After graduation from the United States Naval Academy in 1910, Marc Mitscher served in the Fleet until 1915. At this time, he reported for aviation training aboard the USS North Carolina, one of the first ships to carry aircraft, and was designated Naval Aviator #33 on June 2, 1916. Mitscher received his first Navy Cross in May 1919 "for distinguished service…as a member of the crew of the Seaplane NC-1, which made a long overseas flight from Newfoundland to the vicinity of the Azores…" This was man's first flight across the Atlantic. Over the next two decades, he advanced through varied assignments, including the Bureau of Aeronautics and served on two of the early United States' aircraft carriers. He continued to advance the science of aeronautics through his leadership in the development of mass flights over water and techniques of carrier-based aviation. Mitscher assumed command of the USS Hornet in October 1941 and launched Lt Col Jimmy Doolittle's Tokyo raid from her deck on April 18th 1942. After this, Mitscher enjoyed enormous strategic success with naval aviation commands from the Solomons to the Central and Western Pacific, culminating in leadership of the famed "Task Force Fifty-eight." Admiral Mitscher was a pioneering airman who was privileged to apply his vast aeronautical experience in the service of his country. He refined the projection of naval airpower to the highest levels ever achieved. Mitscher died on February 3rd 1947 while in command of the Atlantic Fleet.
Inducted in 1989.
Portrait Location: Not Currently on Floor