Editing Hyman G. Rickover (section)

== Naval career through World War II ==
Rickover's naval career began in 1918 at the Naval Academy; at this time, attending military academies was considered active duty service, due in part to [[World War I]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Holzwarth |first1=Larry |date=2022-03-31 |title=This Cantankerous Engineer Built the United States Nuclear Navy |url=https://historycollection.com/this-cantankerous-engineer-built-the-united-states-nuclear-navy/ |access-date=4 November 2023 |website=historycollection.com |publisher=History Collection}}</ref> On 2 June 1922, Rickover graduated 107th out of 540 midshipmen and was commissioned as an [[Ensign (rank)|ensign]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VVwJ9hOTGMMC&q=Rickover+graduated+540&pg=PA16|title=Rickover|access-date=2014-12-12|isbn=978-1557501776|last1=Duncan|first1=Francis|year=2001|publisher=Naval Institute Press }}</ref> He joined the [[destroyer]] {{USS|La Vallette|DD-315|2}} on 5 September 1922. Rickover impressed his commanding officer with his hard work and efficiency, and was made engineer officer on 21 June 1923, becoming the youngest such officer in the [[Squadron (army)|squadron]].<ref>{{Cite book | isbn = 978-1-57488-704-4 | page = xiii | last = Allen | first = Thomas B. |author2=Norman Polmar | title = Rickover | year = 2007 | publisher = Brassey's | location = Dulles, VA}}</ref>

He next served on board the [[battleship]] {{USS|Nevada|BB-36|2}} before earning a [[Master of Science]] degree in [[electrical engineering]] from [[Columbia University]] in 1930<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gsnbAgAAQBAJ&q=hyman+rickover+columbia&pg=PA107|title=A Lever Long Enough: A History of Columbia's School of Engineering and Applied Science Since 1864|first=Robert|last=McCaughey|date= 2014|publisher=Columbia University Press|via=Google Books|isbn=978-0231537520}}</ref> by way of a year at the [[Naval Postgraduate School]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nps.edu/About/NPSHistory/History.html|title=History of NPS – Naval Postgraduate School|website=www.nps.edu|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130701053235/http://www.nps.edu/About/NPSHistory/History.html|archive-date=2013-07-01}}</ref> and further coursework at Columbia. At the latter institution, he met Ruth D. Masters, a graduate student in international law, whom he married in 1931 after she returned from her doctoral studies at the [[University of Paris|Sorbonne]] in Paris. Shortly after marrying, Rickover wrote to his parents of his decision to become an [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopalian]], remaining so for the remainder of his life.<ref>{{Cite book | isbn = 978-0-7425-3699-9 | page = 29 | last = Domhoff | first = G. William |author2=Richard L. Zweigenhaft | title = Diversity in the Power Elite | year = 2006 | publisher = Rowman & Littlefield Pub. | location = Lanham, MD }}</ref><ref>[http://uticaphoenix.net/voices-of-polonia-admiral-hyman-rickover/ Utica Phoenix: "Voices of Polonia: Admiral Hyman Rickover" by Ted Rajchel] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130413210314/http://uticaphoenix.net/voices-of-polonia-admiral-hyman-rickover/ |date=2013-04-13 }} February 8, 2013.</ref>

Rickover had a high regard for the quality of the education he received at Columbia, as demonstrated in this excerpt from a speech he gave at the university some 52 years after attending:

<blockquote>Columbia was the first institution that encouraged me to think rather than memorize. My teachers were notable in that many had gained practical engineering experience outside the university and were able to share their experience with their students. I am grateful, among others, to Professors Morecroft, Hehre, and Arendt. Much of what I have subsequently learned and accomplished in engineering is based on the solid foundation of principles I learned from them.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.validlab.com/administration/rickover.html|title=Doing a Job|publisher=Validlab.com|access-date=2014-12-12}}</ref></blockquote>

Rickover preferred life on smaller ships, and he also knew that young officers in the [[submarine]] service were advancing quickly, so he went to Washington and volunteered for submarine duty. His application was turned down due to his age, at that time 29 years. Fortunately for Rickover, he encountered his former commanding officer from ''Nevada'' while leaving the building, who interceded successfully on his behalf. From 1929 to 1933, Rickover qualified for submarine duty and command aboard the submarines {{USS|S-9|SS-114|2}} and {{USS|S-48|SS-159|2}}.<ref>{{Cite book | isbn = 978-0-595-25270-1 | page = 29 | last = Rockwell | first = Theodore | title = The Rickover Effect | year = 2002 | publisher = IUniverse | location = Lincoln, NE }}</ref> While aboard S-48 he was addressed a letter of commendation from the Secretary of the Navy "for rescuing Augustin Pasis… from drowning at the Submarine Base, [[Coco Solo]], [[Panama_Canal_Zone|Canal Zone]]."<ref>{{cite web |title=Bureau of Navigation Bulletin No 159, 13 June 1931 |url=https://media.defense.gov/2019/Jul/25/2002162044/-1/-1/1/AH193106.PDF |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://media.defense.gov/2019/Jul/25/2002162044/-1/-1/1/AH193106.PDF |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |publisher=Bureau of Navigation |access-date=23 August 2021}}</ref> While at the Office of the Inspector of Naval Material in [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]] in 1933, Rickover translated ''Das Unterseeboot'' (''The Submarine'') by [[World War I]] [[Kaiserliche Marine|German Imperial Navy]] Admiral [[Hermann Bauer]]. Rickover's translation became a basic text for the U.S. submarine service.<ref name="auto2"/>

On 17 July 1937, he reported aboard the [[Minesweeper (ship)|minesweeper]] {{USS|Finch|AM-9|2}} at [[Qingdao]], [[China]], and assumed what would be his only ship command with additional duty as Commander, Mine Division Three, Asiatic Fleet. The [[Marco Polo Bridge Incident]] had occurred ten days earlier. In August, ''Finch'' stood out for Shanghai to protect American citizens and interests from the conflict between Chinese and Japanese forces. On 25 September, Rickover was promoted to lieutenant commander, retroactive to 1 July. In October, his designation as an engineering duty officer became effective, and he was relieved of his three-month command of ''Finch'' at Shanghai on 5 October 1937.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00040789/00093|title=American submariner|website=ufdc.ufl.edu}}</ref>

Rickover was assigned to the [[Cavite Navy Yard]] in the Philippines, and was transferred shortly thereafter to the Bureau of Engineering in Washington, D.C. Once there, he took up his duties as assistant chief of the Electrical section of the Bureau of Engineering on 15 August 1939.<ref>{{Cite book | isbn = 978-1-55750-177-6 | pages = 63–71 | last = Duncan | first = Francis | title = Rickover | year = 2001 | publisher = Naval Inst. Press | location = Annapolis, MD}}</ref>

On 10 April 1942, after America's entry into [[World War II]], Rickover flew to [[Naval Station Pearl Harbor|Pearl Harbor]] to organize repairs to the electrical power plant of {{USS|California|BB-44|6}}.<ref>{{cite web | title = Salvage and repair of USS California, December 1941 – October 1942 | access-date = 2009-03-06 | url = http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-pac/pearlhbr/ph-ca9.htm | archive-date = January 22, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120122104549/http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-pac/pearlhbr/ph-ca9.htm | url-status = dead }}</ref> Rickover had been promoted to the rank of [[Commander (United States)|commander]] on 1 January 1942, and in late June of that year was made a temporary [[Captain (United States)|captain]]. In late 1944 he appealed for a transfer to an active command. He was sent to investigate inefficiencies at the naval supply depot at [[Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania]], then was appointed in July 1945 to command of a ship repair facility on [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]].<ref>{{Cite book | isbn = 978-1-55750-177-6 | pages = 71–77 | last = Duncan | first = Francis | title = Rickover | year = 2001 | publisher = Naval Inst. Press | location = Annapolis, MD}}</ref> Shortly thereafter, his command was destroyed by [[Typhoon Louise (1945)|Typhoon Louise]], and he subsequently spent some time helping to teach school to Okinawan children.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2019/03/21/message-to-the-fleet-go-lead-yourself/|title=Message to the Fleet: Go lead yourself!|first=Lt Cmdr Jimmy|last=Drennan|date=April 18, 2019|website=Navy Times}}</ref>

Later in the war, his service as head of the Electrical Section in the Bureau of Ships brought him a [[Legion of Merit]] and gave him experience in directing large development programs, choosing talented technical people, and working closely with private industry. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine featured him on the cover of its 11 January 1954 issue. The accompanying article described his wartime service:<ref>Polmar; Allen (1982). pp. 109–110; 671 pp.</ref>

<blockquote>Sharp-tongued Hyman Rickover spurred his men to exhaustion, ripped through red tape, drove contractors into rages. He went on making enemies, but by the end of the war he had won the rank of captain. He had also won a reputation as a man ''who gets things done.''<ref name=time1954/></blockquote>