Working for Adm Nimitz

When Roosevelt called the Navy’s Personnel Chief, Chester Nimitz, to ask for candidates to replace Kimmel, Nimitz said “I’m your man”. Roosevelt readily agreed and Nimitz arrived in Pearl Harbor on Christmas 1941 to relieve Kimmel. The meeting was confidential, but when it ended, Nimitz was the new Commander In Chief. Kimmel left the office, never to return. Crosley was transferred soon after. Carl then reported to Nimitz and he continued to advance in the Flag office.

The style of both leaders was very different. The entire time that Carl worked for Admiral Kimmel, he never actually met the man; but Carl worked closely with Admiral Nimitz. Carl shared a bond with his new boss, since they both worked in Personnel, and Nimitz was a much more fraternal leader.

Officials feared another Japanese attack on Hawaii. Lookouts and anti-aircraft guns were posted and barbed wire was strung along the beach. People living on the coast were moving inland. Lorraine moved in with her cousin Helen McDonnell (Lorraine’s roommate when she met Carl), who lived several miles from the beach.

Lorraine stayed about 4 more months in Hawaii and then was evacuated in April 1942. She moved back to Long Beach. Jim was born at St Mary’s Hospital on Oct 27, 1942. In April 1943, Carl finally got leave to see the family. It was the first time he saw his new baby Jim, who was 6 months old. The separation made him resolve to plan his career so he could spend as much time with his family as possible.

Carl’s old boss, Crosley, was transferred back to the Navy Dept. in Washington. Crosley was ordered to transform the antiquated Navy Post Office into a modern Postal Affairs office, capable of sending top secret orders quickly and confidentially. During wartime, there needed to be a coded system for forwarding mail to ships without revealing their position.

After Crosley arrived in DC, he was desperate for experienced officers. He called Carl and said “Whenever you can make yourself available to me, I can use you here at Navy Headquarters”. Crosley couldn’t pull any strings to get Carl transferred, because in wartime no officer could be transferred out of Fleet Command unless the Admiral in charge released him.

Carl wanted the assignment for two reasons: he wanted to be closer to his family and he knew that he would learn a lot working at HQ, so he decided to find someone to replace him. Carl ran into Frenchie Brussard, one of his old shipmates on the Saratoga, and Brussard expressed interest in Carl’s position. Carl orchestrated having him reassigned to the office. Carl spent a month training Brussard, got permission for reassignment and then got orders to report to Wash DC.

In December 1943, Carl took the ship to Long Beach and the train back to DC (very hectic travel during wartime) and reported for duty. One of the guys in the office helped Carl find an apartment (3916 Elbert Ave) and the family moved out soon thereafter.

Along with assisting in setting up the Postal Affairs office, one of Carl’s duties was to find candidates for Navy post offices around the world. He would visit the Bureau of Naval Personnel and go through their applications to find candidates. Initially Carl worked at the old Navy Dept headquarters, but after several months, he was among the first wave of workers to move into the newly-built Pentagon.