Oscar Charles Badger II

Few American naval careers can be traced from the streets of Veracruz, through the submarine-infested waters of World War I, across the great Pacific battles of World War II, and finally into Tokyo Bay at the moment of Japan's defeat. Admiral Oscar Charles Badger II lived that extraordinary career. A United States Navy officer for more than four decades, Badger rose from a young ensign leading sailors under fire to a four-star admiral whose service touched three major eras of American naval history. Long before he commanded battleships and task forces, however, he had already earned the nation's highest award for valor.

Born in Washington, D.C., on June 26, 1890, Oscar Charles Badger entered a family already deeply connected to the United States Navy. He was appointed to the United States Naval Academy and graduated with the Class of 1911. His early assignment to the battleship USS Utah soon placed him in circumstances that would define his reputation for courage. In April 1914, during the American intervention at Veracruz, Mexico, Ensign Badger went ashore with Utah's landing force and fought at the head of his company during the engagements of April 21 and 22. His Medal of Honor citation recognized his "distinguished conduct in battle" and specifically praised him for "leading his men with skill and courage." It was an extraordinary distinction for an officer only a few years removed from Annapolis.

But Veracruz was only the beginning. When the United States entered World War I, Badger served with American destroyer forces operating in European waters. As commanding officer of USS Worden, he faced a very different kind of danger from the street fighting of Mexico. His ship patrolled waters threatened by German submarines and mines while helping protect convoys carrying vital troops and supplies. The citation for Badger's Navy Cross praised his distinguished professional service during this hazardous work and recognized Worden's sustained offensive and defensive operations against enemy naval activity. The award established that Badger's courage was not confined to one dramatic episode. He had also proved himself as a wartime commander at sea.

During the interwar years, Badger developed the technical, gunnery, ordnance, staff and command experience that would later make him valuable at the highest levels of naval leadership. By 1941 he had taken command of the new battleship USS North Carolina, one of the most powerful American warships of its generation. Following promotion to rear admiral, his wartime responsibilities expanded dramatically. He served as Commander Destroyers, Atlantic Fleet, and then as Assistant Chief of Naval Operations for Logistics Plans and Director of the Logistic Plans Division. His first Legion of Merit covered service from December 1942 through January 1944. The citation credited his exceptional planning, organization and executive ability with strengthening the logistical support of American naval operations across the world's theaters of war.

Badger's next assignment took him closer to the fighting. As Commander Service Squadrons, South Pacific Force, from February to September 1944, he became responsible for the immense logistical machinery required to keep the fleet moving, supplied and combat-ready. His second Legion of Merit, represented by a Gold Star in lieu of a second award, recognized his handling of fleet service and advanced base support in the South Pacific. The citation specifically connected his work to successful operations in the Solomon Islands and Bismarck Archipelago and to support of American operations in the Marianas and Palau Islands. Behind every advancing carrier, battleship and destroyer stood a vast chain of fuel, ammunition, repair and supply. Badger helped make that chain work.

Then came the phase of the war for which Badger became most closely associated with battleship command. In October 1944 he assumed command of Battleship Division 7 and participated in the final drive toward Japan. His forces operated during the Leyte campaign and subsequent Pacific offensives, and he later commanded battleships in operations connected with Luzon, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and the attacks on the Japanese home islands. During Third Fleet operations in July 1945, Badger commanded a task unit that bombarded targets at Muroran on Hokkaido and along the eastern coast of Honshu. His third Legion of Merit, represented by a Second Gold Star and awarded with the Combat "V," cited the careful planning and execution of these attacks and noted that heavy damage was inflicted on Japanese industrial targets without a casualty aboard the ships under his command.

Yet one of Badger's most historically significant assignments came after the shooting was almost over. In August 1945, he commanded Task Force 31, charged with entering the Yokosuka area of Tokyo Bay and carrying out the occupation and demilitarization of one of Imperial Japan's principal naval bases. His fourth Legion of Merit, represented by a Third Gold Star and also carrying the Combat "V," recognized his leadership in solving the unprecedented military and administrative problems involved in preparing for and executing the occupation of Yokosuka Naval Base, its naval air station and the surrounding territory. The citation emphasized his judgment, initiative, leadership, professional skill and tact during an operation for which there was little precedent and very little preparation time. The same officer who had fought through Veracruz as an ensign in 1914 was now helping oversee the arrival of American naval power in defeated Japan more than thirty years later.

Badger's wartime ribbon rack tells the wider story of that journey. His service encompassed the Mexican campaign, World War I service in European waters, the American defense period before direct U.S. entry into World War II, operations in both the European-African-Middle Eastern and Asiatic-Pacific theaters, the final victory over Japan, occupation duty, postwar service connected with China and the opening years of the Cold War. His Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal reflected participation in five qualifying campaign operations, represented on the ribbon by a single silver service star, while his Philippine Liberation Ribbon carried two bronze stars. His British recognition included appointment as an Honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire. The Naval History and Heritage Command's biographical record confirms the breadth of these campaign and foreign distinctions.

Peace did not bring an immediate end to Badger's responsibilities. In the postwar period he rose to vice admiral and served in senior commands in the Western Pacific and Far East during a volatile period marked by the Chinese Civil War and the changing balance of power in Asia. He later commanded the Eleventh Naval District and the Eastern Sea Frontier. In July 1952, he entered retirement and was ultimately placed on the retired list with the rank of Admiral, completing a naval career that had begun more than forty years earlier as a Naval Academy graduate.

Oscar Charles Badger II died in 1958 and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. What remains striking about his career is not simply the number of wars, ships or commands attached to his name. It is the extraordinary distance between the young ensign at Veracruz and the senior admiral directing forces at the threshold of defeated Japan. His Medal of Honor remembered personal courage at the head of his men. His Navy Cross remembered dangerous convoy and anti-submarine duty in World War I. His four Legions of Merit, two carrying authorization for the Combat "V," recorded the increasingly immense responsibilities of a flag officer planning global logistics, sustaining Pacific offensives, bombarding the Japanese homeland and organizing the occupation of Yokosuka. Together, those citations trace the evolution of Admiral Oscar Charles Badger II from a courageous junior officer into one of the United States Navy's most experienced combat leaders of the first half of the twentieth century.