Robert Alfred Theobald Robert Alfred Theobald ( 30 May 1884 – 13 May 1957 ) , nicknamed " Fuzzy " , was a United States Navy officer who served in World War I and World War II , and achieved the rank of rear admiral . In retirement , he was the author of the 1954 book " The Final Secret of Pearl Harbor : The Washington Background of the Pearl Harbor Attack " . Biography . Born in San Francisco , California , on 30 May 1884 , Theobald attended the University of California in 1902 - 1903 before entering the United States Naval Academy , from which he graduated ninth in his class in 1907 . He was commissioned as an ensign in 1908 . His first tour as a commanding officer was of the destroyer in 1915 . World War I . During World War I , Theobald served as gunnery officer of the battleship , the flagship of Battleship Division Nine , which served with the British Grand Fleet in 1917 - 1918 . He received promotion to commander in September 1918 . Interwar years . Theobald served as executive officer of the Naval Postgraduate School from 1919 to 1921 , then spent the years 1922 through 1924 serving in Destroyer Command , United States Asiatic Fleet , before returning to the School to serve as its commanding officer from 1924 to 1927 . He then spent two years as the executive officer of the battleship , before studying in the senior class of the Naval War College . In 1930 , Theobald served as secretary of war plans at the Department of the Navy and as a member of the Joint Army - Navy Planning Committee . In February 1932 he received promotion to captain , and was Chief of Staff , Destroyers , United States Pacific Fleet from 1932 to 1934 . He was a member of the advanced class at the Naval War College , engaged in a seminar study of " Japan and Pacific War " in 1934 - 1935 , and was then put in charge of the College ' s Strategy Division . In 1937 Theobald was appointed commanding officer of the battleship , then served as Chief of Staff to Admiral Claude C . Bloch , the Commander - in - Chief of the United States Fleet , in 1939 . Theobald joined the General Board of the United States Navy early in 1940 , and was promoted to rear admiral in June 1940 , serving as Commander of Cruiser Division Three and then as Commander of Destroyer Flotilla One in the Pacific Fleet . World War II . On the morning of December 7 , 1941 , twenty ships of Destroyer Flotilla One were moored at Pearl Harbor , Territory of Hawaii , when the Japanese attacked . Theobald , from his temporary flagship , the destroyer tender , was ordered to provide anti - aircraft fire , and sent Destroyer Division Two out of the harbor to establish an off - shore patrol . Theobald served as Commander of Pacific Fleet Destroyers ( ComDesPac ) from December 1941 until May 1942 before being appointed Commander of the North Pacific Force ( Task Force 8 ) for operations in the Aleutian Islands in the Territory of Alaska . The Aleutian Islands Campaign began in June 1942 and , after suffering minor defeats against Japanese naval forces , including the Japanese capture of the islands of Attu and Kiska , Theobald was replaced by Rear Admiral Thomas C . Kinkaid . In January 1943 Theobald was appointed Commandant of the First Naval District and of Boston Navy Yard in Boston , Massachusetts . He retired from active service in 1945 . Post - World War II . After World War II , Theobald gained considerable notoriety with his 1954 book " The Final Secret of Pearl Harbor : The Washington Background of the Pearl Harbor Attack " , which accused the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt of suppressing intelligence about the attack in order to bring the United States into the war . Personal life . Theobald was married to the former Elizabeth Dartnell ( 9 August 1909 – 3 January 1996 ) . Their son , Robert Theobald Jr . ( 1910 – 1989 ) was also a graduate of the United States Naval Academy ( 1931 ) and achieved the rank of captain in the U . S . Navy . Death . Theobald died in Boston , Massachusetts , on 13 May 1957 . He is buried with his wife at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington , Virginia .