Aubrey Fitch Aubrey Wray Fitch ( June 11 , 1883 – May 22 , 1978 ) was an admiral of the United States Navy during World War II . A naval aviator , he held important aviation - related commands both at sea and on shore from the 1920s onward . He also served as Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy . Early life and career . Fitch was born in Saint Ignace , Michigan , on June 11 , 1883 . He entered the U . S . Naval Academy in the summer of 1902 and graduated on February 12 , 1906 . After serving the two years of sea duty then required by law before commissioning in the armored cruiser and the torpedo boat Fitch became as ensign on February 13 , 1908 and served afloat in and before receiving instruction in torpedo es at the Naval Torpedo Station , Newport , R . I . , in the school conducted on board the old cruiser . Upon completion of the torpedo course , Fitch helped to fit out the battleship , which commissioned on April 4 , 1910 before returning to Annapolis for consecutive tours of duty at the Naval Academy , first as assistant discipline officer between 1911 and 1912 and later as an instructor of physical training from 1912 to 1913 . Service in the destroyers and followed before he received his first sea command , the destroyer , with the 2nd Division , Reserve Torpedo Flotilla , Atlantic Fleet . After serving on the staff of the Commander in Chief , Atlantic Fleet , Fitch assumed command of the yacht in January 1915 , with additional duty as aide to the Commander in Chief . World War I and afterward . Relieved of command of " Yankton " shortly after the United States entered World War I in the spring of 1917 , Fitch continued his staff duties for another five months before joining to serve as her gunnery officer for the remainder of hostilities , as that dreadnought operated with the 6th Battle Squadron , Grand Fleet . After the armistice , Fitch again served at the Naval Academy once more before becoming , concurrently , inspector of ordnance in charge of the Hingham Naval Ammunition Depot in Hingham , MA , and naval inspector of ordnance in charge at the Naval Coaling Station , Frenchman Bay , Maine . From August 1920 , Fitch commanded a division of fast minelayer s , while also commanding in turn and . Detached from " Mahan " in December 1922 , Fitch served at Rio de Janeiro until March 1927 as a member of the United States mission to Brazil before reporting back to the Navy Department for a brief tour of duty in Washington , D . C . Going to sea as executive officer of in May 1927 , Fitch assumed command of ( a type of ship sometimes known uncomplimentarily as a " beef boat " ) in November of that year . Aviation . He reported for aviation instruction at the Naval Air Station Pensacola , Florida , in June 1929 and there won his wings as a naval aviator on February 4 , 1930 . Following brief duty at NAS San Diego , California , Fitch assumed command of in the spring of 1930 . Relieved in that billet a little over a year later ( July 1931 ) , he then began a year as commanding officer of the Navy ' s first aircraft carrier , . After commanding NAS Hampton Roads , Virginia , until June 1935 Fitch reported as chief of staff to Commander , Aircraft , Battle Force , and remained in that billet until assuming command of in April 1936 . Subsequently attending the Naval War College , Newport , Rhode Island , from June 1937 to May 1938 , Fitch completed the senior course there before assuming command of NAS Pensacola , in June 1938 . In the spring of 1940 , he took over the reins of Patrol Wing 2 , based at Pearl Harbor , and seven months later , broke his flag in as Commander , Carrier Division 1 . The outbreak of hostilities in the Pacific in December 1941 thus found Fitch one of the most experienced carrier commanders afloat . World War II . Fitch ' s flagship , " Saratoga " , figured prominently in the abortive attempt to reinforce Wake Island in December 1941 and was later torpedoed off Oahu in late January 1942 , seriously cutting American carrier strength in the Pacific at a critical period . Rear Admiral Fitch relieved Vice Admiral Wilson Brown on April 3 , 1942 , breaking his flag in " Lexington " , his former command . During the Battle of the Coral Sea , Fitch served as Commander Task Group 17 . 5 , consisting of " Lady Lex " and , and was named Officer in Tactical Command ( O . T . C . ) by Task Force commander Admiral Frank J . Fletcher . That engagement , the first in history where neither side came within surface gun range of the other , effectively stopped the Japan ese thrust at strategic Port Moresby , but resulted in the first loss of an American aircraft carrier in the war — " Lexington " , sunk on May 8 , 1942 . The admiral then shifted his flag to , which was also flagship of Task Force 17 ( TF 17 ) . Fitch together with Captain Sherman and " Lexington " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s executive officer Commander Morton T . Seligman , visited " Lady Lex " ' s wounded in " Minneapolis " ' sickbay — an action that " contributed in no small measure to the patients ' well - being . " For the leadership he exhibited during the Battle of the Coral Sea , Fitch was awarded his first Distinguished Service Medal . He again broke his flag in his former flagship , " Saratoga " , but the task group formed around that ship arrived too late to take part in the pivotal Battle of Midway . On September 20 , 1942 , six weeks after the first American amphibious operation of the war got underway at Guadalcanal , Fitch assumed command of Aircraft , South Pacific Force . Not a desk - bound admiral , he carried out numerous , hazardous flights into the combat zones , inspecting air activities incident to the selection of bases for projected operations . For these , he received a Distinguished Flying Cross . Under Fitch ' s command , AirSoPac — ultimately encompassing not only Navy but Army , Marine Corps , and Royal New Zealand air units — achieved great success in aiding the Allied campaign in the South Pacific . Fitch ' s planes protected Allied shipping , providing vital air cover that strongly assisted the Allies in challenging , and ultimately defeating , the Japanese in the Solomons . In addition , his aircraft performed essential reconnaissance missions , spotting enemy warships prior to the Battle of Santa Cruz Islands in October 1942 and during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in November 1942 . Later , Fitch oversaw the early experiments in conducting night bombing utilizing radar ( a concept which paid great dividends in interdicting Japanese shipping ) and encouraged the use of specially modified aircraft to obtain photographic intelligence . In addition , for his skillful coordination of the Allied air effort in that area of the world Fitch received a gold star in lieu of a second Distinguished Service Medal . Fitch returned to Washington in the summer of 1944 and became Deputy Chief of Naval Operations ( Air ) . He skillfully and efficiently directed the aeronautical organization of the Navy , oversaw efforts to assure the readiness and deployment of air units , and planned all of the related logistics measures . For these efforts he received a Legion of Merit . Post - war service . After V - J Day , Vice Admiral Fitch assumed duty as the Superintendent of the Naval Academy on August 16 , 1945 and held that post until January 15 , 1947 , with collateral duty as Commandant , Severn River Command . The first airman to head the Naval Academy , Fitch was instrumental in establishing the Department of Aeronautics , authorized by the Navy on November 28 , 1945 . Subsequent to heading the Academy , Fitch served briefly in the Office of the Undersecretary of the Navy before becoming the senior member of the Naval Clemency and Prison Inspection Board in March 1947 . He was so serving when he was relieved of all active duty on July 1 , 1947 . Admiral Fitch died in his adopted state , Maine , on May 22 , 1978 , shortly before his 95th birthday . Namesake . In 1981 , the U . S . Navy guided - missile frigate was named in Admiral Fitchs honor . See also . List of Superintendents of the United States Naval Academy