# Alan Goodrich Kirk
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{{Short description|United States Navy admiral}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Alan Goodrich Kirk
| image = Alan g kirk.jpg
| caption = Admiral Alan G. Kirk
| office = [United States Ambassador to Taiwan](/source/List_of_ambassadors_of_the_United_States_to_China)
| president = [John F. Kennedy](/source/John_F._Kennedy)
| term_start = June 7, 1962
| term_end = January 18, 1963
| predecessor = [Everett F. Drumright](/source/Everett_F._Drumright)
| successor = [Jerauld Wright](/source/Jerauld_Wright)
| office1 = [United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union](/source/United_States_Ambassador_to_Russia)
| president1 = [Harry S. Truman](/source/Harry_S._Truman)
| term_start1 = July 4, 1949
| term_end1 = October 6, 1951
| predecessor1 = [Walter Bedell Smith](/source/Walter_Bedell_Smith)
| successor1 = [George F. Kennan](/source/George_F._Kennan)
| office2 = [United States Ambassador to Belgium](/source/United_States_Ambassador_to_Belgium) concurrent with [United States Ambassador to Luxembourg](/source/United_States_Ambassador_to_Luxembourg)
| president2 = Harry S. Truman
| term_start2 = April 1, 1946
| term_end2 = May 6, 1949
| predecessor2 = [Charles W. Sawyer](/source/Charles_W._Sawyer)
| successor2 = [Robert Daniel Murphy](/source/Robert_Daniel_Murphy)
| birth_name = Alan Goodrich Kirk
| birth_date = {{birth date|1888|10|30}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1963|10|15|1888|10|30}}
| birth_place = [Philadelphia](/source/Philadelphia), [Pennsylvania](/source/Pennsylvania), U.S.
| death_place = [Washington, D.C.](/source/Washington%2C_D.C.), U.S.
| resting_place = [Arlington National Cemetery](/source/Arlington_National_Cemetery)
| spouse = {{Marriage|Lydia Chapin|1918}}
| relatives = [Caspar F. Goodrich](/source/Caspar_F._Goodrich) (uncle)
| education = [United States Naval Academy](/source/United_States_Naval_Academy)
| allegiance = United States
| branch = [United States Navy](/source/United_States_Navy)
| service_years = 1909–1946
| rank = [Admiral](/source/Admiral_(United_States))
| commands = U.S. Naval Forces, France
| unit =
| battles = {{plainlist|
* [World War I](/source/World_War_I)
* [World War II](/source/World_War_II)
}}
| mawards = {{plainlist|
* [Navy Distinguished Service Medal](/source/Navy_Distinguished_Service_Medal)
* [Legion of Merit](/source/Legion_of_Merit)
}}
| laterwork =
}}
'''Alan Goodrich Kirk''' (October 30, 1888 – October 15, 1963) was a [United States Navy](/source/United_States_Navy) [admiral](/source/Admiral_(United_States)) during [World War II](/source/World_War_II) who most notably served as the American senior naval commander during the [Normandy landings](/source/Normandy_landings). After the war he embarked on a [diplomatic career](/source/diplomat) serving as U.S. [ambassador](/source/ambassador) to [Belgium](/source/Belgium), the [Soviet Union](/source/Soviet_Union) and the [Republic of China (Taiwan)](/source/Taiwan).
==Biography==
Kirk graduated from the [United States Naval Academy](/source/United_States_Naval_Academy) in the class of 1909. His classmates included [Jesse B. Oldendorf](/source/Jesse_B._Oldendorf), [Olaf M. Hustveldt](/source/Olaf_M._Hustvedt), and [Theodore S. Wilkinson](/source/Theodore_Stark_Wilkinson).[{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/luckybag1909unse |title=Lucky Bag |date=1909 |publisher=First Class, United States Naval Academy |others=Nimitz Library U. S. Naval Academy}}] Kirk served in the United States Navy during [World War I](/source/World_War_I) and [World War II](/source/World_War_II). During his wartime naval service, Kirk became the U.S. naval attaché in [London](/source/London) (1939 to 1941). He was Director of the [Office of Naval Intelligence](/source/Office_of_Naval_Intelligence) from March 1941 but, obstructed and opposed by Rear Admiral [Richmond Turner](/source/Richmond_Turner), he was unable to develop the office into an effective center along the lines of the British Royal Naval [Operational Intelligence Centre](/source/Operational_Intelligence_Centre) (which he had seen while in London). Eventually, he requested a transfer to an Atlantic destroyer squadron.[{{cite book|last = Gannon|first = Michael|title = Operation Drumbeat|publisher = Harper Collins|year = 1991|location = New York|pages = 160–161|isbn = 0-06-092088-2}}]
thumb|left|Quote, "Deliver for D-Day!"
Kirk served as an amphibious commander in the [Mediterranean](/source/Mediterranean_and_Middle_East_theatre_of_World_War_II) in 1942 and 1943 (the [Allied invasion of Sicily](/source/Allied_invasion_of_Sicily) and [Italy](/source/Operation_Avalanche_(World_War_II))). In addition, he was the senior U.S. naval commander during the [Normandy landings](/source/Operation_Neptune) of June 6, 1944 where he commanded the Western Naval Task Force embarked on the [heavy cruiser](/source/heavy_cruiser) {{USS|Augusta|CA-31|6}}. He served as Commander U.S. Naval Forces in France during 1944 and 1945. He retired from the Navy as a full [admiral](/source/Admiral_(United_States)) in 1946. He was decorated with [Legion of Honour](/source/Legion_of_Honour) by the [Provisional Government of the French Republic](/source/Provisional_Government_of_the_French_Republic) for his [World War II](/source/World_War_II) service.[{{cite web | url = https://ipv6.navy.mil/ah_online/archpdf/ah194506.pdf | access-date = 11 February 2017 | work = navy.mil | title = All Hands - The Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin; June 1945 | publisher = United States Navy Websites | archive-date = 15 June 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200615160111/https://ipv6.navy.mil/ah_online/archpdf/ah194506.pdf | url-status = dead }}]
[[File:Watching operations from the bridge.jpg|thumb|left|Senior officers watching operations from the bridge of {{USS|Augusta|CA-31}}, off Normandy, June 8, 1944. They are (from left to right): Rear Admiral Alan G. Kirk, Lieutenant General [Omar Bradley](/source/Omar_Bradley), Rear Admiral [Arthur D. Struble](/source/Arthur_Dewey_Struble) (with binoculars), and Major General [William B. Kean](/source/William_B._Kean).]]
After retirement from the United States Navy, Kirk embarked on a [diplomat](/source/diplomat)ic career, and subsequently served in several United States [embassies](/source/Diplomatic_mission) abroad, beginning with the combined posting of [U.S. Ambassador to Belgium](/source/United_States_Ambassador_to_Belgium)/[U.S. Envoy to Luxembourg](/source/United_States_Ambassador_to_Luxembourg) (resident in [Brussels](/source/Brussels), [Belgium](/source/Belgium)), 1946–49; as [U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union](/source/List_of_Ambassadors_of_the_United_States_to_Russia), July 4, 1949, to October 6, 1951; and finally as [United States Ambassador to the Republic of China (Taiwan)](/source/List_of_ambassadors_of_the_United_States_to_China), June 7, 1962, to January 16, 1963. He served as ambassador to the Soviet Union during the beginning of the [Korean War](/source/Korean_War), and expressed concern that the conflict could escalate to [World War III](/source/World_War_III), comparing it to [proxy conflicts](/source/Proxy_war) of the 1930s such as the [Spanish Civil War](/source/Spanish_Civil_War) and the [Soviet–Japanese border conflicts](/source/Soviet%E2%80%93Japanese_border_conflicts) which he believed precipitated World War II.[{{Citation|last=Carson|first=Austin|title=5. The Korean War (1950– 1953)|date=2018-12-31|url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9780691184241-006/html|work=Secret Wars: Covert Conflict in International Politics|pages=150|publisher=Princeton University Press|doi=10.1515/9780691184241-006|isbn=978-0-691-18424-1|s2cid=239293400 |access-date=2022-02-16|url-access=subscription}}]
Admiral Kirk took his post as the second president of [American Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia](/source/American_Committee_for_the_Liberation_of_the_Peoples_of_Russia), in February 1952. As a former U.S. ambassador to the [Soviet Union](/source/Soviet_Union), he oversaw the recruitment of emigres in [New York City](/source/New_York_City) and [Munich](/source/Munich), a group that would later form the core of [Radio Liberty](/source/Radio_Free_Europe)'s staff. Less than a year after taking office, Kirk was forced to resign due to poor health. Also in 1952, he served briefly as Director of the [Psychological Strategy Board](/source/Psychological_Strategy_Board), which planned for and coordinated government [psychological operations](/source/psychological_operations).[{{cite web
|url=http://www.trumanlibrary.org/hstpaper/physc.htm
|title=Staff Member and Office Files: Psychological Strategy Board Files
|publisher=[Harry S. Truman Presidential Library](/source/Harry_S._Truman_Presidential_Library_and_Museum)
|access-date=2006-11-04
|archive-date=2018-11-06
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106200445/https://www.trumanlibrary.org/hstpaper/physc.htm
|url-status=dead
}}]
In 1962 he was portrayed onscreen in the film [''The Longest Day''](/source/The_Longest_Day_(film)) by Australian actor [John Meillon](/source/John_Meillon).[{{cite web
|url=https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0056197/fullcredits/cast
|title=Full Cast and Crew: The Longest Day|publisher=[Internet Movie Database](/source/IMDb)}}]
Alan Goodrich Kirk died on October 15, 1963, in New York at the age of 74 and was buried at [Arlington National Cemetery](/source/Arlington_National_Cemetery).[{{cite web
|url=https://www.usna.edu/Notables/ambassadors/1909kirk.php
|title=US Naval Academy Notable Graduates: Alan G. Kirk
|publisher=[United States Naval Academy](/source/United_States_Naval_Academy)}}]
==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|Politics}}
{{Commons category}}
* [Perle Mesta](/source/Perle_Mesta)
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==Further reading==
* Kohnen, David. ''Alan Goodrich Kirk: U.S. Navy Admiral of Intelligence and Diplomacy.'' In: John Hattendorf and Bruce Elleman (Eds.). ''Nineteen Gun Salute: Profiles in U.S. Navy Leadership in Wartime Operations''. Newport, Rhode Island: Naval War College Press, 2010, pp. 75–92.
* Kirk, Lydia. ''Postmarked Moscow''.
==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Alan Goodrich Kirk}}
* {{PM20|FID=pe/009634}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-dip}}
{{succession box|title=[United States Ambassador to Belgium](/source/United_States_Ambassador_to_Belgium)|before=[Charles W. Sawyer](/source/Charles_W._Sawyer)|after=[Robert Daniel Murphy](/source/Robert_Daniel_Murphy)|years=1946 – 1949}}
{{succession box|title=[United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union](/source/United_States_Ambassador_to_Russia)|before=[Walter Bedell Smith](/source/Walter_Bedell_Smith)|after=[George F. Kennan](/source/George_F._Kennan)|years=1949 – 1951}}
{{succession box|title=[United States Ambassador to Taiwan](/source/United_States_Ambassador_to_Taiwan)|before=[Everett Drumright](/source/Everett_Drumright)|after=[Jerauld Wright](/source/Jerauld_Wright)|years=1962 – 1963}}
{{s-end}}
{{US Ambassadors to Belgium}}
{{US Ambassadors to Luxembourg}}
{{US Ambassadors to Russia}}
{{US Ambassadors to China}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirk, Alan}}
Category:1888 births
Category:1963 deaths
Category:United States Navy admirals
Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Taiwan
Category:United States Navy personnel of World War I
Category:United States Navy World War II admirals
Category:Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal
Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit
Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery
Category:Ambassadors of the United States to the Soviet Union
Category:20th-century American diplomats
Category:Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Belgium
Category:Directors of the Office of Naval Intelligence
Category:Military personnel from Philadelphia
Category:United States naval attachés
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Alan Goodrich Kirk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Goodrich_Kirk) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Goodrich_Kirk?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.