Raymond A . Spruance Raymond Ames Spruance ( July 3 , 1886 – December 13 , 1969 ) was a United States Navy admiral in World War II . Spruance commanded US naval forces during two of the most significant naval battles that took place in the Pacific theater , the Battle of Midway and the Battle of the Philippine Sea . The Battle of Midway was the first major victory for the United States over Japan and is seen by many as the turning point of the Pacific war . The Battle of the Philippine Sea was also a significant victory for the US . The Navy ' s official historian said of the Battle of Midway " . . . Spruance ' s performance was superb . . . ( he ) emerged from this battle one of the greatest admirals in American naval history " . After the war , Spruance was appointed President of the Naval War College , and later served as American ambassador to the Philippines . Spruance was nicknamed " electric brain " for his calmness even in moments of supreme crisis : a reputation enhanced by his successful tactics at Midway . Early life . Spruance was born in Baltimore , Maryland to Alexander and Annie Spruance . He was raised in Indianapolis , Indiana . Spruance attended Indianapolis public schools and graduated from Shortridge High School . From there , he went on to graduate from the U . S . Naval Academy in 1906 , and received further , hands on education in electrical engineering a few years later . His first duty would be aboard the battleship , an 11 , 400 ton veteran of the Spanish - American War . His seagoing career included command of the , four other destroyers , and the battleship . In 1916 he aided in the fitting out of the " USS Pennsylvania " and he served on board her from her commissioning in June , 1916 until November 1917 . During the last year of World War I he was assigned as Assistant Engineer Officer of the New York Naval Shipyard , and carried out temporary duty in London , England and Edinburgh , Scotland . In 1924 , as Bill Halsey was preparing to turn over command of destroyer " Osborne " to Spruance , he advised the bridge crew that they should not let Spruance ' s quiet manner deceive them into thinking they were getting anything but an outstandingly competent commander . The crew soon learned that Spruance liked a quiet bridge , without extraneous chit - chat or the use of first names , and with orders given concisely and clearly . In an incident in the harbor of Bizerte in French Tunisia , " Osborne " was anchored in 6 fathoms , or 36 feet , of water . A distraught torpedo officer rushed to the bridge and reported , " Captain , we ' ve just dropped a depth charge over the stern ! " " Well , pick it up and put it back , " was Spruance ' s measured response . Notwithstanding their different personalities , Spruance and Halsey were close friends . In fact , Spruance had a knack for getting along with difficult people , including his friend Kelly Turner , the hotheaded commander of 5th Fleet ' s amphibious force . One exception was John Towers , a constant critic of Spruance , whom Spruance came to despise for his naked ambition . Spruance began attendance at the Naval War College in 1926 , and graduated in 1927 . He also held several engineering , intelligence , staff and Naval War College positions up to the 1940s . On February 26 , 1940 Captain Spruance reported as Commandant of the TENTH Naval District with headquarters at San Juan , Puerto Rico . On October 1 he was promoted to Rear Admiral . On August 1 , 1941 , he finished his tour in Puerto Rico . World War II . Before Midway . In the first months of World War II in the Pacific , Spruance commanded four heavy cruisers and support ships that made up Cruiser Division Five . Spruance ’ s division was under a task force built around the aircraft carrier commanded by Admiral William " Bull " Halsey . Halsey led a series of hit and run raids against the Japanese , striking the Gilbert and Marshall islands in February , Wake Island in March , and carrying out the Doolittle Raid in April against targets on the Japanese homeland . The raids were important to morale , setting a tone of aggressive initiative taking , and also provided invaluable experience for the US Navy . Midway . Admiral Halsey , commander of the Pacific Fleet aircraft carrier force , came down with a severe case of shingles just before the battle , which hospitalized him . He recommended Spruance to Pacific Fleet commander Chester W . Nimitz to take his place . Spruance had up to that time been a cruiser division commander , and there was some concern that he had no experience handling a carrier air battle . Halsey reassured him , telling Spruance to rely on his able staff , particularly Captain Miles Browning , a battle - proven expert in carrier warfare . Spruance commanded Task Force 16 , with two aircraft carrier s , ( flagship ) and , and was under the overall command of Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher , trailing behind in the damaged . The U . S . task force , based on three carriers , faced a Japanese task force , divided into two groups : a lead group with all four task force fleet carriers under Admiral Nagumo , and a follow - on group under Admiral Yamamoto . The US Navy lost one carrier while sinking all four of the enemy ' s fleet carriers . The US victory came largely from the toughness of the fighting force , Spruance ' s combination of coolness plus his caution at just the right moments , and large doses of plain luck . Several waves of US aircraft were beaten badly by the Japanese both at the Island of Midway and at sea around the Japanese task force . Then a large group of US dive bombers happened to find Nagumo ' s four carriers — with air cover absent . Most of the Japanese strike planes had only returned from the attack on Midway , and the CAP deployed by Nagumo was busy attacking VT - 8 torpedo bombers from " Hornet " . The US dive bombers badly damaged the Japanese carriers , all eventually sinking , which essentially ended the Japanese lead in fleet power in the Pacific . One of the carriers , " Hiryu " gave a brief respite for the Japanese by sending a strike wave which crippled " Yorktown " , but additional waves from " Enterprise " struck the carrier , which forced " Hiryu " to be scuttled afterwards . Historian Samuel E . Morison wrote in 1949 that Spruance was subjected to much criticism for not pursuing the retreating Japanese , and allowing the retreating Japanese surface fleet to escape . However , Spruance was recommended for the Navy Distinguished Service Medal by both Fletcher and Nimitz for his role in the battle . In fact , in summing up Spruance ' s performance in the battle , Morison stated " Fletcher did well , but Spruance ' s performance was superb . Calm , collected , decisive , yet receptive to advice ; keeping in his mind the picture of widely disparate forces , yet bolding seizing every opening . Raymond A . Spruance emerged from the battle one of the greatest admirals in American Naval history " . He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal and cited as follows : “ For exceptionally meritorious service … as Task Force Commander , United States Pacific Fleet . During the Midway engagement which resulted in the defeat of and heavy losses to the enemy fleet , his seamanship , endurance , and tenacity in handling his task force were of the highest quality . ” Before Midway , a small and fractional US Navy in the Pacific faced an overwhelmingly large and battle - hardened Japanese fleet . After Midway , the Japanese still held a temporary advantage in vessels and planes , but the setback gave the slow - to - crank - up US industrial production time to turn the tables . It also gave the US Navy confidence . Once running at full speed , American factories handed the allies a huge advantage against not only the Japanese but also the Germans . At the same time , American Pacific forces before and after Midway gained crucial combat experience , so that the Japanese lost the advantage there as well . Truk , Philippine Sea and Iwo Jima . After the Midway battle , Spruance became Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief , Pacific Fleet ( CINCPAC ) and later was Deputy Commander in Chief . In mid - 1943 , Spruance was given command of the Central Pacific Force . The command of the vessels which made up the big blue fleet alternated between Admiral William Halsey , at which time it was identified as the Third Fleet and Task Force 38 , and Admiral Spruance , when it became the Fifth Fleet and Task Force 58 . The two admirals were a contrast in styles . Halsey was aggressive and a risk taker . Spruance was professional , calculating and cautious . Most common sailors were proud to serve under Halsey ; most higher - ranking officers preferred to serve under Spruance . Captain George Dyer of the CL , who served under both Spruance and Halsey , summed up the view of many ship captains : My feeling was one of confidence when Spruance was there . When you moved into Admiral Halsey ' s command from Admiral Spruance ' s . . . you moved [ into ] an area in which you never knew what you were going to do in the next five minutes or how you were going to do it , because the printed instructions were never up to date . . . He never did things the same way twice . When you moved into Admiral Spruance ' s command , the printed instructions were up to date , and you did things in accordance with them . This gave a description of Spruance as " an Admiral ' s admiral " . From 1943 through 1945 , with or the as his flagship , Spruance directed the campaigns that captured the Gilbert Islands , Marshall Islands , Marianas , Iwo Jima , and Okinawa . Spruance directed Operation Hailstone against the Japanese naval base Truk in February 1944 in which twelve Japanese warships , thirty - two merchant ships and 249 aircraft were destroyed . This occurred at the same time when Admiral Turner ' s forces were attacking Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshalls , about 700 miles to the west . Spruance himself directed a task group of battleships , cruisers and destroyers that left the main body to go after Japanese ships that were fleeing Truk , sinking the light cruiser " Katori " and destroyer " Maikaze " . This was said to be the first time that a four - star admiral took part in a sea action aboard one of the ships engaged . Admiral Spruance commanded with deadly precision , reported an observer . While screening the American invasion of Saipan , in June 1944 Spruance also defeated the Japanese fleet in the Battle of the Philippine Sea . Although he broke the back of the Japanese naval airforce by sinking 3 carriers , 2 oilers and destroying about 600 enemy airplanes — so much so that for ADM Halsey in the Battle of Leyte Gulf a few months later the remaining Japanese carriers were used solely as decoys due to the lack of aircraft , and aircrews to fly them — Spruance has been criticized for not being aggressive enough in exploiting his success in the Philippine Sea . Buell quotes Spruance speaking with Morison : " As a matter of tactics I think that going out after the Japanese and knocking their carriers out would have been much better and more satisfactory than waiting for them to attack us , but we were at the start of a very important and large amphibious operation and we could not afford to gamble and place it in jeopardy . " However , his actions were both praised or understood by the main persons ordering or are directly involved in the battle . Admiral Ernest J . King told him that " Spruance , you did a damn fine job there . No matter what other people tell you , your decision was correct " . Spruance ' s fast carrier commander , Marc Mitscher , told his chief of staff Arleigh Burke that : You and I have been in many battles , and we know there are always some mistakes . This time we were right because the enemy did what we expected him to do . Admiral Spruance could have been right . He ' s one of the finest officers I know of . It was his job to protect the landing force . . . Spruance received the Navy Cross for his actions at Iwo Jima and Okinawa . Spruance succeeded Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz as Commander in Chief , US Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas in November 1945 . On 16 October 1946 , the former Secretary of War , the Honorable Robert P . Patterson , presented the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Admiral Spruance , with citation as follows : Admiral Raymond A . Spruance , U . S . Navy , as Task Force Commander during the capture of the Marshall and Marianas Islands , rendered exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services from January to June 1944 . During the joint operations leading to the assault and capture of the important enemy bases , complete integration of Army and Navy units was accomplished under his outstanding leadership , enabling all the forces to perform their closely co - ordinated missions with outstanding success . Later life . Spruance ' s promotion to Fleet Admiral was blocked multiple times by Congressman Carl Vinson , a staunch partisan of Admiral William Halsey , Jr . Congress eventually responded by passing an unprecedented act which specified that Spruance would remain on a full admiral ' s pay once retired until death . Spruance was President of the Naval War College from February 1946 until he retired from the Navy in July 1948 . He was appointed as American ambassador to the Philippines by President Harry Truman , and served there from 1952 to 1955 . Shortly before his retirement , Spruance received the following Letter of Commendation from the Secretary of the Navy : " Your brilliant record of achievement in World War II played a decisive part in our victory in the Pacific . At the crucial Battle of Midway your daring and skilled leadership routed the enemy in the full tide of his advance and established the pattern of air - sea warfare which was to lead to his eventual capitulation . . . " Spruance was an active man who thought nothing of walking eight or 10 miles a day . He was fond of symphonic music , and his tastes were generally simple . He never smoked and drank little . He enjoyed hot chocolate and would make it for himself every morning . Besides his family , he loved the companionship of his pet schnauzer , Peter . Fit and spare in his 70s , Spruance spent most of his retirement days wearing old khakis and work shoes and working in his garden and greenhouse . He loved to show them to visitors . Spruance died in Pebble Beach , California on December 13 , 1969 . He was buried with full military honors alongside his wife , Margaret Dean ( 1888 - 1985 ) , Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz , his longtime friend Admiral Richmond K . Turner , and Admiral Charles A . Lockwood , an arrangement made by all of them while living . Spruance became a shadowy sort of legend in the Navy . His achievements were well - known , but the man himself was a mystery . He did not discuss his private life , feelings , prejudices , hopes or fears , except perhaps with his family and his closest friends . He was uniquely modest and candid about himself all his life . " When I look at myself objectively , " he wrote in retirement , " I think that what success I may have achieved through life is largely due to the fact that I am a good judge of men . I am lazy , and I never have done things myself that I could get someone to do for me . I can thank heredity for a sound constitution , and myself for taking care of that constitution . " About his intellect he was equally unpretentious : " Some people believe that when I am quiet that I am thinking some deep and important thoughts , when the fact is that I am thinking of nothing at all . My mind is blank . " Legacy . The destroyers , lead ship of the of destroyers , and , 61st ship of the Arleigh Burke class destroyer , were named in his honor . The main auditorium of the U . S . Naval War College , Newport , Rhode Island is Spruance Hall . A bust of Spruance is in the lobby .