Would it have been possible for an Officer in the U.S. Navy to have served in both the European and Pacific theaters during WW2?

by mischievous_badger_

My grandmother told me how my Grand-Uncle (who was a doctor and officer in the US navy during WW2) participated in both the invasion of Normandy and the battle of Iwo Jima. Would this have been possible?

DBHT14

Oh absolutely.

For example the 3 USN Battleships part of Operation Neptune supporting the Normandy Landings, the Arkansas, Nevada, and Texas, along with the heavy cruiser Tuscaloosa would all after Normandy support the landings in Southern France in Operation Dragoon in August of 1944. Then either stopped back in the states for some minor repairs or went straight to Pearl, and by February 1945 were in the waters of Iwo Jima for the bombardment.