| United States Navy Rear Admiral John L. “Jimmy” Hall, Jr. (April 11, 1891 – March 6, 1978) Commander Task Force 124, Assault Force O, the Omaha Beach landing force consisting of the 1st Infantry Division and 29th Infantry Divisions; on board USS Ancon (AGC-4) during the Normandy invasion, June 1944. United States Navy Lieutenant Commander Samuel E. Morrison (July 9, 1887 – May 15, 1976) called Hall “one of the most competent, level-head, and highly respected Flag Officers in the United States Navy.” Hall entered the Naval Academy in 1909 and graduated in June 1913. As a junior officer he served ON USS North Dakota (BB-29) and USS Utah (BB-31). During World War I, he trained engineering personnel on USS Illinois (BB-7) and was engineering officer of USS Philip (DD-76). During the years following World War I he had sea duty, mainly in destroyers, and served ashore as a Naval Academy instructor. From the mid-1920s until 1934, Lieutenant Commander Hall was an Aide to the Naval District commandant at Charleston South Carolina, Executive Officer of Camden (AS-6), Commanding Officer of USS Childs (DD-241), spent 3 years with the Naval Academy’s physical training and athletics programs, and was Navigator of Wyoming (BB-32). Promoted to Commander in 1934, he went to the Far East to serve in Augusta (CA-31) and then commanded the gunboat Asheville and a destroyer division. During the later 1930s Commander Hall was at the Naval War College, initially as a student, then as a member of the staff. In July 1940, he achieved the rank of Captain and was given command of USS Arkansas (BB-33). This was followed by staff duty with elements of the Atlantic Fleet. In mid-1942, Hall was temporarily appointed Rear Admiral during the invasion of Morocco, and that fall was Chief of Staff to the operation’s Naval commander. He then commanded the Naval forces and facilities in that region. Holding amphibious force commands from February 1943 onwards, Rear Admiral Hall was in charge of important components of the invasions of Sicily in July of that year and of the Italian mainland in September. He was sent to England in November to help prepare for the invasion of France and the Normandy landings where he commanded the assault on “Omaha” Beach. Transferred to the Pacific Fleet’s Amphibious Forces in October, he participated in the invasion of Okinawa in the spring of 1945. In October 1945, he became Commander Amphibious Forces, Pacific Fleet, receiving the rank of Vice Admiral a few months later. Following service as Commandant, 14th Naval District, and Commander Hawaiian Sea Frontier, in 1948 he became Commandant of the Armed Forces Staff College. Hall’s final assignment was as Commander Western Sea Frontier and Commander Pacific Reserve Fleet from August 1951 until his retirement in May 1953. Upon leaving active duty, he was advanced to the rank of Admiral on the basis of his combat awards. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0476.jpg |
| Image Size | 1.42 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 4501 x 5673 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Navy |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | June 6, 1944 |
| Location | |
| City | Omaha Beach |
| State or Province | Normandy |
| Country | France |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | 80-G-59419 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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