World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseThomas Cassin Kinkaid was born in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States to a family with rich naval traditions. After graduation from the United States Naval Academy in 1908, he served aboard battleships Nebraska, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania. During WW1, he was attached to the British Admiralty. After some time as gunnery officer aboard battleship Arizona, he was transferred to Washington DC to the Bureau of Ordnance. Between 1922 and 1924 he was Assistant Chief of Staff to the Commander U.S. Naval Detachment in Turkish Waters. Immediately after this post, he was given his first commission as the commander of destroyer Isherwood. Between 1925 and 1929 he served at the Naval Gun Factory and then as the Field Gunnery Officer and Aide to the Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet. He studied at the Naval War College in 1929-1930, then served as Secretary of the Navy's General Board and as a Naval Advisor at the 1931–1932 Geneva Disarmament Conference. He was Executive Officer of the battleship Colorado from 1933 to 1934 and served with the Bureau of Navigation until mid-1937. Captain Kinkaid then took command of cruiser Indianapolis. Between 1938 and 1941 he was a naval attaché to Italy and Yugoslavia, but was transferred back to the United States as a destroyer squadron commander as the United States headed for war.

ww2dbaseAfter United States' entry into the war, Kinkaid was promoted to the rank of rear admiral and took over a cruiser division in the Pacific Fleet. His responsibility was increased to a task force built around the carrier Enterprise in the dangerous Solomons waters. In Jan 1943, he was placed in charge of the North Pacific Force, which eventually regained control of Attu and Kiska islands. In Nov 1943, Kinkaid returned to the South Pacific with a promotion to vice admiral and given the responsibility of the Seventh Fleet. In this role he provided strategic guidance for the advance from New Guinea to Philippines.

ww2dbaseAfter the war, Kinkaid returned to the United States after a brief time in Asian waters off Japan, Korea, and China. In 1946 he was transferred to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. He retired from the navy in May 1950, but returned to active duty for two years with the National Security Training Commission in 1951 during the Korean War.

ww2dbaseKinkaid passed away in 1972.

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