Robert Alfred Theobald

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Robert Alfred Theobald
1884 - 1957
Nickname "Fuzzy"
Place of birth San Francisco, California
Allegiance United States of America
Service/branch United States Navy
Years of service 1907–1945
Rank Rear Admiral
Commands held Destroyers Pacific Fleet
Task Force 8
Battles/wars World War II
Other work Author

Robert Alfred "Fuzzy" Theobald (1884-1957) was a United States rear admiral and, most notably the author of the 1947 book The Final Secret of Pearl Harbor: The Washington Background of the Pearl Harbor Attack.

Born in 1884, Theobald graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1907. By 1939, Theobald had been appointed chief-of-staff under Admiral Claude C. Bloch and, shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, was named commander of the Destroyers Pacific Fleet in December 1941.

In 1942, Theobald was promoted to Rear Admiral and given command of Task Force 8 based in Alaska. After suffering minor defeats against Japanese naval forces, including the Japanese capture of the Aleutian Islands of Attu and Kiska, Theobald was subsequently replaced by Rear Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid. Remaining inactive until his retirement in 1945, Theobald gained considerable notoriety with his book The Final Secret of Pearl Harbor: The Washington Background of the Pearl Harbor Attack, which accused the Roosevelt administration of "arranging" the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor as provocation to enter World War II.

Theobald's son, Robert Jr. (1910-1989) was also a graduate of the United States Naval Academy (1931) and served as a captain in the U.S. Navy.

[edit] Bibliography

  • Theobald, Robert Alfred. The final secret of Pearl Harbor; the Washington contribution to the Japanese attack. New York: Devin-Adair, 1954. (ASIN B0006ATV54)

[edit] References

  • Parrish, Thomas and S. L. A. Marshall, ed. The Simon and Schuster Encyclopedia of World War II, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978.

[edit] External links

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