Stanley Cook Norton (19 November 1894 – 4 April 1978), was an American naval officer who served during World War II and reached the rank of Rear Admiral 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 ...

Early life and education

Stanley Cook Norton was born November 19, 1894 in

Falmouth, Maine Falmouth is a New England town, town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 12,444 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is part of the Portland, Maine, Portland–South Portland, Maine, South Portland&ndas ...

to Frank K. and Flora Norton (née Cook).

Military career

In 1914 he was accepted 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 ...

as a midshipman. While at the academy, Norton participated both football and basketball. "On March 4, 1917, the U.S. Congress authorized the academy to reduce its four-year program to graduating and to commissioning new Navy and Marine Corps officers in three years." Because of this authorisation, Norton and the rest of the class of 1918 graduated June 28, 1917. Upon early graduation from Annapolis, Norton was commissioned as an Ensign and assigned to the . Due to the Act of May 22, 1917, he, along with many service men, received a temporary promotion 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 sub ...

in June 1918. After his service on the ''Montana'', he spent the next several years on various submarines, including the , , and as a prospective submarine commander. In 1924, he was assigned to the submarine base at New London; by 1927, he was commanding the gunboat stationed in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

. In 1932, he was assigned to command of ; in 1934 he was a lieutenant commander and the gunnery officer of . In 1938, 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. ...

and was assigned as a naval reserve instructor in 1939. Norton was a "brusque, no non-sense commander" known for his command of Destroyer Division 54. Aboard his flagship, the , he led Destroyer Division 54 in the successful attack and sinking of U-85, "the first German submarine sunk in World War II by a United States man-of-war." For this action, he, and the ''Roper''s captain, were awarded the Navy Cross. Norton 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 ...

on 15 June 1942 and commanded the from June 1943 to June 1944. Norton retired from the Navy after 30 years of service in July 1947, whereupon he was "placed, or advanced, upon the retired list to

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 recognition of having been specially commended by the Secretary of the Navy or head of another executive department for performance of duty under in actual combat."

Family

Norton's son, Stanley C. Norton Jr., was born while Norton was stationed in Hong Kong and died in 2016.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite news , url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/86565930/two-submarines-of-axis-are-sunk/ , date = 1943-02-23 , page = 4 , title = Two Submarines Of Axis Are Sunk , newspaper = The Sacramento Bee , location = Sacramento, California {{cite news , url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/86565835/big-battle-against-submarine-menace/ , date = 1943-02-23 , page = 2 , title = Big Battle Against Submarine Menace , newspaper = The Chico Enterprise , location = Chico, California {{cite news , url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/86565737/ninety-three-lieutenant-commanders-to-be/ , date = 1938-02-20 , page = 39 , title = Ninety-Three Lieutenant Commanders To Be Promoted , newspaper = The Honolulu Advertiser , location = Honolulu, Hawaii {{cite news , url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/86565564/gets-cross-for-successful-action/ , date = 1942-09-01 , page = 2 , title = Gets Cross for 'Successful Action' , newspaper = The Miami Herald , location = Miami, Florida {{cite news , url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/86565514/naval-orders/ , date = 1939-05-17 , page = 10 , title = Naval Orders , newspaper = News-Pilot , location = San Pedro, California {{cite news , url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/86565490/navy-chief-here-from-denver-on-inspectio/ , date = 1935-06-23 , page = 16 , title = Navy chief here from Denver on inspection trip , newspaper = The Daily Sentinel , location = Grand Junction, Colorado {{cite news , url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/86565425/war-department-and-navy-orders/ , date = 1933-04-11 , page = 6 , title = War Department And Navy Orders , newspaper = Daily Press , location = Newport News, Virginia {{cite news , url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/86565318/naval-orders/ , date = 1932-01-09 , page = 13 , title = Naval Orders , newspaper = The Long Beach Sun , location = Long Beach, California {{cite news , url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/86565240/american-vessels-in-chinese-waters/ , date = 1927-04-04 , page = 8 , title = American Vessels in Chinese Waters , newspaper = Des Moines Tribune , location = Des Moines, Iowa {{cite news , url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/86565158/to-report-here-soon/ , date = 1924-11-13 , page = 4 , title = To Report Here Soon , newspaper = The Portsmouth Herald , location = Portsmouth, New Hampshire {{cite news , url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/86565049/sixteen-enter-naval-academy/ , date = 1914-06-14 , page = 2 , title = Sixteen Enter Naval Academy , newspaper = The Baltimore Sun , location = Baltimore, Maryland {{cite web , title = Stanley Cook Norton , url = https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/21427 , website = Military Times Hall of Valor , access-date = 24 September 2021 {{cite news , title = Rear Admiral Stanley C. Norton , url = https://newspaperarchive.com/portsmouth-herald-apr-05-1978-p-3/ , access-date = 24 September 2021 , agency = Portsmouth Herald , issue = 158 , date = 5 April 1978 , volume = 90 {{cite book , last = Hickam , first = Homer , title = Torpedo junction : U-boat war off America's East Coast, 1942 , publisher = Naval Institute Press , year = 1996 , isbn = 1-55750-362-1 , url = https://archive.org/details/torpedojunction00home_0/page/398/mode , pages = 138–9 {{cite web , title = Trenton II (CL-11) , url = https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/t/trenton-ii.html , website = history.navy.mil , publisher = Naval History and Heritage Command , access-date = 25 September 2021 {{cite news , title = Gets Cross For 'Successful Action' , url = https://www.newspapers.com/image/617635495 , access-date = 24 September 2021 , issue = 272 , publisher = The Miami Herald , date = 1 September 1942 {{cite book , title = The Lucky Bag , date = 1918 , publisher = United States Naval Academy , location = Annapolis , page = 111 , url = https://archive.org/details/luckybag00unit_3/page/110/mode , access-date = 24 September 2021 {{cite web , title = U.S. Naval Academy During World War I , url = https://www.usna.com/news/wwi , website = United States Naval Academy , access-date = 25 September 2021 {{cite book , title = Register of the commission and warrant officers of the Navy of the United States , date = 1919 , publisher = US Navy , location = Washington DC , pages = 84–85 , url = https://archive.org/details/registerofcommis1919wash , access-date = 25 September 2021 {{cite book , title = Register of the commission and warrant officers of the Navy of the United States , date = 1920 , publisher = US Navy , location = Washington DC , pages = 64–65 , url = https://archive.org/details/registerofcommis1920wash , access-date = 26 September 2021 {{cite book , title = Register of the commission and warrant officers of the Navy of the United States , date = 1921 , publisher = US Navy , location = Washington DC , pages = 60–1 , url = https://archive.org/details/registerofcommis1921wash , access-date = 26 September 2021 {{cite book , title = Register of the commission and warrant officers of the Navy of the United States , date = 1923 , publisher = US Navy , location = Washington DC , pages = 60–1 , url = https://archive.org/details/registerofcommis1923wash , access-date = 26 September 2021 {{cite book , title = Register of the commission and warrant officers of the Navy of the United States , date = 1924 , publisher = US Navy , location = Washington DC , pages = 72 , url = https://archive.org/details/registerofcommis1924wash , access-date = 26 September 2021 {{cite news , title = Ordered to Cavite , page = 5 , url = https://newspaperarchive.com/portsmouth-herald-may-26-1926-p-5/ , access-date = 26 September 2021 , agency = The Portsmouth Herald , date = 26 May 1926 {{cite web , title = Fleet Oiler (AO) Photo Index , website = NavSource Naval History , date = 1941-10-30 , url = http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/19/19019.htm , access-date = 2020-01-09 {{cite news , title = The Naval Academy , url = https://archive.org/details/sim_armed-forces-journal_1919-07-12_56_45 , access-date = 26 September 2021 , agency = Army and Navy Journal , volume = 56 , issue = 45 , page = 1582 , date = 12 Jun 1919 {{cite book , last = Bunch , first = Jim , title = U-Boats off the Outer Banks: Shadows in the Moonlight , publisher = Arcadia Publishing , year = 2017 , isbn = 9781467137676 , page = 138 {{cite book , last = Roscoe , first = Theodore , title = United States destroyer operations in World War II , date = 1953 , publisher = United States Naval Institute , isbn = 9780870217265 , pages = 74–75 , url = https://archive.org/details/unitedstatesdest0000rosc/page/74/mode , access-date = 24 September 2021 1894 births 1978 deaths United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy rear admirals (upper half) Military personnel from Maine Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) United States Navy personnel of World War II 20th-century American naval officers