DeWitt Clinton Ramsey

Admiral, U.S. Navy

DeWitt Clinton Ramsey was born on 2 October 1888 at Whipple Barracks, near Prescott, AZ, to Frank DeWitt and Lillian Carlotta Zulick Ramsey. He was the grandson of Arizona Territorial Governor C. Meyer Zulick.

Upon graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy in the Class of 1912, Ramsey was commissioned an Ensign. In 1917 he qualified as a naval aviator. During World War I, he was Inspection Officer for U.S. Naval Air Stations in France, and a member of the Inter-Allied Naval Armistice Commission.

During the interwar period, Ramsey served as a Naval Aviator on various naval staffs and ships. Reporting on board USS Saratoga (CV-3) in 1938, he was her Executive Officer into 1939. Later that year, he headed Bureau of Aeronautics Plans Division, and in 1941 became Assistant Chief of BuAer.

During World War II, he commanded Saratoga up to and during the landings against Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, in August. For his skillful use of airpower against Japanese naval forces in the Solomons, he won the Navy Cross. In Saratoga, he next commanded a task force that included a British carrier, HMS Victorious (R38).

Ramsey received the Distinguished Service Medal as Chief of BuAer from 6 August 1943 to 1 June 1945, and a Gold Star as Vice Chief of Naval Operations from 15 January 1946 to 3 January 1948. He was promoted to the four-star rank of Admiral on 28 December 1945.

After commanding the Pacific Fleet, he served as Commissioner of U.S. Trust Territory in the Pacific. He retired from the Navy on 1 May 1949.

Death and Burial

Admiral DeWitt Clinton Ramsey died on 7 September 1961 in Philadelphia. He is buried at the United States Naval Academy Cemetery in Annapolis, MD.

He was survived by his wife, Juanita Gabriel Ramsey.