James Vincent Forrestal was the last Cabinet-level United States Secretary of the Navy and the first United States Secretary of Defense.
James Forrestal
Forrestal takes the oath of office as Secretary of the Navy from Rear Admiral Thomas L. Gatch, judge advocate general of the Navy on May 19, 1944. Ernest King, Chief of Naval Operations, stands to the right.
Forrestal arrives at the White House for a Cabinet meeting, c. 1945
Secretary of the Navy Forrestal pins Admiral Jonas H. Ingram with a Gold Star in lieu of a third Distinguished Service Medal on May 21, 1946
United States Secretary of the Navy
The secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer and the head of the Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense.
United States Secretary of the Navy
Image: Gilbert Stuart, John Adams, c. 1800 1815, NGA 42933
Image: John langdon
Image: Silas Deane Du Simitier and B.L. Prevost