Naval History and Heritage Command

Finding aid (Word)

Biographical Note

After graduating form the U.S. Naval Academy, Henry Kent 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 subsequently USS Indianapolis. Beginning in 1941, he commanded Atlantic Fleet Task Groups in neutrality patrols and convoys until becoming Commander Amphibious Force Atlantic in April 1942. He 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.

Scope and Content Note

The papers of Admiral H. Kent Hewitt span his career, from his service with the Great White Fleet in 1907, through World War II, until his death in 1977. Consisting of correspondence, subject files, scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, date books, and oral history accounts, these papers include much information on Hewitt's experiences as a notable commander in the Atlantic and European theaters of World War II. Included is documentation on the Torch landings in 1942, and the landings in Sicily, Salerno, and Southern France in 1943-1944.

There is one oversize box of miscellaneous mementos, as well as an historical map presented by the Turkish government. An oral history interview with Hewitt is located in the Oral History Collection. Photographs and artifacts from the Hewitt collection have been transferred to the Photo Section and the Curator Branch, respectively.

Preferred Citation

This collection should be cited as Papers of H. Kent Hewitt, Archives Branch, Naval History and Heritage Command, Washington, D.C.

Subject Headings (LCSH)

World War, 1939-1945--Naval Operations, American.
World War, 1939-1945--Amphibious Operations.
World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--France.
World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Italy.
United States. Navy. Fleet, 8th.
Indianapolis (Cruiser : CA-35)
Missouri (Battleship : BB-11)
United States. Navy--History--Sources.

For associated photographic materials, please visit the photo archive donated collections related to H. Kent Hewitt, UA 45.02 and S-563