Henry Kent Hewitt (1887-1972) was born in Hackensack, New Jersey on February 11, 1887 and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1906. Hewitt served on USS Missouri in the Great White Fleet's circumnavigation of the globe from 1907-1909. He later taught mathematics at the Naval Academy before commanding the yacht Eagle. During World War I, Hewitt commanded the destroyer USS Cummings and, years later, the cruiser USS Indianapolis.
Beginning in 1941, he commanded Atlantic Fleet Task Groups in neutrality patrols and convoys until becoming Commander, Amphibious Force, Atlantic Fleet, in April 1942. This force, also called Task Force 34, became the U.S. component of the Operation Torch landings in November 1942. Hewitt was then assigned as Commander, U.S. Naval Forces, Northwest Africa Waters or COMNAVNAW. (Sean Maloney, To Secure Command of the Sea, thesis, 1991, p.25) Hewitt remained in this post until 1945, when he chaired a Pearl Harbor investigation.
Following World War II, he commanded U.S. Naval Forces Europe, advised the Naval War College, and served as a Navy representative to the United Nations. Hewitt retired from active duty in 1949.
USS Hewitt was named in his honor.
References
- Cressman, Robert (2000 (4th printing)). That Gallant Ship U.S.S. Yorktown (CV-5). Missoula, Montana, U.S.A.: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company. ISBN 0-933126-57-3.
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