islation such as this, intended to correct inequities, often results in further inequities.

The Navy has long held that promotions should only be based upon the needs of the Navy for the services of the best qualified officers in the higher grades. Promotions in the nature of rewards for past services create inequities and controversies among those officers not so rewarded.

In this regard it should be noted that enactment of the bill would result in a single Reserve officer receiving advancements of two grades above that in which he served on active duty prior to his retirement.

If the subcommittee gives S. 4075 favorable consideration, it is recommended that an additional section be added to the bill to make it clear that the advancement to the grade of vice admiral will carry with it no increase in retired pay.

The following is suggested:

SEC. 2. No increase in retired pay shall accrue by virtue of an appointment to the grade of vice admiral made under the authority contained in section 1 of this Act.

Senator JACKSON. Senator Smith?

Senator SMITH. Would the Navy have the same objection if the Medical Corps was stricken and it applied to all?

Commander SAVAGE. I think that would preclude another bill of a similar nature being brought up.

As I tried to point out in the statement, this thing all starts the combat advancement provision is something that the Navy has long been trying to get out from under, and there is a termination provision in the Officer Personnel Act as well as the Career Compensation Act that it will no longer be applicable.

We also oppose making the retired commodores in reserves rear admiral because when you get in the nature of promoting people on the basis of reward for past service you invariably leave someone out. Then they come up and that leapfrogs them over somebody else, and it is just a round robin.

Senator JACKSON. But if it was across the board, as Senator Smith

Commander SAVAGE. Well, then we would come into the other grades, possibly, Senator Smith.

Senator SMITH. Across the board both as to regular, reserve, medical, and nonmedical?

Commander SAVAGE. Yes.

Senator SMITH. I gather that the Navy is opposed to the bill, but would not be quite as much opposed if there was no money involved? Commander SAVAGE. From our point of view-I mean from the promotions division-we do not have to worry so much about the money. We are concerned about the equity of promotion systems and also of increasing concern with the fact that too free promotions, particularly flag rate-we already have in the Navy, you know, too many retired flag officers.

You cannot tell an officer who was made rear admiral on active service, was selected, and served in the grade from somebody who advanced to rear admiral by virtue of a combat citation.

We call them tombstone

In some cases, it is getting out of hand. rear admirals, but you cannot tell the difference.

Senator JACKSON. What percentage of the regular retired officers in the rank of rear admiral actually served in that rank and what percentage were promoted at the time of termination of service?

I mean, do you have any rough idea?

Commander SAVAGE. No, sir. I would say that well over 50 percent. Senator JACKSON. It must be over 50 percent.

Commander SAVAGE. Of course the comparison is difficult to make. So many of your rear admirals receive combat citation and are retired as vice admirals, and we have one group of rear admirals who served as rear admirals, did not get a combat citation and are rear admirals.

Senator JACKSON. But the laregst number of officers retired occurs at the rank of captain when they are passed over twice, they are automatically retired; isn't that true?

Commander SAVAGE. Yes, sir.

Senator JACKSON. That is the cutoff?
Commander SAVAGE Yes, sir.

Senator JACKSON. The biggest proportion is cut off at the rank of captain?

Commander SAVAGE. Yes, sir, and frankly to a man these officers who are retiring now and in the foreseeable future, say the next 10 years, will practically all of them be entitled to combat advancement.

I know just in our own section there were five of us discussing this one day, and it turned out that every one of us, presuming that the commanders there were made captains, would all be rear admirals some day, which as I say does tend to-the more common rear admirals become, the less esteem the grade is held in.

Senator JACKSON. We had better limit the Senate to 96 Senators. Senator SMITH. You might be interested to know the rank of commodore was authorized by a bill I introduced on the Naval Affairs Committee of the House.

(Discussion off the record.)

Senator JACKSON. Back on the record.

Any further questions?

Senator SMITH. No; I have no further questions.

Senator JACKSON. Thank you very much, Commander.

Dr. Knowlton, rear admiral in the Retired Reserve.

Admiral, do you care to make a statement at this time?

You have heard the comments of the Navy. Maybe you would like to comment on that and make your own statement, any way you would like to proceed, sir.

STATEMENT OF DON S. KNOWLTON, REAR ADMIRAL IN THE

RETIRED RESERVE OF THE NAVY

Dr. KNOWLTON. I have no comments on what the commander has said. That is about what I would expect.

My name is Don S. Knowlton, doctor of medicine, retired rear admiral, and different than some reservists, I suppose I have been a career reservist.

I enlisted in the National Guard in the State of Maine in 1910. That is a long time ago. I am 64 years old my next birthday. Except for a few years in college, I was never out of the Reserve, and the Navy records show my base entry pay record date was December

1916.

85500-57-2

There was some broken service. I served in World War I in France as an enlisted man and came out a sergeant. I was very proud of that grade. I worked for it. It took nearly two and a half years out of my life.

I left as a medical student. I was educated at Yale and Tufts. I have never been attached to a Reserve unit and a drilling unit. And because I like the United States Marine Corps all of my service in the Navy has been with the marines, in peace and in battle. I was Gen. Alexander Vandergrift's assistant division surgeon when we landed at Guadalcanal on the 7th of August 1942. I stayed on that island until we were relieved. I was ordered back some time after that to the States and was post surgeon at Camp Lejeune and trained marines to go back to battle.

I asked to return and was sent back to the Sixth Marine Division commanded by Gen. Lemuel Shepherd. I have served with General Vandergrift, Gen. Henry Larson, General Marston, General Shepherd, and Gen. Julian Smith. I have never failed a selection board by unanimous vote for promotion.

At a time when I was selected for my 4 stripes after Okinawa to flag rank, I had every reason to expect that I would be selected to rear admiral as many regulars were, but they dropped me off with

one star.

I served on duty as a commodore in World War II, and when I came back to the States after duty in north China at Tsingtao, I was ordered to the Bureau as liaison between Marine Corps and Navy from the standpoint of a medical officer with the rank of commodore and head of my section.

It was obvious that the post was a fixed one and that was that. I asked for return to my practice, and on the day that I was to leave, Admiral Nimitz sent to me to report to him at his headquarters and he asked me if I cared to stay and accept a regular commission.

I thanked him very kindly and returned to my practice. I never forgot his courtesy, however.

I was very happy in the service. I never asked for anything. I was never on the quarterdeck in my life asking favors. I always did them. And it was said then by any officer or man whoever served with me in battle, he was either promoted or decorated or both.

I did not ask for this at all, but to make room for some youngsters behind me, I was getting to be older although sound in wind and limb, I asked to be retired, put on the honorary retired list to make a place for another flag officer who was still vigorous.

Much of my hearing is now gone, and I am not quite the chap that I was some years back. And when I found that the President was authorized to promote any officer who had served in the grade of commodore the Medical Corps was not mentioned-to the grade of rear admiral, I felt because of service combat citations, that my promotion was nullified, and I still had one more coming to me.

The bill seemed to be fairly plain. The last paragraph "No funds concerned." I don't especially want you gentlemen to feel, and you, Senator Smith, that I am at all anxious for an unearned promotion, but I did try awfully hard, and I felt it might be rather nice to have it.

All my life I have worked for the Reserve, and I have never failed to serve, and I volunteered for Korea.

General Shepherd-I was his division surgeon at Okinawa-told me, "Don, the tables of organization with one brigade in the field do not allow for an officer of your age and rank. But, if we send a corps, I would be happy to have you.'

I think that just about covers it. I would be awfully happy to answer any questions. I have a very great respect for the Navy, gentlemen. I have served to the best of my ability, and I have a few citations that are rather well written. I think I earned them.

Senator JACKSON. What is the rule in the case of a Reserve officer that retires as a rear admiral?

Do they push it ahead one grade to vice admiral on the retired lists if there is combat service?

Commander SAVAGE. Yes; they do, Senator.

The same rule applies on that as to any officer.
Senator JACKSON. It goes up one notch?
Commander SAVAGE. Yes, sir.

Senator JACKSON. In this situation we are dealing with, this unique group that were commodores.

Commander SAVAGE. Yes, sir.

Senator JACKSON. And what the doctor is suggesting is that that rank in effect be treated as if it were the rank of admiral so they would go ahead one grade. That is what it really boils down to, is it not?

Commander SAVAGE. Yes, sir.

Senator JACKSON. Because if he had been appointed and served asa rear admiral because of his combat service, he would automatically retire as a vice admiral; would he not?

Commander SAVAGE. Yes, sir; he would have, or if he had retired later, then if he had been on the active list as a commodore and deferred his retirement

Senator JACKSON. If he deferred his retirement would he have been retired as a vice admiral?

Commander SAVAGE. Yes, sir.

Senator JACKSON. What is the reason for that?

Commander SAVAGE. Well, when the ROPA was written it did away with the rank of commodore and we still had some active commodores on the rolls, and we went to our judge advocate and wanted to know what we could do with them and he said the only thing we could do with them was make them rear admirals, so he promoted all the commodores who were still on the active list to rear admiral.

I don't know if any of those merit combat citations when they retire. Some of them could. In other words, if Dr. Knowlton had deferred his retirement

Senator JACKSON. When did that change occur, in 1946?

Commander SAVAGE. No, sir. This was just recently, July 1, 1955, the Reserve Officer Personnel Act became effective.

Senator JACKSON. So if he had stayed on through that date he would have retired then as a vice admiral?

Commander SAVAGE. Yes, sir.

Senator JACKSON. Could you say he would have been a rear admiral on active duty?

Commander SAVAGE. Yes, sir; on the active list.

Senator JACKSON. I mean on the active list.
Commander SAVAGE. Yes, sir.

Senator SMITH. I have known Dr. Knowlton for a good many years. I did not know him as far back as 1910. That is a long time. I think he has been very modest in his discussion of his own career. It is well known that he had a wonderful career in the Marines. He has worked long and hard in the Marines and in the Reserves, in which I have had so much interest, and also in the medical world. He is still practicing. Do I understand that if there had not been the rank of commodore, the chances were that he would have been a rear admiral?

Commander SAVAGE. Yes; that is right.

Senator SMITH. Dr. Knowlton, I had not understood that you felt this was an injustice exactly, do you?

Dr. KNOWLTON. I don't feel it is an injustice at all, or discriminatory. It is one of those loopholes in the law. In other words, my several combat citations are nullified by the fact that from an altruistic motive I moved out to give some younger man the chance because we were limited in rank, in grade, I am deprived of the promotion that the law gave me but for this discrepancy in years and the wording of the bill. Senator SMITH. And you feel this proposal would remove any inequity?

Dr. KNOWLTON. I think it would remove all the oversights and take care of it, and I am delighted to know there are six line officers of the Reserve concerned too.

I would be very happy to have deleted the reference to the Medical Corps from the bill. To the best of my knowledge-and I asked many questions at headquarters-that was the information I received. And I might add the Surgeon General of the United States Navy told me in a personal conversation, a personal friend of mine, Admiral Hogan, a graduate of my own school, told me the Medical Department of the Navy would have no objections to this legislation.

Admiral Hogan says that is perfectly all right if I proceed with the bill.

Senator SMITH. As far as you are concerned it is more the promotion, the rank, rather than the pay?

Dr. KNOWLTON. Pay never interested me at all, Senator.

Senator SMITH. Any more than it has in the past?

Dr. KNOWLTON. No, Senator.

Senator SMITH. That is all.

Senator JACKSON. Doctor, you certainly have a distinguished record. You have been in the Reserves in one form or another for 46 years? Dr. KNOWLTON. Thirty-four, sir.

Senator JACKSON. I thought you said since 1910?

Dr. KNOWLTON. That was the date of my first enlistment. The base entry pay record shows the broken service, and you count the time from December 1916, and that was continuous service.

Senator JACKSON. It is a long period of time.

Dr. KNOWLTON. Thirty-four years is quite a stretch; yes, it is, sir. Senator JACKSON. This subcommittee was appointed by Senator Russell to consider this bill and another bill.

I am certain that due to the fact that we are near the end of the session, that we will not be able to get any final action probably by the committee.

That is something we will have to take up with the chairman. But we wanted to get the testimony now, and then we can see what we can do, depending upon how long the session lasts.