The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia
Photograph of Thomas L. Sprague
National Archives #80-CF-8005-1
Cropped by author
Thomas L. Sprague was born in Ohio and graduated
from the Naval Academy in 1917. He served convoy duty during the First
World War and commanded a destroyer
after the war. He took flight
training in 1921 and held numerous staff
and sea postings, including superintendent of Naval Air Training in
1937-1940. He was executive officer of Ranger during the Neutrality Patrol
of 1940-1941.
Sprague helped commission escort carrier Charger in February to December 1942 and Intrepid in August 1943. He commanded Intrepid in raids against the Marshalls and Truk. Promoted to rear admiral and command of Carrier Division 22 in June 1944, he covered the invasions of Guam and Morotai before commanding Task Group 77.4.1 at Leyte Gulf. His unit was far enough south to escape damage when Kurita broke through San Bernardino Strait and attacked Clifton Sprague's division further north. (The two men were not related.)
Sprague briefly commanded training carriers before taking command of Carrier Division 3, a fast carrier division, off Okinawa in April 1945. He became chief of the Bureau of Naval Personnel after the war, was promoted to vice admiral, and commanded Air Force Pacific Fleet until his retirement in 1952. He briefly returned to active duty in 1956-1957 to help negotiate base agreements with the Philippine government.
References
Morison
(1958)
Naval
Historical
Center (accessed 2008年6月21日)
Pettibone (2006)
Tuohy
(2007)
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2007-2009 by Kent G. Budge. Index