Thomas Benjamin Fitzpatrick (1896 – 1974) was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

and the

governor of American Samoa This is a list of Governor (United States), governors, etc. of the part of the Samoan Islands (now comprising American Samoa) under United States administration since 1900. From 1900 to 1978 governors were appointed by the Federal government o ...

for a brief time from January 15, 1936, to January 20, 1936. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Fitzpatrick commanded , which landed troops and sustained damage during the

Battle of Tarawa The Battle of Tarawa was fought on 20–23 November 1943 between the United States and Japan on Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands, and was part of Operation Galvanic, the U.S. invasion of the Gilberts. Nearly 6,400 Japanese, Koreans, and Am ...

References

1896 births 1974 deaths Governors of American Samoa United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy officers {{US-navy-bio-stub