Clark H. Woodward - Military Advocate

Military Advocate

While commanding the Third Naval District and the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Woodward was an outspoken supporter of an expanded U.S. Navy, constantly warning that it was inferior to those of both Great Britain and the troublesome Japanese. Arguing that the pace of new construction was far too slow, he despaired that the U.S. Navy was "woefully weak" in destroyers and submarines. In 1940, the Brooklyn Eagle carried numerous speeches of his in which Woodward warned not only of America's "third-place" status, but also that the United States Army lacked the strength to repel a potential attack on the Navy Yard if an enemy managed to break through the nation’s naval defenses. Later, he would use the sinking of the SS Normandie (which he believed was sabotage and took as something of a personal affront) to underline his concerns.

Promoted to Vice Admiral, Clark Howell Woodward left his positions in New York in March 1941. Rear Admiral Edward J. Marquart succeeded Woodward as commandant of the New York Navy Yard. However, command of the Third Naval District went to another admiral, Adolphus Andrews. With Woodward facing forced retirement due to age, the Navy Department felt that the two positions would be too much for a lesser individual to handle. While Woodward had served the longest term of any Commandant, U.S. Navy Yard, New York, or Commander, Third Naval District, in the 1930s and 1940s, those responsibilities have been separated between two naval officers ever since his command.