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William Daniel Leahy () (May 6, 1875 – July 20, 1959) was an American naval officer. The most senior United States military officer on active duty during World War II, he held several titles and exercised considerable influence over foreign and military policy. As a fleet admiral, he was the first flag officer ever to hold a five-star rank in the U.S. Armed Forces. An 1897 graduate of Annapolis, Leahy saw active service in the Spanish–American War, the Philippine–American War, the Boxer Rebellion in China, the Banana Wars in Central America, and World War I. He was the first member of his cadet class to reach flag rank, as the Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance from 1927 to 1931. He subsequently served as Chief of the Bureau of Navigation from 1933 to 1936, and commanded the Battle Fleet from 1936 to 1937. As Chief of Naval Operations from 1937 to 1939, he was the senior officer in the United States Navy, overseeing the expansion of the fleet and preparations for war. After retiring from the Navy, Leahy was appointed the governor of Puerto Rico in 1939 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In his most controversial role, he served as the Ambassador to France from 1940 to 1942. American policy was aimed at keeping the government of Vichy France free of German control, but Leahy had limited success. He came to believe that the United States should back Free France instead of Vichy France, and asked to be recalled after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the United States into the war. Leahy was recalled to active duty as the Chief of Staff to the President in 1942 and served in that position for the rest of the war. He was the highest-ranking active-duty member of the military. As the de facto first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he oversaw all of the American armed forces. He also presided over the American delegation to the Combined Chiefs of Staff. He was a major decision-maker during the war and was second only to the President in authority and influence. Leahy was promoted to five-star rank in December 1944. He served Roosevelt's successor Harry S. Truman, helping shape postwar foreign policy until he retired in 1949. Although he did not oppose the use of the nuclear weapons during the war, in the post-war period he rejected war plans that placed too much emphasis on the first use of nuclear weapons. Early life and education William Daniel Leahy was born in Hampton, Iowa, on May 6, 1875, the first of seven children of Michael Anthony Leahy, a lawyer and American Civil War veteran, who was elected to the Iowa Legislature in 1872, and his wife Rose Mary née Hamilton. Both parents were born in the United States but his grandparents were immigrants from Ireland. He had five brothers and a sister. His father was re-elected in 1874, but moved to Wausau, Wisconsin, in 1882. In 1889, the family moved again, this time to Ashland, Wisconsin, where Leahy attended high school. His nose was broken in an American football match and his family lacked the money to get it fixed, so it remained crooked for the rest of his life. Leahy wanted to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, but this required a Congressional appointment, and Leahy was unable to secure one. His local Congressman, Thomas Lynch, offered Leahy an appointment to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, which was much less popular among boys in the landlocked Midwestern United States. Leahy passed the entrance examinations and was admitted as a naval cadet in May 1893. Leahy learned how to sail on the USS Constellation on a summer cruise to Europe, although the vessel only made it as far as the Azores before breaking down. He graduated 35th out of 47 in the class of 1897. His class was the most successful ever: five of its members would reach four-star rank while on active duty: Leahy, Thomas C. Hart, Arthur J. Hepburn, Orin G. Murfin and Harry E. Yarnell. As of 2022, no other class had had more than four. Naval service Spanish-American War Until 1912 naval cadets graduating from Annapolis had to complete two years' duty at sea and pass examinations before they could be commissioned as ensigns. Leahy was assigned to the battleship USS Oregon, which was then at Vancouver, British Columbia, for celebrations of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. He was on board when she made a dash through the Strait of Magellan, and around South America in the spring of 1898 to participate in the Spanish–American War. The Oregon took part in the blockade and bombardment of Santiago and shelled the small town of Guantánamo, which Leahy felt was "unnecessary and cruel". In the Battle of Santiago on July 3, Leahy was in command of the ship's forward turret. This was the only naval battle Leahy witnessed in person. Seeking further action, Leahy volunteered to serve on the gunboat USS Castine, which was bound for the war in the Pacific, traveling via the Mediterranean Sea and the Suez Canal, but he got only as far as Ceylon when he received orders to report to Annapolis for his final ensign's examinations. He was therefore left behind, and had to return to the United States on the USS Buffalo. He reached Annapolis in June 1899. He passed his examinations, and was commissioned as an ensign on July 1, 1899. After few weeks' leave, spent with his parents in Wisconsin, and a few months' service on the cruiser USS Philadelphia at the Mare Island Navy Yard, he joined the monitor USS Nevada on October 12, 1899. A week later it set sail for the Philippines. It arrived in Manila on November 24, and Leahy rejoined the crew of the Castine five days later. China and Philippine–American Wars On December 17, 1899, Castine sailed for Nagasaki, but it developed engine trouble on February 12 and stopped in Shanghai to make repairs. While it was there the Boxer Rebellion broke out in China, and it was retained in Shanghai to help British, French and Japanese forces guard the city, although Leahy did not like their chances if the 4,500 Chinese troops in the vicinity joined the uprising, as they had in the Battle of Tientsin. On August 28, the Castine was ordered to Amoy help protect American interests there against the possibility of a Japanese coup. After the threat had passed, the Castine returned to the Philippines, arriving back in Manila on September 16, 1900. The Philippine–American War was still ongoing, and the Castine supported American operations on Marinduque and Iloilo. Leahy was appalled by American brutality and the widespread use of torture. Still an ensign, he was given his first command, the gunboat USS Mariveles, a refitted ex-Spanish vessel. It had a crew of 23. His period in command ended when the Mariveles lost one of its propellers and had to be laid up for repairs. He was then reassigned to the USS Glacier, a stores ship which was engaged in bringing supplies from Australia to the Philippines. While in the Philippines he passed the examinations required for promotio.... Discover the William G Bradley M D Ph D popular books. Find the top 100 most popular William G Bradley M D Ph D books.