Walden L . Ainsworth Walden Lee " Pug " Ainsworth ( November 10 , 1886 – August 7 , 1960 ) was an admiral of the United States Navy . For his role in commanding destroyer and cruiser task forces in the Pacific during World War II , he was awarded the Navy Cross , the Navy Distinguished Service Medal , and the Legion of Merit . Early life and career . Ainsworth was born on November 10 , 1886 , in Minneapolis , Minnesota . He entered the United States Naval Academy on June 21 , 1906 , and graduated on June 3 , 1910 . Following successive two - year tours at sea in " Iowa " ( BB - 4 ) and in transport " Prairie " , he shifted to " Florida " ( BB - 30 ) during the spring of 1914 , just in time to act as the adjutant of one of the battalions that landed at Veracruz , Mexico , on April 21 . Upon the successful completion of that operation , he returned to " Florida " and served in her until sent to " DeKalb " ( Id . No . 3010 ) in May 1917 . During the participation of the United States in World War I , he served in transports " DeKalb " and " America " ( Id . No . 3006 ) . During the last months of the conflict , he found himself in " Frederick " ( ACR - 8 ) . Interwar assignments . In February 1919 , the young officer went to Charles Town , West Virginia , for two years as inspector of ordnance at the Navy ' s Armor and Projectile Plant before returning to sea as executive officer of the transport " Hancock " ( AP - 3 ) . Then , after a brief stint holding the same post in the light cruiser " Birmingham " ( CL - 2 ) , he commanded the destroyer " Marcus " ( DD - 321 ) for a year before becoming inspector of ordnance at Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania . In August 1924 , orders sent him to the New York Navy Yard . By the end of 1925 , Ainsworth ' s growing stature in the field of ordnance won him the position of gunnery officer on the staff of the Commander , Destroyer Squadrons , Asiatic Fleet . In July 1927 , he took command of " Paul Jones " ( DD - 230 ) , but left that destroyer late in the summer of 1928 to begin three years at the Naval Academy as an instructor in the Department of Navigation . At the end of the 1930 – 31 academic year , Ainsworth returned to sea in " Idaho " ( BB - 42 ) to serve as that battleship ' s navigator . Next came a tour in heavy cruiser " Pensacola " ( CA - 24 ) and one as communication officer for the 14th Naval District before he reported to the Naval War College at Newport , R . I . , for the senior course . In June 1936 , Ainsworth became the executive officer of " Mississippi " ( BB - 41 ) and , two years later , he became Professor of Naval Science and Tactics at Tulane University in New Orleans , Louisiana . World War II . World War II in Europe was almost a year old when he took command of Destroyer Squadron 2 ( DesRon 2 ) on July 22 , 1940 , and the United States had just entered that conflict when he returned to " Mississippi " as her commanding officer on December 19 , 1941 . Ainsworth promptly took that veteran battleship to the Pacific to strengthen the Navy ' s surface force in that ocean which had been seriously weakened by the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor . On July 4 , 1942 , Ainsworth took administrative command of all Pacific Fleet destroyers ( ComDesPac ) . On December 10 of that year , Admiral William F . Halsey gave him the additional duty of commanding Task Force 67 ( TF 67 ) which had been badly mauled in the recent Battle of Tassafaronga ; and , under his leadership that cruiser - destroyer force was soon winning renown as the " Ainsworth Express " for its fierce fighting in support of the final American drive to push Japanese troops off Guadalcanal . Its bombardment of the new Japanese air base at Munda on the island of New Georgia would be , in the words of naval historian , Samuel Eliot Morison , " . . . long regarded as a model . . . " Transferred to command of TF 18 and Cruiser Division 9 ( CruDiv 9 ) , Ainsworth continued his success during a prolonged series of runs up the long , narrow body of water between the central Solomon Islands which American bluejackets had nicknamed " the Slot " . These operations parried the thrusts by Japanese warships challenging Allied control of the area . At the end of June , the tempo of American fighting in the southwestern Pacific picked up since the Navy had finally managed to assemble enough amphibious shipping in that theatre to resume the offensive . On the night of 4 – July 5 , TF 18 moved up " the Slot " and bombarded Japanese positions at Vila on Kolombangara and at Baiko on New Georgia . The next afternoon , while Ainsworth ' s force was retiring from this action , word reached him that a large Japanese force was heading toward " the Slot " . In an effort to meet and check this new threat , his warships again reversed course and headed toward the enemy . Ainsworth ' s " . . . outstanding leadership , brilliant tactics and courageous conduct . . . " in the ensuing battle of Kula Gulf won him a Navy Cross . He also received the Distinguished Service Medal for his overall performance in the Southwest Pacific . About a year later , Ainsworth won the Legion of Merit Medal by his " . . . exceptionally meritorious conduct . . . " while commanding the fire support group during operations which recaptured Guam . Finally , he received a gold star in lieu of a second Legion of Merit for his display of " . . . exceptional ability and aggressiveness in handling the organization and administration of the cruiser s , destroyer s , destroyer escort s , and patrol frigate s of the Pacific Fleet . " Post - war life . After returning to the United States in the summer of 1945 , Vice Admiral Ainsworth commanded the Fifth Naval District until retiring on December 1 , 1948 . He died in Washington , D . C . , on August 7 , 1960 . Namesake . In 1972 , the fast frigate USS " Ainsworth " ( FF - 1090 ) was named in his honor . See also . Famous American Admirals - By : Clark G . Reynolds ( Pages 1 and 2 )