Charles Johnes Moore

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Charles Johnes ‘Carl' Moore (19 Dec 1889-4 Feb 1974) was a Rear Admiral of the United States Navy. He is the chief of staff of Raymond A. Spruance, commander of the Fifth Fleet, during the most important and significant naval campaigns of the WWII that took place in the Pacific Theater: the Gilberts, the Marshalls and the Marianas.

Spruance, his superior and intimate friend, remarks Moore as “being free and willing to express views, and that’s what he wanted”, and Forrestel recalls that, “Anything you wanted to know about planning, Carl Moore had at his fingertips. He was the backbone of the staff.”

After leaving the Fifth Fleet for Washington, he served for the Joint Staffs of Chief as deputy secretary. He retired in the rank of Rear Admiral on 1 January 1947.

Early Life and Education

Moore was born the son of Helen Johnes and Charles Brainard Taylor Moore on 19 December, 1889, in Decatur, Illinois. His grandfather Jesse Moore was a general with distinction in the civil war and later became a member of congress. His father Charles B. T. Moore served as lieutenant during the American-Spanish War and had raised the first flag of U.S. over Guam on the occasion of the take-over of the government by Navy Department on 23 January, 1899. In 1915, after the long service in the navy, Rear Admiral Charles B. T. Moore was retired.

Moore attended Annapolis Naval Academy in 1906 and graduated with the class of 1910. He was also known for being a violinist of Metzenberger Orchestra.

Career prior to World War II

Moore's seagoing career started as the engineer of the destroyers Bainbridge. During WWI, He served extensively in destroyers and was awarded the Navy Cross for heroism as Commanding Officer of the Destroyer Downes, (DD-45) for proceeds from Monte Carlo Nights. Between the Wars he had duty as executive officer to the destroyer Altair and the battleship New York, and he command several destroyers as well as Destroyer Division 5. His shore duty during these years included tours in the Navy Department and the Naval War College. He lived in Newport from 1934 to 1937 while serving on the staff of the War College, and he had been a frequent visitor since that time. During his time in New Port, Moore became the assistant of Spruance in Tactics Department. From 1937 to 1939 he was on the Staff of Commander, Battle Force,  U.S. Fleet.

World War II

At the outbreak of World War II, Moore was in command of the Cruiser Philadelphia on Atlantic convoy duty since 5 Sept 1941. Because of the stranding, Moore had failed selection for admiral and back to Washington on 15 Aug 1942. He served on a senior member of the Joint U.S. of Strategic and the Joint War Plans committees with the Joint Chiefs of  Staff until 1943 received a letter of Spruance which asked him to be his chief of staff. From August 1943 he had duty to Admiral Spruance. He was with Spruance and instrumental in the planning and execution of the Gilbert, Marshalls and Marianas campaigns in 1943 and 1944.

However, the experience of being stranded affected his hope of flag rank. After the Gilberts campaign, Spruance wrote an official letter to Nimitz recommending that Moore be promoted. Nimitz agreed and forwarded the letter to Ernest King, but the latter would not approve his promotion. Moore then returned to Washington and was again with the Joint Chiefs of Staff as deputy secretary. In that capacity he took part in the Potsdam Conference of 1945.

Postwar

Moore retired in the rank of rear admiral on 1 January 1947 on account of age. After his retirement, Moore became a fellow of Brookings Institution in Washington and worked there with the international studies groups until 1955.

In 1965 Moore acted as Spruance’s alter ego so that some kind of record could be preserved of Spruance’s naval career in Columbia University Oral History Collection.His subsequent oral history comprises five volumes totaling 1245 pages. "It is articulate, frank, and accurate, spanning Moore’s career, his intimate relationship with Spruance, and his view of the Navy in the first fifty years of the twentieth century.”    

He lived in Chevy Chase, Maryland, until his death on 4 February 1974.Died at the Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Moore was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Alongside him buried his wife Anna Louise Kittelle Moore(1890-1990), the daughter of Captain Sumner Ely Wetmore Kittelle, Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. Georgia during WWI.

Personal Life

Moore married Anna Louise Kittelle, and they had two children:

Charles Kittelle ‘Tim’ Moore (3 Mar 1923-9 Feb 2012)

Johnes Kittelle ‘Jay’ Moore (20 Apr 1931-12 Mar 2016)

Tim graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1944, class of 1945. He was also a graduate of George Washington University, the Armed Forces Staff College and the Naval War College. During WWII, Capt. Moore served in the destroyer Remey through six campaigns/engagements in the Central/Western Pacific. After the war, he was on the commissioning crew of the destroyer Forrest Royal, following which he commanded USS PC 1263, operating out of Key West. Following duty as project officer at Anti-Submarine Development Detachment, Key West, he commanded the destroyer Gainard out of Newport, RI and then served as executive officer of the missile cruiser Oklahoma City, flagship of the 7th fleet home-ported in Japan. In 1974, he completed his career with the Navy holding the Arleigh Burke Military Chair of Surface Strike Warfare serving on the faculty of the Naval War College. After retiring from the Navy, Capt. Moore became owner/manager of Newport Plant and Garden, a garden supply shop on Newport's Bellevue Avenue. In 1983, Capt. Moore assisted in the establishment in Providence of A New Leaf, a non-profit endeavor providing employment to adults with psychiatric disabilities working towards competitive employment, and served as secretary to the Board for 15 years.

Jay educated at St. Albans School, Bowdoin College and URI. He earned his Ph.D. and taught in the Biology Department at SSU. An avid birder, he was a member of ECOC and served as President and Treasurer.

Decorations and Awards   

• Navy Cross:

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Lieutenant Commander Charles Johnes Moore, United States Navy, for distinguished service in the line of his profession as Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. DOWNES, engaged in the important, exacting and hazardous duty of patrolling the waters infested with enemy submarines and mines, in escorting and protecting vitally important convoys of troops and supplies through these waters, and in offensive and defensive action, vigorously and unremittingly prosecuted against all forms of enemy naval activity during World War I.

• Naval Distinguished Service Medal: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 349 (April 1946)

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Distinguished Service Medal to Captain Charles Johnes Moore, United States Navy, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished service in a position of great responsibility to the Government of the United States as Chief of Staff to Commander FIFTH Fleet during the central Pacific campaign from August 1943 to September 1944. Captain Moore supervised planning for operations pointing toward capture and occupation of enemy-held positions in the Gilbert, Marshall and Marianas Islands and employed his comprehensive knowledge of combat strategy in guiding intricate details involved in executing these vital operations. Captain Moore contributed materially to the success of the FIFTH Fleet in securing control of the sea and air in the central Pacific and in defeating powerful units of the Japanese fleet in the First Battle of the Philippine Sea.

• Legion of Merit: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 350 (May 1946)

Captain Charles Johnes Moore, United States Navy, was awarded a Gold Star in lieu of a Second Award of the Silver Star for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the Government of the United States as Senior Naval Member, Senior Member of the Joint U.S. Strategic Committee from September 1942 to July 1943; Senior Naval Member and Senior Member of the Joint War Plans Committee, April 1943 to July 1943, and Deputy Secretary to the Joint Chief of Staff, May 1945 to October 1945.

• The Order of the British Empire: For his service in World War II

References

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