John E . Wilkes John E . Wilkes ( May 26 , 1895 – July 20 , 1957 ) was a vice admiral in the United States Navy , who served in World War I and World War II . In December 1941 he was appointed Commander of Submarines , Asiatic Fleet . In 1944 Wilkes was commander of all ports in Northern Europe . From 1945 to 1951 he was the chief U . S . Naval Officer in Occupied Germany . He retired in 1951 . Biography . Wilkes was born in Charlotte , North Carolina , either the grandson or the great - grandson of Rear Admiral Charles Wilkes and entered the United States Naval Academy in June 1912 and , upon graduation in June 1916 , was commissioned in the rank of ensign . For the next three years he served in the armored cruiser , including convoy escort duty in the North Atlantic during World War I . In 1919 Lieutenant Wilkes received submarine training and , during the next decade , served in several submarines , having command of and , and had shore duty as an Inspector of Machinery at Groton , Connecticut . In 1928 - 30 Lieutenant Commander Wilkes was assigned to the Portsmouth Navy Yard , Kittery , Maine , then spent three years as Commanding Officer of the submarine " V - 1 " , which was renamed in 1931 . During 1933 - 35 Wilkes was attached to the Reserve Officers Training Unit at the University of California at Berkeley . He was Navigator of the heavy cruiser from mid - 1935 , receiving promotion to the rank of Commander during that time . Following a tour at the Mare Island Navy Yard , California , in June 1939 Wilkes took command of Submarine Division 15 , in the Asiatic Fleet , and , from December 1939 , also had command of Submarine Squadron 5 . For six months after the Pacific War began in December 1941 , Wilkes , who was soon promoted to Captain , commanded Asiatic Fleet submarines during their frustrating struggle against the fast - moving tide of Japanese conquest . On 29 December 1941 Wilkes and his headquarters staff were forced to evacuate from Corregidor Island in the submarine , and headed for Surabaya , Java . Following his return to the United States in mid - 1942 , Wilkes attended the Naval War College , then became Commanding Officer of the new light cruiser , taking her to the Mediterranean Sea to participate in the invasion of Sicily in July 1943 . From August 1943 Rear Admiral Wilkes had amphibious force commands in England and France , playing an important role in preparations for the invasion of Normandy in June 1944 , and the invasion of Southern France two months later . As the Allied ground offensive moved into Germany , Wilkes was in charge of U . S . Ports and Bases in France , materially assisting the offensive with his management of logistics . Rear Admiral Wilkes went to the Pacific in May 1945 , as an administrator of amphibious forces as they worked towards the planned invasion of Japan . A few months after World War II ended , he returned to the U . S . to command the Atlantic Fleet ' s submarine force , a position he held from late December 1945 until March 1947 . He then had duty with the Joint Chiefs of Staff , in Washington , D . C . , before going to Europe to take command of Naval Forces , Germany , in August 1948 . His final assignment was a brief tour as Commander Eastern Sea Frontier , beginning in March 1951 . On the basis of a combat award Wilkes was advanced to the rank of Vice Admiral upon retirement in June 1951 . Vice Admiral John Wilkes died at the Bethesda Naval Hospital , Maryland , on 20 July 1957 .