This is a list of tombstone vice admirals in the United States Navy. A tombstone promotion transferred an officer to the retired list with the rank of the next higher grade. Tombstone promotions to vice admiral have been awarded for service during the construction of the Panama Canal and under the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution, but almost all tombstone vice admirals were advanced to that rank between 1925 and 1959 because they were commended for performance of duty in actual combat before the end of World War II. Tombstone promotions for combat citations were halted on November 1, 1959.