrd ) , Wilkinson reported to the battleship on July 25 , 1913 for sea duty . During his time in that dreadnought , Ens . Wilkinson led " Florida " ' s 2d Company in action during the landings on 21 and April 22 , 1914 at Veracruz , Mexico . For his skillful and courageous leadership of that unit of the battleship ' s landing force and his exhibition of " eminent and conspicuous " conduct , he received the Medal of Honor . World War I and interwar years . On August 4 , he was transferred to the armored cruiser , and two days later sailed eastward in her across the Atlantic . " Tennessee " and were ordered to European waters to evacuate Americans trapped on the continent by the outbreak of World War I . On September 3 , he became an assistant to the naval attaché at Paris and a month later left that post to join " North Carolina " in the Mediterranean . Subsequently , the young officer had tours of sea duty : first as aide , to Commander , 2d Division , Atlantic Fleet , and then as aide to the commander of the 7th Division . From July 1916 to July 1919 , Wilkinson served with distinction as the head of the Experimental Section , Bureau of Ordnance , where he developed ordnance materials and devices , most notable being a noxious gas filler for shells and an " exceptionally satisfactory smoke screen " . Additionally , he was deemed largely responsible for the successful design of a depth charge and for the development of the firing mechanism of the Mark VI mine used in the North Sea Mine Barrage . Following that tour ashore — for which he received a letter of commendation — Wilkinson went to sea , first serving as gunnery officer in the battleship " Kansas " and later as fire control officer in . In 1921 and 1922 , Wilkinson commanded , in succession , the destroyer s , , and , before he returned to BuOrd ' s experimental section . After commanding the destroyer from January 1925 to December 1926 , Wilkinson headed the Records Section of the Bureau of Navigation ( BuNav ) Officer Personnel Division . In June 1930 , he became fleet gunnery officer and aide to Commander , Scouting Fleet ( later , Commander , Scouting Force ) , Rear Admiral A . L . Willard . Detached from that duty in December 1931 , he soon assumed the duties of secretary to the Navy ' s General Board . While in that assignment , Wilkinson had additional duty during the arms limitation talks at Geneva in 1933 and in London in 1934 . From September 1934 to June 1936 , Wilkinson served as executive officer of . Over the next three years , he headed the Planning Division of BuNav and then returned to " Indianapolis " , this time in a staff capacity , as Chief of Staff to Commander , Scouting Force . In January 1941 , he fleeted up to command the battleship . World War II . Detached from that duty and promoted to Rear Admiral , Wilkinson was assigned as Director of the Office of Naval Intelligence ( ONI ) on October 15 . His new responsibilities inevitably embroiled him in the subsequent controversy over whether the US Pacific Fleet Commander at Pearl Harbor was sufficiently warned of the danger of a Japanese attack before December 7 – an issue on which Wilkinson testified for three days before a joint congressional committee in December 1945 . According to his testimony and that of others , ONI was responsible for collecting and evaluating intelligence , but R . Adm . Richmond Kelly Turner , Director of War Plans , had sought and received the authority in 1940 to control information sent to the fleet on “ enemy intentions ” and “ the strategic picture . ” Exercising this authority , Turner had prepared messages to fleet commanders on November 24 that “ a surprise aggressive movement on the Philippines or Guam is a distinct possibility , ” and on November 27 stating that “ this is a war warning … an aggressive move by Japan is expected within the next few days … indicates an amphibious expedition against either the Philippines , Thai or Kra Peninsula or possibly Borneo … execute appropriate defensive deployment . ” Wilkinson had followed these messages up on December 2 with a message to the fleet commanders reporting that Japanese consuls were instructed to destroy their codes — a standard precaution for hostilities . No further warnings were sent to the US fleet until just before the attack on December 7 , when hostilities had become even more clearly imminent from overnight decryption of Japanese “ purple code ” intercepts . When asked for his opinion at the time about Japanese intentions , Turner said that he had always thought that there was a 50 - 50 chance that they would attack Pearl Harbor at the outset . The congressional committee noted that he was “ the only officer in Washington in the higher echelons who thought so . ” Wilkinson , in contrast , admitted that he had believed it was more likely that Japan would strike first somewhere in the SW Pacific and avoid an immediate direct confrontation with the US – an opinion which the committee report found to have been widely shared by senior US officers before the attack . South Pacific Campaign . From ONI , Wilkinson was assigned briefly as Commander , Battleship Division 2 , Pacific Fleet , in August 1942 , then as Deputy Commander , South Pacific , under Admiral William Halsey and General Douglas MacArthur as theater commander beginning in January 1943 . Halsey was designated Third Fleet Commander in March , and Wilkinson became Commander of the Third Amphibious Force in July 1943 . In those positions , he is credited by naval historian Samuel Eliot Morison with developing the US “ leapfrogging ” strategy designed to seize control of the Southwest Pacific islands occupied by Japan . Rather than attack Japanese bases and fortifications frontally , the strategy was to “ hit them where they ain ’ t , ” by occupying positions behind their forward outposts and cutting their supply lines . The strategy was so successful that Japanese war czar Tojo before his death told General MacArthur that it was one of the three principal factors that defeated Japan . ( The other two factors were US submarine effectiveness and long - distance US carrier operations . ) Pursuing this strategy , Wilkinson earned the Distinguished Service Medal ( DSM ) for commanding the amphibious forces in the assaults on New Georgia , Vella Lavella , and the Treasury Islands ; and established a key position on the west coast of Bougainville . He was promoted to Vice Admiral in 1944 , and won a gold star in lieu of a second DSM for his leadership in the assaults that took Peleliu and Angaur in the Palaus , and Ulithi in the Carolines . Subsequently , Wilkinson earned another gold star in lieu of a third DSM , for commanding Task Force 79 ( TF 79 ) in action in the Philippines between October 1 , 1944 and January 18 , 1945 — operations that included the landings conducted by the Southern Attack Force on Leyte in October 1944 and at Lingayen in January 1945 . Ordered to the Navy Department in September 1945 for temporary duty , Vice Admiral Wilkinson became a member of the Joint Strategic Survey Committee of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in January 1946 . He was serving in that capacity when he lost his life on February 21 , 1946 in a tragic ferry accident at Hampton Roads , in which he was able to save his wife Catherine from drowning , but was unable to escape himself . He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery and his grave can be found in section 2 , Lot 3645 . Decorations . Medal of Honor citation . Rank and organization : Ensign , U . S . Navy . Born : December 22 , 1888 , Annapolis , Md . Appointed from : Louisiana . G . O . No . : 177 , December 4 , 1915 . Other Navy award : Distinguished Service Medal with gold stars in lieu of 2 additional DSM ' s . Citation : For distinguished conduct in battle , engagements of Vera Cruz , 21 and April 22 , 1914 . Ens . Wilkinson was in both days ' fighting at the head of his company and was eminent and conspicuous in his conduct , leading his men with skill and courage . Ribbon bar . Vice Admiral Theodore Stark Wilkinson´s ribbon bar : Namesake . In 1952 , the destroyer leader was named in his honor .