Thomas C . Hart Thomas Charles Hart ( June 12 , 1877July 4 , 1971 ) was an admiral of the United States Navy , whose service extended from the Spanish - American War through World War II . Following his retirement from the Navy , he served briefly as a United States Senator from Connecticut . Life and career . Hart was born in Genesee County , Michigan . He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1897 and served his initial tours of sea duty in the battleship and in the steam yacht , during the Spanish - American War . In the years preceding World War I , Hart filled a variety of sea and shore duty billets : as a junior officer in battleship s , torpedo boat s , and submarine s ; as an instructor at the Naval Academy ; as aide to an Assistant Secretary of the Navy ; and as commander of the Pacific Torpedo Flotilla . By the spring of 1917 , Hart was commanding the cruiser and Naval Submarine Base New London , Connecticut , while also acting as Chief of Staff to the Commander , Submarine Force , Atlantic Fleet . At noon on Wednesday , 30 March 1910 , at N Street , Annapolis , Maryland , in the home of Rear Admiral and Mrs . Willard H . Brownson , ( Superintendent U . S . Naval Academy , 1902 – 1905 ) and in the presence of a small company of naval officers and friends Lieutenant Commander Thomas Charles Hart , USN , was married to Ms . Caroline Brownson , daughter of Rear Admiral and Mrs . Brownson . The wedding ceremony was conducted by Chaplain Clarke , USN , of the U . S . Naval Academy Chapel . The bride was attended by her sister Mrs . C . L . Hussey ( matron of honor ) , Ms . Edith Cutler of Brookline , Massachusetts , and Ms . Cecile Gifford of Jamestown , New York . One of the bride ' s maids was Ms . Harriet Sutherland of Washington D . C . - daughter of Senator George Sutherland ( Republican - Utah ) . Best man was Lieutenant Commander Leigh C . Palmer , USN ( White House naval aide ) , and other groom ' s men were Lieutenant Commanders R . K . Crank , L . M . Overstreet , and Lieutenant H . W . Osterhaus . Following the ceremony , Lieutenant Commander and Mrs . W . H . Hart took a house in Brookline , Massachusetts . Their home was close to the Fore River Shipyard , Quincy , Massachusetts , where LCDR Hart was assigned inspecting the building of the new in which he was assigned to prior to its commissioning ( Monday , 11 April 1910 ) . They spent their honeymoon at the newly rebuilt luxury resort " The Homestead " , in Hot Springs , Bath County , Virginia . His daughter , Harriet Taft Hart , was the wife of Francis B . Sayre , Jr . , who was the son of President Woodrow Wilson ' s daughter Jessie Woodrow Wilson Sayre . World War I . During World War I , Hart served concurrently as commander of Submarine Divisions 2 and 5 , with as his flagship . One division was based at Bantry Bay , protecting sea approaches to the British Isles ; the second was based at Ponta Delgada in the Azores , protecting routes to that vital island . In 1918 , after temporary duty with the British Admiralty , Hart was appointed Director of Submarines in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations . Serving in this office as its head until 1922 , Hart fought doggedly to improve the lot of the submarine arm of the Navy . His tenacity was responsible for the U . S . Navy ' s acquisition of surrendered German U - boat s after World War I to learn the details of the technical innovations incorporated in the erstwhile enemy craft . Interwar years . Receiving the Distinguished Service Medal ( DSM ) for his service as Director of Submarines , Hart spent the ensuing years of the 1920s and 1930s in a succession of sea and shore billets as he advanced up the Navy ladder . He studied at both the Army and Navy War College s ; commanded the Atlantic Fleet Submarine Divisions , battleship , and Submarine Flotilla 3 ; served as Assistant Commandant of the 3d Naval District ; Inspector of Ordnance at the Naval Torpedo Station , Newport , R . I . ; and Commander of the Control Force . After a tour as Superintendent of the Naval Academy , he went to sea as Commander , Cruiser Division 6 , in June 1934 . Reporting to the General Board after this tour of sea duty , Hart became its chairman in 1937 . With the temporary rank of admiral , Hart relieved classmate Admiral Harry E . Yarnell as Commander - in - Chief , Asiatic Fleet ( CinCAF ) on 25 July 1939 . For the next two years , as tensions increased in the western Pacific , Hart prepared the small Asiatic Fleet for war with Japan . He reduced the presence of his fleet in Chinese waters and concentrated it in the Philippines to await the onslaught expected momentarily . He also successfully badgered Washington for reinforcements in the way of patrol planes and fleet submarines . World War II . The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor , coupled with nearly simultaneous assaults on British and Dutch possessions and the Philippines , catapulted the United States into World War II . On 8 December 1941 Hart proclaimed unrestricted submarine warfare against Japan , and the Americans , with their Filipino allies , fought a delaying action in the Philippines , while a mixed American , British , Dutch , and Australian ( ABDA ) military structure under the command of General Hein ter Poorten was set up to operate from Java in an attempt to hold the Japanese at the Malay Barrier . Given command of ABDA naval forces , Hart directed part of this defense into mid - February 1942 when he was replaced , for political reasons , by Admiral Helfrich of the Dutch Navy . By that point , it had become evident that the Japanese forces could not be stopped with the allied ships available at that time . He returned to the United States on 8 March 1942 . President Roosevelt presented Hart with a Gold Star in lieu of a second Distinguished Service Medal in July 1942 for " His conduct of the operations of the Allied naval forces in the Southwest Pacific area during January and February , 1942 , was characterized by unfailing judgment and sound decision , coupled with marked moral courage , in the face of discouraging surroundings and complex associations . " Retired list . Transferred to the retired list in July 1942 with the rank of Admiral , Hart nevertheless continued on active duty with the General Board through 1944 . From February to April 1944 , he conducted a one - member investigation , the " Hart Inquiry , " into the Pearl Harbor attack , a duty which took him to the length and breadth of the Pacific Ocean area . The purpose of the investigation was not to determine fault , but to ensure that the statute of limitations did not run out before courts - martial could be considered . Military decorations . Admiral Hart ' s decorations included : Navy Distinguished Service Medal with Gold star for second award , Sampson Medal , Navy Spanish Campaign Medal , Mexican Service Medal , World War I Victory Medal , China Service Medal , American Defense Service Medal , Asiatic - Pacific Campaign Medal , American Campaign Medal , World War II Victory Medal and Submarine Warfare insignia . Political career and later years . On 9 February 1945 , Hart retired from the Navy to fill an appointment as Republican senator from Connecticut . He served in Congress until 5 November 1946 and did not seek reelection . Admiral Hart then returned to his family home in Sharon , Connecticut , and died there on 4 July 1971 , aged 94 . Legacy . ( 1973 – 1993 ) was named in his honor . Originally classified as a destroyer escort , ( DE - 1092 ) , it was reclassified as a frigate , ( FF - 1092 ) , in 1975 . The Naval Academy named its former library and current midshipmen lounge , The Hart Room , in his honor . Admiral Hart was also recognized by his high school alma mater , with his inclusion in the inaugural class of Davison High School ' s Alumni Hall of Fame .