Fletcher
Frank Jack Fletcher
Lieutenant Commander Frank Jack Fletcher, USN, Commanding officer of the patrol craft USS Margaret (SP-527) at left; talking with Lieutenant Stuart O. Greig, USN, Commanding Officer of USS K-6 (Submarine No. 37), on board the K-6 at Horta, Fayal, Azores, in December 1917.
Fletcher led a distinguished naval career, serving on or commanding numerous different types of ships. Although not a submariner by trade, he did once command the submarine tender Rainbow (AS-7)]. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at the battle of Vera Cruz, April 21 and 22, 1914 during the rescue of refugees. He was known as a "destroyer-cruiser man" and thus being elevated to command a carrier task force in WWII as a non-aviator was quite unprecedented, creating a bit of a stir amongst some of the senior officers at the time. None other than Admiral William "Bull" Halsey himself recommended him as his replacement, as Halsey was temporarily sidelined with a bad case of the shingles.
Fletcher was in command at the Battle of the Coral Sea; and performed superbly if not a bit conservatively at Midway. He commanded Task Force 61 during the landings at Guadalcanal and Tulagi, and during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons. Fletcher received some minor wounds during the Eastern Solomons battle, but was criticized by CNO Admiral Ernest King for not pursuing the Japanese fleet in the aftermath of the battle.
Lieutenant Stuart O. Greig, the Commanding Officer of the K-6 during WW I was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions in the Ocean transit and operations against the German presence in and around his area of operation.
Photographed by Raymond D. Borden. Note the dog. It is not known who the dog belonged to.
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