Descendants of Admirals Ernest J. King, William S. Sims engage with students at U.S. Naval War College

NEWPORT, R.I.— Janvier Smith, grandson of Adm. Ernest J. King, delivered a lecture to students of the U.S. Naval War College (NWC) onboard Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island campus, Oct. 5.
King was America’s second-ever five-star Fleet Admiral, and held the unprecedented dual-hatted position as both Chief of Naval Operations and Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Fleet, during World War II.
Smith, a former NWC professor and U.S. Navy Commander, gave remarks and answered questions from students in support of NWC’s dedication to maritime history.
“What I hope is that [the students] get a better view of King’s stature and his character as a leader,” Smith said. “I think these days leadership is on the front line, and people would do well to learn more about how he developed himself as a leader.”
During peacetime training, and in the NWC classroom settings of the 1920s and 1930s, King workshopped the tactics used in naval aviation and amphibious operations which would go on to be fundamental to U.S. military operations in WWII. These tactics and King’s way of thinking are still studied extensively today.
Captain T.B. Kittredge Historian and College of Maritime Operational Warfare Prof. David Kohnen, Ph.D., teaches NWC’s Maritime History course and also authored a book titled “King's Navy: Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King and the Rise of American Sea Power, 1897–1947,” which focuses on the rise of American sea power between 1897 and 1947, and serves as a definitive biography of King.
Among those in attendance at the lecture was Dr. Nat Sims, grandson of former NWC President Rear Adm. William S. Sims. He participated in a question-and-answer segment with Smith and Kohnen.
“King in particular completed the [NWC] curriculum three times in his long career, illustrating how the education he received at the Naval War College enabled him to guide the global war effort to secure the sustainable peacetime end of war through sound military decision making in the Second World War and beyond.” Kohnen said. “What an honor it is for me, as a historian and as a Naval War College professor to have the privilege of hosting the descendants of admirals Sims and King in the classroom setting, as they help us to educate our current ‘five-star thinkers’ of the Naval War College about how to use history as the basis for winning the future.”
The lecture included facts from the King family lineage, intimate details about King’s upbringing and personal life, and an interactive display of artifacts owned by King, including a framed portrait, an epaulet from the WWII-era “slate-gray” uniform, which King designed, a U.S. Naval Academy class photo and many other items.
Established in 1884, NWC informs today’s decision-makers and educates tomorrow’s leaders by providing educational experiences and learning opportunities that develop their ability to hedge aggressively, innovate continuously, fight distributively, delegate confidently, and command with clarity within complex battlespaces.

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