Joseph Wallace Oman (1864–1941) was a

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

in the

United States 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 ...

and veteran of the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

, the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War or Filipino–American War ( es, Guerra filipina-estadounidense, tl, Digmaang Pilipino–Amerikano), previously referred to as the Philippine Insurrection or the Tagalog Insurgency by the United States, was an arm ...

, and

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He is a recipient of the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is eq ...

. He was also the

Governor of the United States Virgin Islands The governor of the United States Virgin Islands is the head of government of the United States Virgin Islands whose responsibilities also include making the annual State of the Territory addresses to the Legislature of the Virgin Islands, Virgi ...

from 1919 to 1921.

Biography

Oman was born in

Lightstreet, Pennsylvania Lightstreet is a census-designated place (CDP) in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The population was 1,093 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Bloomsburg-Berwick micropolitan area. The CDP i ...

, 15 August 1864, the son of Henry Freas Oman and Mary Jane Shannon. He was brother to Charles Malden Oman. In 1908 he married at St. Agnes Chapel in New York City, Virginia Center Morse, daughter of William Henry Morse and Sarah Virginia Center, and granddaughter of Alexander Jenkins Center, Vice President of the Panama Railway. Joseph Wallace and Virginia had four children: Virginia (died in infancy); Joseph Wallace Jr, William Morse Oman, and Virginia Morse Oman. He died 1 July 1941 in London, England. He and his wife are buried in

Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery is the first rural cemetery, rural, or garden, cemetery in the United States, located on the line between Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, Watertown in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middl ...

, Cambridge, MA. He entered the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

in 1882, having been appointed a Naval Cadet by congressman

Robert Klotz Robert Klotz (October 27, 1819 – May 1, 1895) was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Biography Robert Klotz was born in Northampton (now Carbon) County, Pennsylvania. He attended the county's schools. ...

, and graduated 4th in his class of 1886. He was commissioned as an

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

in 1888 and promoted to

Lieutenant, Junior Grade Lieutenant junior grade is a junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies. United States Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both abbreviations), i ...

in 1896. During the Philippine–American War, he commanded the gunboat . In 1909, he was promoted to

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

. He was promoted to

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the

Boston Navy Yard The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...

in 1914 and served there until 1914. In 1916-1917 he served as Supervisor, Harbor of New York. In July 1917, Captain Oman was given command of the former German ship, the SS ''Vaterland'', now claimed by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The ''Vaterland'' was in 1914 the largest passenger ship in the world and by the war it was still one of the largest. Two months later, the ship was re-christened as the USS ''Leviathan'' and was used as a troop transport. During the war, Captain Oman successfully avoided submarine patrols, despite the vessel's huge size, and managed to deliver nearly 120,000 American troops before the end of the war. For these efforts, Oman was awarded the Navy Cross and promoted to

in 1918. From 1919 until his retirement from the Navy in 1921, Oman served as the military

. He is credited as having one of the most efficiently running of the early colonial governments and the island prospered, largely thanks to exports of

rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is usually aged in oak barrels. Rum is produced in nearly every sugar-producing region of the world, such as the Ph ...

Alton Adams Alton Augustus Adams, Sr. (November 4, 1889 – November 23, 1987) is remembered primarily as the first black (people), black military band, bandmaster in the United States Navy (beginning 1917). His music was performed by the bands of John Philip ...

, the first black bandmaster of the U.S. Navy, wrote that his march, '' The Governor's Own'' (1921), had been inspired by Oman. Following his retirement, Oman eventually moved to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, where he died in 1941. Oman's brother Charles Malden Oman also served in the US Navy, also being a Rear Admiral at the time of Oman's death, and serving as commander of the Naval Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

References

Bibliography

* ADMIRAL J. W. OMAN. Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES. New York Times. New York, N.Y.: Jul 3, 1941. pg. 19, 1 pgs

External links

''The Governor's Own''
(1921), written for Oman by

(

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Oman, Joseph Wallace 1864 births 1941 deaths Governors of the United States Virgin Islands United States Navy personnel of World War I Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) People from Columbia County, Pennsylvania United States Navy admirals Burials at Mount Auburn Cemetery United States Naval Academy alumni Military personnel from Pennsylvania

Biography

See also

References

Bibliography

External links