Lieutenant Commander (USN) Robert Adrian Marks (February 18, 1917 – March 7, 1998) was the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

pilot who rescued 56 crewmen of the USS ''Indianapolis'' after it was sunk by Japanese torpedoes. Marks disobeyed standing orders not to land in open ocean and rescued survivors by lashing them to the wing. His actions rendered the aircraft unflyable. He was awarded the

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

by Chester W. Nimitz. After the rescue, the plane was sunk by U.S. forces as it was not able to be recovered.

Early life

Adrian Marks was born in

Ladoga, Indiana Ladoga is a town in Clark Township, Montgomery County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 1,081 at the 2020 census, up from 985 in 2010. History Ladoga was platted in 1836 by John Myers. Myers invited his friends to help him fin ...

on February 18, 1917. His father Robert William Marks (1885–1982) was a lawyer and his mother Zena May Caldwell (1889–1975) was a music teacher. Marks was a graduate of

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

and earned a law degree from

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

. He married Elta Roll (1916–2000) in 1941, and soon joined the Navy prior to the United States' entry into

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

World War II

Marks was stationed in

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...

when the Japanese attacked the base on December 7, 1941. After the attack and the U.S. entry into the war, he attended flight school and became a Naval Aviator.

Rescue of USS ''Indianapolis'' survivors

After delivering components for the atomic bombs that were eventually used against Japan, to the island of

Tinian Tinian ( or ; old Japanese name: 天仁安島, ''Tenian-shima'') is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Together with uninhabited neighboring Aguiguan, it forms Tinian Municipality, one of the ...

the heavy cruiser USS ''Indianapolis'' was steaming, unescorted, to

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

for training of new crew members in advance of the planned attack on the Japanese home islands, when it was hit by two torpedoes shortly after midnight on 30 July 1945. The ship listed, took on water and capsized within twelve minutes, with a third of the crew going down with the ship. As a result of error, no distress signal had been broadcast, and the ship was not noticed as missing for days after the sinking. Some 900 survivors, many in only life jackets and without other flotation, faced fatigue, dehydration under the daylight sun and hypothermia at night, salt-water poisoning, and shark attacks. Of the approximately 900 who abandoned ship, a total of 316 survived, with 56 of them being saved by Marks. On August 2, A land-based patrol plane spotted the heads of survivors bobbing on the water but was unable to identify them. Marks and his flight crew were dispatched to the scene to investigate in his amphibious

PBY-5A Catalina The Consolidated PBY Catalina is a flying boat and amphibious aircraft that was produced in the 1930s and 1940s. In Canadian service it was known as the Canso. It was one of the most widely used seaplanes of World War II. Catalinas served w ...

patrol plane. He spotted the survivors and dropped life rafts. One life raft was destroyed by the drop while others were too far away from the exhausted crew. Against standing orders not to land in open ocean, Marks took a vote of his crew and decided to land the aircraft in twelve-foot swells. He was able to maneuver his craft to pick up survivors. Space in the craft was limited so Marks had survivors lashed to the wing with parachute cord. It damaged the wings, rendering the aircraft unflyable. Marks rescued 56 men. After nightfall, the destroyer escort (DE 368), the first of seven rescue ships, used its search light as a beacon and instilled hope in those still in the water. The ''Doyle'' and others picked up the remaining survivors and after everyone was off Marks' PBY, the ''Doyle'' sank her. Marks was awarded the

for his actions, and it was pinned on him by Fleet Admiral

Chester Nimitz Chester William Nimitz (; February 24, 1885 – February 20, 1966) was a fleet admiral in the United States Navy. He played a major role in the naval history of World War II as Commander in Chief, US Pacific Fleet, and Commander in C ...

CINCPAC United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) is a unified combatant command of the United States Armed Forces responsible for the Indo-Pacific region. Formerly known as United States Pacific Command (USPACOM) since its inception in 1947, ...

Later life

Following the war, Marks returned to Frankfort, Indiana and practiced real-estate law. He died on March 7, 1998, aged 81. He was survived by his wife Elta, five children, and twelve grandchildren.

References

External links

Military Hall of Honor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marks, Adrian 1998 deaths 1917 births People from Frankfort, Indiana People from Montgomery County, Indiana Indiana University alumni Northwestern University alumni Indiana lawyers Maritime incidents in July 1945 United States Navy pilots of World War II Military personnel from Indiana Recipients of the Air Medal United States Navy officers Attack on Pearl Harbor