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Born in Charleston, South Carolina, he graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1890. He was on the USS Charleston for the Battle of Manila Bay.
He received the Medal of Honor for his captaincy of the USS Chester in a daring and dangerous night landing in 1914 at VeracruzVeracruz is the name of a city and a state in Mexico. This article is about the city. For the state, see State of Veracruz The city of Veracruz is a major port city in the Mexican state of Veracruz. It is located 105 kilometers (65 miles) along federal hi, MexicoThis article is about the country Mexico. For other meanings, see Mexico (disambiguation The United Mexican States or Mexico ( Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos or Mexico regarding the use of the variant spelling Mejico see section The name below) is a co. (See also U.S. Occupation of Veracruz, Mexico, 1914).
In World War IWorld War I (also known as the First World War , the Great War the War of the Nations and the "War to End All Wars") was a world conflict occurring from 1914 to 1918. No previous conflict had mobilized so many soldiers, or involved so many in the field of, he was commander of the Great Lakes Naval Training Center near Chicago, and there established an aviator training program. While commanding the battleshipThis article is about a battleship as a type of warship. See also Battleship (game). Dreadnought redirects here. See also Workers' Dreadnought. In naval history, battleships were the most heavily armed and armored warships afloat. In the mid- 20th century MississippiUSS Mississippi anchored off New York City Career Authorized: 30 June 1914 Laid down: 5 April 1915 Launched: 25 January 1917 Commissioned: 18 December 1917 Decommissioned: 17 September 1956 Fate:sold for scrap General Characteristics Displacement:32,000 t ( 1918Events January January 8 President Woodrow Wilson announces his " Fourteen Points" for the aftermath of World War I. February February 3 The Twin Peaks Tunnel begins service in San Francisco as the longest streetcar tunnel in the world (11,920 feet long).– 1921) he supported the creation of a scout plane unit on the ship.
Although not himself a flyer, Moffett became known as the "Air Admiral" for his leadership of the Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics from its creation in 1921. In this role, he oversaw the development of tactics for naval aircraft, the introduction of the aircraft carrier, and relations with the civilian aircraft industry. By adroit use of public relations, he maintained support for naval aviation against Billy Mitchell, who favored putting all military aircraft into a separate air force.
Moffett was also an advocate of airships; he lost his life on the Akron when the airship went down off the coast of New Jersey in 1933. The naval air station in Sunnyvale, California that he helped establish was soon after named Moffett Field in his memory.
He is buried in Arlington Cemetery, alongside his wife Jeanette Whitton Moffett . Their son William A. Moffett, Jr. was also a Navy admiral.