Commander Bio:Joseph Reeves (1872-1948) was a U.S. Navy admiral (1933). While still attending the Naval Academy, he became famous as a member of the Navy football team, both as a player and the inventor of a football helmet. In the summer of 1898, Reeves participated with distinction in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba as a crew member serving on battleship Oregon. This was followed by years of service on various ships and a return to the academy as an instructor and, simultaneously, a football coach. Captain Reeves was briefly in command of USS St. Louis, and during World War I, while commanding battleship Maine, he participated in convoy operations in the Atlantic.
In the early 1920s, Joseph Reeves graduated from the Naval War College and became one of the first officers to truly appreciate the prospects of naval aviation. After qualifying as a naval aviation observer, he raised his flag on USS Langley, the first U.S. aircraft carrier. As commander of the U.S. Navy's first carrier force, Reeves laid the foundation for carrier-based aircraft tactics. The culmination of his career was serving as U.S. Navy Commander-In-Chief in 1934. During World War II, the veteran sallor returned to action and worked on committees responsible for supplying the U.S. Armed Forces until the end of hostilities. |