Admiral Jerauld Wright (June 4, 1898 – April 27, 1995) was an officer in the United States Navy. He served as the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Atlantic Command (CINCLANT) and the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Atlantic Fleet (CINCLANTFLT), and became the second Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT) for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), from April 1, 1954, to March 1, 1960, serving longer in these three positions than anyone else in history.
Following World War I, Wright served as a naval aide for Presidents Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover. A recognized authority on naval gunnery, Wright served in the European and Pacific theaters during World War II, developing expertise in amphibious warfare and coalition warfare planning. After the war, Wright was involved in the evolution of the military structure of NATO as well as overseeing the modernization and readiness of the United States Atlantic Fleet during the Cold War.
Upon his retirement from the navy, Wright subsequently served on the Central Intelligence Agency's National Board of Estimates (NBE) and as the United States Ambassador to the Republic of China (Taiwan).
Early years
Jerauld Wright was born on June 4, 1898, in Amherst, Massachusetts, the second son of Major General William M. Wright (1863–1943), an officer in the United States Army, and the former Marjorie R. Jerauld (1867–1954), who also had another son, William Mason Wright, Jr. (1893–1977), and a daughter, Marjorie Wright (1900–1985).Warrior among Diplomats, pp. 1–3, 5; Jerauld Wright; ; William Mason Wright Jr. & –Descendants of George Mason, 1629–86
Life for young Jerry Wright was a succession of United States Army posts, such as Fort Porter, Fort Omaha, the Presidio, and the Jefferson Barracks, as well as overseas tours of duty in Cuba and the Philippines.Warrior among Diplomats, pp. 5–21 Keeping the family together while his father pursued an active military career was his mother, nicknamed "The Field Marshal" by her husband. Jerry remembered his mother fondly: "She was a tiger with her young."Warrior among Diplomats, p. 4
Wright's father was a veteran of the Spanish–American War, the Boxer Rebellion, and World War I, during which he commanded the 89th Division in the St. Mihiel offensive and the Third Corps. He was a recipient of the Army Distinguished Service Medal.Warrior among Diplomats, pp. 1, 5, 45–49; Albert Bushnell Hart. Harper's Pictorial Library of the World War (New York: Harper, 1920) pp. 221–23 Following the war, General Wright commanded the Ninth Corps at the Presidio and the Department of the Philippines.online & pdf – New York Times – January 13, 1922 While his father was assigned to the newly created United States Army General Staff before World War I, Wright met William Howard Taft.Warrior among Diplomats, pp. 7–10 Later, Wright accompanied his father on inspection tours of U.S. military installations in the Philippines. During this tour, he was deeply impressed by the naval squadron visiting Manila.Warrior among Diplomats, pp. 18–21 His growing interest in a naval career was further encouraged by his father, giving his son a very practical perspective:
Prior to going to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, Wright attended the Franciscan Coligio de La Salle in Malate, California, and Shadman's School at Scott's Circle in Washington, DC.Warrior among Diplomats, p. 18, 23
United States Naval Academy Wright received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy from Congressman Edward W. Townsend of the Tenth Congressional District from the State of New Jersey.Warrior among Diplomats, pp. 23–26 Wright entered the academy on July 31, 1914, the youngest midshipman to enter the academy since the American Civil War.Warrior among Diplomats, p. 27 Wright graduated on June 26, 1917, as part of the Class of 1918, ranked 92nd out of 193, the youngest member in his class.Warrior among Diplomats, p. 34
Naval career World War I In July 1917, Lieutenant Wright joined the gunboat , which set sail for Gibraltar on August 5, 1917, for anti-submarine patrol and convoy duty, operating as a unit of the Patrol Force through December 21, 1918.Warrior among Diplomats, pp. 3–51; – DANFS – Naval Historical Center
Inter-war service Sea duty
Wright served on , a , as a watch and division officer from December 1918 to July 1920. Dyer showed the flag in port visits to Gibraltar, La Spezia, Venice, Trieste, Spoleto, Corfu, and Constantinople during a nine-month cruise of the Mediterranean following the signing of the Armistice ending World War I. Following Dyer's return August 1919, Wright supervised her overhaul at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.Warrior among Diplomats, pp. 52–57; USS Dyer (DD-84) DANFS – Naval Historical Center Lt. Wright also briefly commanded the , a , which escorted the presidential yacht , with President Warren G. Harding on board, from Gardiner's Bay, New York, to the Capes.Warrior among Diplomats, pp. 57–58; USS Paul Jones (DD-230) – DANFS – Naval Historical Center In October 1920, Lt. Wright took command of , anchored in reserve at Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island, for transfer to Charleston, South Carolina. Later, in February 1922, Lt. Wright joined , a slated for decommissioning at the Mare Island Navy Yard, serving as its executive officer.Warrior among Diplomats, p. 60; USS Breese (DD-122) – DANFS – Naval Historical Center
In June 1922, Wright joined , a , as its executive officer, with additional duties as fire control officer and navigator. John D. Ford set sail from the Philadelphia Navy Yard with its sister ships of Squadron 15, Division 3, for the U.S. Asiatic Fleet. The John D. Ford operated throughout the Far East, including the South China Sea, the Sea of Japan, and the Philippines, showing the flag and training with other destroyers in the fleet.Warrior among Diplomats, pp. 60–77 In July 1926, Lt. Wright joined the , a , as the principal assistant of the ship's Gunnery Division. In November 1928, the Maryland took President-elect Herbert Hoover on the outbound leg of his goodwill tour of Latin America. Wright also furthered his hands-on education of gunnery and ordnance while serving as an instructor at the Gunnery School on the battleship .Warrior among Diplomats, pp. 87–93 Commander Wright joined , a attached to the Scouting Force, as its first lieutenant in August 1931 and later became the ship's gunnery officer from June 1932 to June 1934. The Salt Lake City participated in naval exercises in the Atlantic and Pacific, underwent a major overhaul and participated in the 1934 Naval Review.Warrior among Diplomats, pp. 93–97; USS Salt Lake City (CA-25) – DANFS – Naval Historical Center
Wright's first sea command was , a , with Wright serving as its first commanding officer from July 1937 to May 1939. The Blue completed its shakedown cruise, transited the Panama Canal, and joined the Destroyer Division 7 (DesRon 7) as its flagship, becoming a unit of the Battle Force based at the San Diego Naval Base, California. The Blue participated in Fleet Problem XX exercises staged in the Caribbean Sea.Warrior among Diplomats, pp. 108, 112–14
Wright's final pre-war sea assignment was as the executive officer of , a , from March 1941 to May 1942. The Mississippi was based at the Pearl Harbor Naval Base in the Territory of Hawaii until May 1941 as part of Battleship Division 3 (BatDiv 3) with sister ships and .Warrior among Diplomat, pp. 116–18 Following the Bismarck incident and the growing U-boat threat, Battleship Division 3 was secretly shifted to the newly reconstituted U.S. Atlantic Fleet, under the command of Admiral Ernest J. King, entering the Norfolk Naval Base in June 1941.Warrior among Diplomat, pp. 118–19 Mississippi was present at the Atlantic Conference at Argentia, participated in the Neutrality Patrol, and joined the Idaho and the British battleship to form an Iceland-based fleet in being to deter the German battleship from deploying into the north Atlantic to threaten Allied convoys.Warrior among Diplomat, pp. 118–22 After months of operations in the North Atlantic, Mississippi was en route to Norfolk for long overdue repairs two days after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.Warrior among Diplomat, pp. 122–25; USS Mississippi (BB-41) – DANFS – Naval Historical Center
Shore duty
Wright served as a naval aide for two Presidents of the United States, including Calvin Coolidge from September 1924 to June 1926, with additional duties as a watch and division officer on board the presidential yacht ,Warrior among Diplomats, pp. 78–87 and Herbert Hoover during his pre-inaugural goodwill tour of Latin America in November 1928.Warrior among Diplomats, pp. 91–93; USS Mayflower (PY-1) – DANFS – Naval Historical Center Wright also served as aide to Assistant Secretary of the Navy Henry L. Roosevelt from June 1935 to March 1936. Wright subsequently served on board during its commissioning and fitting-out period.Warrior among Diplomats, pp. 100–01, 105–07; USS Sequoia (AG-23) – DANFS – Naval Historical Center
Wright developed an interest in gunnery and ordnance after he was turned down for naval aviation because he had exophoria.Warrior among Diplomats, p. 79 His first tour of duty at the Bureau of Ordnance (BuOrd) was as a fire control section assistant, specializing in anti-aircraft equipment, from August 1929 to August 1931.Warrior among Diplomats, p. 94 Wright's second BuOrd assignment was with its supply and allowance division, involving ammunition distribution to the fleet, from June 1936 to July 1937.Warrior among Diplomats, pp. 105–06 Bureau chief Rear Admiral Harold R. Stark rated Wright highly.Warrior among Diplomats, pp. 105–06
Commander Wright served two tours at the United States Naval Academy as the Battalion Commander for the First Battalion, from June 1934 to June 1935, and the Battalion Commander for the Second Battalion, from June 1939 to March 1941.Warrior among Diplomats, pp. 99–100, 114; Official Biography Wright earned two nicknames at the Naval Academy. The first, Old Iron Heels because he wore steel wedges on his shoes to alert midshipmen of his approach.Warrior among Diplomats, pp. 99–100 His second nickname, Old Stoneface originated because of his ability to elicit confessions from offending midshipmen regarding disciplinary infractions without uttering a word.Warrior among Diplomats, p. 100 Wright also served as the staff aide to the Commander Atlantic Squadron during the Midshipman's Practice Cruise in June–August 1940.Warrior among Diplomats, pp. 114–16; Official Biography
World War II Pearl Harbor aftermath, COMINCH, and London The USS Mississippi completed its overhaul in three weeks and transited the Panama Canal to re-join the U.S. Pacific Fleet, visiting San Francisco, California to re-assure its citizens in the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor.Warrior among Diplomats, p. 126 In March 1942, Captain Jerauld Wright was detached from the Mississippi for temporary duty on the staff of Admiral Ernest J. King, the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Fleet (COMINCH), before being assigned to Admiral Harold R. Stark's staff in London, effective June 3, 1942. Captain Wright was subsequently assigned to the planning staff of Lieutenant General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who would lead the British-American invasion of North Africa (Operation Torch). Wright's role would be to coordinate with his British counterparts regarding the Mediterranean landings in Algiers.Warrior among Diplomats, pp. 133–34