James O. Richardson

James Otto Richardson was an admiral in the United States Navy who served from 1902 to 1947. As Commander in Chief, United States Fleet (CinCUS), he protested the redeployment of the Pacific portion of the fleet forward to Pearl Harbor since he believed that a forward defense was neither practical nor useful and that the Pacific Fleet would be the logical first target in the event of war with Japan since it was vulnerable to air and torpedo attacks. He was relieved of command in February 1941. His concerns proved justified during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor only ten months later.