caption serviceyears branch commands death_date death_place birth_place allegiance awards placeofburial_label battles birth_date placeofburial rank article_title birth_name
alfred m. pride 1917-1959 25px united states navy bureau of aeronautics 24 december 1988 arnold , maryland somerville , massachusetts united states of america distinguished service medal -lrb- 2 -rrb- legion of merit place of burial world war i world war ii 10 september 1897 arlington national cemetery 45px admiral alfred m. pride
 alfred melville pride
alfred m. pride

alfred melville pride -lrb- september 10 , 1897 -- december 24 , 1988 -rrb- was a united states navy admiral and pioneer naval aviator , who distinguished himself during world war ii as an aircraft carrier commander .
he served during the late 1940s as chief of the bureau of aeronautics and during the korean war as commander of the u.s. seventh fleet .
pride 's career was remarkable for its time , in that he achieved flag rank without having attended the united states naval academy or even completing college .
-lrb- he did , however , later complete advanced studies in aeronautical engineering . -rrb-
a native of somerville , massachusetts , he studied engineering at tufts university in boston for several years before dropping out to enlist in the navy during world war i .
he served first as a machinist 's mate in the naval reserve , but was soon given the chance to receive flight training and gain a commission as an ensign .
pride was sent to france , where he served briefly during the latter part of the war .
in the early 1920s , having joined the regular navy , pride became involved in the experiments to develop u.s. aircraft carriers .
he served aboard the `` uss langley '' , the converted coaling ship that became the navy 's first aircraft carrier , and also took part in the development of the carriers `` uss saratoga '' and `` uss lexington '' , as a member of the original crews .
pride continued his work in naval aviation testing for the rest of the interwar period .
he went on to study aeronautical engineering at the massachusetts institute of technology -lrb- mit -rrb- .
in 1931 , he became the first person to land a helicopter on an aircraft carrier .
from 1934-1936 he headed the flight test section at naval air station anacostia , washington , d.c. , at that time the navy 's center for aircraft testing .
during world war ii , pride served as first commanding officer of the carrier `` uss belleau wood '' -lrb- cvl-24 -rrb- .
he received promotion to rear admiral and became commandant , 14th naval district , at pearl harbor , hawaii .
he then was moved out to fleet jobs , including command of carrier division six and carrier division four .
after the war , rear admiral pride held important positions relating to naval aviation 's technical development .
from 1947-1951 he served as chief of the bureau of aeronautics , the navy 's material organization for aviation .
from 1952-1953 , he commanded the naval air test center , patuxent river , maryland .
he returned to the pacific in 1953 , when he received promotion to vice admiral , command of the u.s. seventh fleet -lrb- december 1 , 1953 - december 19 , 1955 -rrb- and the first commander of the united states taiwan defense command -lrb- ustdc -rrb- .
during this time , he was featured on the cover of the `` time '' magazine -lrb- february 7 , 1955 issue -rrb- .
pride served as head of the seventh fleet until 1956 , when he became commander , air forces , pacific fleet .
pride retired in 1959 as a full admiral and settled in arlington , virginia , where he died in 1988 , aged 91 .
he is buried in arlington national cemetery in arlington , virginia .
many of his papers are stored at the archives division of the smithsonian institution 's national air and space museum , washington , d.c.
