The Visor Cap of U.S. Navy Vice Admiral and Navy Cross Recipient Clark H. Woodward

The khaki cotton visor cap is in excellent condition and it makes a very fine appearance. The interior retains the card of Vice Admiral Clark H. Woodward. The cap exterior shows minor wear, with the interior wear being somewhat more pronounced. The interior leather sweatband is partially detached due to a loss of some stitching, but the sweatband is complete. The center celluloid sweat shield is slightly detached, but complete. The front of the cap displays the toned bullion insignia of a U.S. Navy officer, while the surface of the visor shows the toned bullion oak leaves embroidery of an Admiral of the United States Navy.

Born in Atlanta, on March 4, 1877, Woodward was an active naval officer early on. While still a midshipman attending the United States Naval Academy, he was activated early for duty in the Spanish–American War, during which he served on the armored cruiser USS Brooklyn. Graduating in January 1899, he was immediately dispatched to help quell the Nicaraguan revolution of February 2 through March 5, 1899. In November of that same year, he joined the China Relief Expedition representing the United States in the Eight-Nation Alliance opposing the Boxer Rebellion uprising. Promoted from ensign to lieutenant, Woodward was attached to the Asiatic Station of the United States Navy, where he fought during the Philippine Insurrection and its military aftermath. Promoted again, Lt. Commander Woodward served as commander of the First Destroyer Flotilla of the Asiatic Fleet in 1906 and 1907.

Although an experienced naval officer trained to lead sailors, Woodward earned a Navy Expert Rifle Medal in 1910, and served in U.S. Navy combat missions in Nicaragua in 1912, the Gulf of Mexico in 1914, and the Caribbean in 1915. Promoted to commander, he served as executive officer of the battleship USS New York, flagship of the American Squadron operating in the North Sea during World War I. Woodward emerged from the war a decorated veteran with a Navy Cross and the first of his two Navy Distinguished Service Medals

In a speech delivered on what proved to be the eve of war, 6 December 1941, Woodward predicted that the United States Navy would soon be able to defeat any and all naval forces in the world, in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans simultaneously. He was called back to active duty the very next day, and his words were proven prescient by his beloved Navy’s successful prosecution of both the Pacific War and the Battle of the Atlantic.

Finally retiring in 1948, after over fifty years of service, Woodward continued to work for the Navy with retired status during the Korean War. Upon the armistice in 1953, he withdrew from duty altogether. However, he remained a staunchly vocal advocate of decisive military might. Clark Howell Woodward served the United States Navy in five wars: the Spanish–American War, Philippine–American War, the Chinese Boxer Rebellion, and both World Wars. A staunch promoter of an advanced U.S. Navy, he influenced priorities and policies concerning the upgrading and construction of modern naval warships. Upon his retirement after fifty years and six months of active duty, he assured an audience at Annapolis that “the first fifty years were the hardest.”

.