Samuel Adams (April 10, 1912 – June 5, 1942) was an officer 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 ...

decorated for action in the

Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The U.S. Navy under ...

during

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Biography

Born in

Northampton, Massachusetts The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence and Leeds) was 29,571. Northampton is known as an a ...

, Adams was appointed to 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 ...

from the state's second Congressional district in 1931, and graduated in 1935 with an appointment to the rank of ensign. One of his classmates was

Eugene B. Fluckey Eugene Bennett Fluckey (October 5, 1913 – June 28, 2007), nicknamed "Lucky Fluckey", was a United States Navy rear admiral who received the Medal of Honor and four Navy Crosses during his service as a submarine commander in World War II. Earl ...

. Adams was assigned to sea duty on battleships, serving aboard in June and July 1935 before being reassigned to until January 2, 1938. He was then accepted to flight school at NAS Pensacola, where he earned wings as a

naval aviator Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-bas ...

on January 17, 1939. Soon promoted to Lieutenant (j.g.), Adams was assigned to aircraft carrier duty, first aboard for one month (April–May 1939) and then with Bombing Squadron (VB) 5 aboard , from May 13, 1939 to the end of his career. While with ''Yorktown'', Adams flew

Northrop BT-1 The Northrop BT was an American two-seat, single-engine monoplane dive bomber built by the Northrop Corporation for the United States Navy. At the time, Northrop was a subsidiary of the Douglas Aircraft Company. While unsuccessful in its own rig ...

s, later transitioning with the rest of the squadron to the SBD Dauntless aircraft, flying escort for North Atlantic convoys until the U.S. entered the war. He was promoted to

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

on October 1, 1941. After the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

, ''Yorktown'' was sent to the Pacific theater. Adams took part in raids in the

Gilbert Gilbert may refer to: People and fictional characters *Gilbert (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Gilbert (surname), including a list of people Places Australia * Gilbert River (Queensland) * Gilbert River (South A ...

and

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Intern ...

. He led raids on land and sea targets in and around

Jaluit Jaluit Atoll ( Marshallese: , , or , ) is a large coral atoll of 91 islands in the Pacific Ocean and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is , and it encloses a lagoon with an area of . Mo ...

on February 1, 1942, against shipping off

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

on March 10, and on the island of

Tulagi Tulagi, less commonly known as Tulaghi, is a small island——in Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Ngella Sule. The town of the same name on the island (pop. 1,750) was the capital of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate from 1 ...

on May 4. He participated in the Battle of the Coral Sea on May 7 and 8. During this period Adams was twice awarded 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 ...

. The six Japanese aircraft carriers that had played a crucial role in the attack on Pearl Harbor became a primary focus of U.S. naval efforts in the ensuing Pacific campaign. Four of these ships were part of a battle group involved in the

; three were set ablaze in that battle on June 4, 1942. The fourth, the ''Hiryū'', remained unscathed. At about 2:40 P.M. local time on June 5, Adams and his wingman, Lt. Harlan Dickson, spotted her and her battle group, consisting of two battleships, three heavy cruisers and four destroyers. Under fire from a

Zero 0 (zero) is a number representing an empty quantity. In place-value notation such as the Hindu–Arabic numeral system, 0 also serves as a placeholder numerical digit, which works by multiplying digits to the left of 0 by the radix, usual ...

fighter, Adams radioed the ships' location (31°15' N., 179°05' W., moving north at approximately 20 knots). Because of this, the U.S. battle group was able to put the ''Hiryū'' out of action, and inflict major damage on the rest of the battle group. On June 5, Adams spotted the Japanese destroyer '' Tanikaze'' and attacked; his plane disappeared in the clouds and was never seen again, presumed downed by anti-aircraft fire from the destroyer. Also killed in the attack was Adams's radioman Joseph Karrol. Adams was posthumously awarded a third Navy Cross for the mission in which he located the ''Hiryū''.

Namesake

The U.S. Navy destroyer , which saw duty in the latter part of World War II, was named in his honor and christened by his widow, Mrs. Maude Ryan Adams.

References

* *

Attribution

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Samuel (Naval Officer) 1912 births 1940s missing person cases 1942 deaths Aerial disappearances of military personnel in action Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents Military personnel from Massachusetts Missing in action of World War II People from Northampton, Massachusetts People lost at sea Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) United States Naval Academy alumni United States Naval Aviators United States Navy officers United States Navy personnel killed in World War II Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1942

Biography

Namesake

See also

References

Attribution

External links