Dixie Kiefer (April 5, 1896 – November 11, 1945) was a United States Navy officer who served during World War II as executive officer of USS Yorktown and commanding officer of USS Ticonderoga. He was one of the Navy's best known figures during the war. Early life Born in eastern Idaho at Blackfoot, Kiefer was the son of Mr. and Mrs. H. G. Kiefer and graduated from Lincoln High School in Lincoln, Nebraska. He entered the United States Naval Academy in 1915 and was commissioned in June 1918. His first assignment was USS Corona, a small anti-submarine patrol vessel operating in European waters during the last part of World War I. Naval aviator In the 1920s, Kiefer became a pilot in the fledgling aviation branch of the Navy. On 11 November 1924, he made the first ever night take-off from a warship. His plane, a Vought UO-1, was launched by catapult from USS California in the harbor of San Diego. The only illumination was California searchlights, directed 1,000 yards in the distance. World War II By World War II, Kiefer had risen to the rank of commander. He served as Executive Officer of the aircraft carrier in the Battle of Coral Sea and Battle of Midway. He received the Distinguished Service Medal for Coral Sea and the Navy Cross for Midway. When Yorktown was sunk at Midway, Kiefer shattered his right leg and ankle while leaping from the ship. After recovering from his injuries, Kiefer was promoted to captain and given command of the new carrier , which was commissioned at the Norfolk Navy Yard on 8 May 1944. He was popular with his sailors and was credited with training the carrier's air group and crew into an efficient wartime team. Reportedly, Kiefer would use the bullhorn 4-5 times a day to hurry his flight deck crew or else "that admiral over there will give me hell." When the ship passed through the Panama Canal, Kiefer ensured that nearly the entire 3,000 crew received shore leave. On 21 January 1945, Ticonderoga was hit by two Japanese kamikaze bombers. 144 men were killed and 200 injured. The first kamikaze hit started large fires among gasoline and planes in the hangar deck. Kiefer had port-side compartment deliberately flooded to put a 10-degree list on the ship. This caused the flaming gasoline to slide overboard – a procedure not used before. Then he