Kirk, Alan G(oodrich)

▪ United States naval officer

born Oct. 30, 1888, Philadelphia

died Oct. 15, 1963, New York City

 U.S. naval officer who commanded successful amphibious landings in Sicily and Normandy during World War II; he later served in important diplomatic posts.

      Early in World War II, Kirk, a graduate (1909) of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md., became chief of staff for the commander of U.S. naval forces in Europe. In 1943 he trained and led a task force that put an infantry division ashore in the invasion of Sicily. In June 1944 Kirk commanded nearly 1,000 ships of the Western Naval Task Force that landed U.S. troops and supplies at the Omaha and Utah beaches of Normandy (Normandy Invasion).

      After retiring from the navy with the rank of admiral in 1946, Kirk served as U.S. ambassador to Belgium (1946–49), the Soviet Union (1949–52), and the Republic of China (1962). He was forced to return from Taiwan in less than a year because of ill health.

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