7th Amphibious Force – US Navy Pacific

On 18 April 1942, General Douglas MacArthur was appointed Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA). This included Australian and New Zealand Naval and Army resources. MacArthur's command also included small numbers of personnel from the Netherlands East Indies, the United Kingdom, and other countries.

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MacArthur’s plan to defeat the Japanese Empire called for countless amphibious invasions of dozens and dozens of southwest pacific islands. Rather than coordinate these attacks with the Commander of the US Pacific Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, MacArthur was provided with his own naval forces.

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The Seventh Fleet was formed on 15 March 1943 in Brisbane. The commander of the 7th Fleet was Admiral Thomas Kincaid who reported directly to MacArthur. Within the 7th Fleet, the 7th Amphibious Force lead by Vice Admiral Daniel Barbey was formed which grew over time, to be the largest amphibious unit of WWII.

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Hundreds of “landing ships” and “landing crafts” and support naval ships were required. In addition, the coordinated training of naval transports, landing crafts and army and air force was required prior to all major invasions. If you were not fighting, you were training.

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David N. Flores transferred to the 7th Amphibious Force in the spring of 1944. He quickly rose the rank of Coxswain responsible for his own landing craft and a crew of 10 -11 seaman and gunners.  By Oct 1944, David was fully involved in the following amphibious operations against Japanese forces.