Isaac Campbell Kidd

He took command as his flagship burned underneath its bridge

Isaac Campbell Kidd was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on 26 March 1884. He entered the United States Naval Academy in 1902 and graduated with the class of 1906. His early sea service included the battleship New Jersey during the Great White Fleet's world cruise of 1907-09. He received his ensign's commission in 1908.

His subsequent career alternated sea duty, staff appointments and teaching. He served in North Dakota and Pennsylvania, worked on the Pacific Fleet commander's staff and taught at the Naval Academy during 1916-17. During and after the First World War he served in the new battleship New Mexico.

Kidd later became executive officer of Utah, commanded the transport Vega and served as captain of the port at Cristobal in the Panama Canal Zone. Further fleet staff duties, work at the Bureau of Navigation and command of Destroyer Squadron One prepared him for senior flag responsibilities. By December 1941 he was a rear admiral commanding Battleship Division One, with additional duties on the battleship force staff.

When Japanese aircraft attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December, Kidd immediately went to the bridge of his flagship, USS Arizona. As the senior officer present aboard, he continued directing the ship's response while bombs struck the battleship. A catastrophic magazine explosion destroyed Arizona's forward section, and Kidd was killed at his station.

His body was not recovered. Salvage divers later found his Naval Academy ring fused to material from the bridge, a tangible reminder of where he had remained. The Navy awarded him the Medal of Honor and Purple Heart posthumously.

Kidd was commemorated among the missing at Honolulu, and successive Navy destroyers were named in his honour. His son, Isaac Campbell Kidd Jr., followed him into naval service and eventually reached admiral's rank. The two careers belong to different generations, joined by family service but separated by the father's death at Pearl Harbor.

Official citation

For conspicuous devotion to duty, extraordinary courage, and complete disregard of his own life, during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, by Japanese Forces on December 7, 1941. He immediately went to the bridge and as Commander Battleship Division ONE, courageously discharged his duties as Senior Officer Present Afloat until the USS ARIZONA, his Flagship, blew up from magazine explosions and a direct bomb hit on the bridge, which resulted in the loss of his life.