Posthumously Reinstate Rear Admiral Kimmel to his former rank

Posthumously Reinstate Rear Admiral Kimmel to his former rank

Started
May 16, 2020
Petition to
President of the United States Donald J. Trump and 1 other
Signatures: 4Next Goal: 5
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Why this petition matters

Started by Paul Alley

Rear Admiral Kimmel was the commander of US naval forces in the pacific at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor.  After the surprise attack by the Japanese, he was unjustly blamed for the loss of the fleet and removed from command, as well as demoted from the rank of Admiral (4 stars) to the rank of Rear Admiral (2 stars).  

    Accounts from many who were close to Kimmel have pointed out that it was due to politics and infighting within the navy than the attack was not anticipated and that Kimmel became the scapegoat for the blame.  Edwin Layton, One of Kimmel’s intelligence officers who got to witness the Japanese surrender as Admiral Nimitz personal guest, in his book “And I was There” details the feud between the naval Intelligence office in Pearl Harbor and in Washington.  He points out that the two officers were vying to become the dominant intelligence branch and so did not share information as they should have.  

    Another Naval intelligence officer went so far as to claim that having the ships in the harbor was better for the attack than for them to be underway. His reasoning was that if Kimmel had moved to intercept the Japanese carrier fleet, the very slow U.S. battleships would mean the Japanese air group could attack long before Kimmel’s forces would even see the carrier group.  The ships would have sunk in deep waters, making them unrecoverable and costing many more lives.  

    The senate in 1999 voted in favor of Exonerating and reinstating Kimmel to full rank, however then President Bill Clinton failed to act on it.  Therefore, We are petitioning for President Trump to act on the resolution passed in the senate, as is the duty of the President, and reinstate Kimmel to full rank. 

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Signatures: 4Next Goal: 5
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