Ships
- USS Enterprise (CV-6) Captain from 16 April 1943 · Relieved on 7 November 1943
Samuel Paul Ginder, known as "Sam" or "Cy," graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with the Class of 1916 and became one of the Navy's early aviators. In 1925, as a lieutenant, he flew in the International and Schneider Cup air races. As a lieutenant commander he led Fighting Squadron 3-B in the carrier Lexington. At the White House, President Hoover presented him the Herbert Schiff Memorial Trophy for the squadron's 1930 record: about 5,000 hours and 600,000 miles flown, the best safety record among the Navy's fighting squadrons.
In November 1940 he commanded the seaplane tender Curtiss. He took command of Enterprise on 16 April 1943 and held it through her overhaul and return to the fight that autumn. Promoted to rear admiral, he commanded Carrier Division 4 and a fast carrier task group in the Marshall Islands. His Legion of Merit cites the support his group gave the landings at Kwajalein and Eniwetok (29 January – 22 February 1944).
His combat command ended in tragedy. After his chief of staff was killed in an air accident in March 1944, Ginder, until then rated a first-rate officer, suffered a breakdown, and Mitscher replaced him with "Jocko" Clark in April 1944. He went on to command the Carrier Transport Squadron, Pacific Fleet. After the war he headed the naval group of the U.S. military mission in Turkey (JAMMAT). By 1950 he was senior member of the Navy's Board of Decorations and Medals. He retired a rear admiral; Military Times lists his home as Tallahassee, Florida.
Birth, early life and death dates were not found in reliable sources. See SHORT.md.