John W. Wilcox Jr. | |
|---|---|
 John W. Wilcox Jr., photographed as acaptain | |
| Born | (1882-03-22)22 March 1882 Midway, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | 27 March 1942(1942-03-27) (aged 60) |
| Buried | Lost at sea |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1905–1942 |
| Rank | Rear admiral |
| Commands |
|
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | |
John Walter Wilcox Jr. (22 March 1882 – 27 March 1942) was arear admiral of theUnited States Navy. He saw service inWorld War I and in the opening weeks of United States involvement in World War II before being lost overboard from hisflagship in theNorth Atlantic Ocean in 1942.
Wilcox was born inMidway,Georgia, on 22 March 1882. Appointed from Georgia, he was admitted to theUnited States Naval Academy inAnnapolis,Maryland, on 21 May 1901,[1] and began his schooling there on 21 June 1901.[2] The 1905 edition of the schoolyearbook, theLucky Bag, described him as cheerful and polite, successful in all his endeavors except the academic study ofmathematics, and an expertice skater, and it listed his activities as includingbaseball,American football,gymnastics,riflery[3] — he was a skilledriflemarksman[4] — and various social positions.[3] He graduated as a member of the class of 1905.[3] Among his classmates were several future World War II admirals including:Harold G. Bowen Sr.,Arthur B. Cook,Wilhelm L. Friedell,William R. Furlong,Stanford C. Hooper,Royal E. Ingersoll,Byron McCandless,Herbert F. Leary,John H. Newton,Chester W. Nimitz,Harry E. Shoemaker,John M. Smeallie, andWalter B. Woodson.[5]
On 23 February 1905, Wilcox reported aboard the newarmored cruiserUSS West Virginia for his first tour of duty.[2] During his tour aboard her,West Virginia conducted training operations initially as part of theUnited States Asiatic Fleet, which in early 1907 was downgraded in status to that of FirstSquadron of thePacific Fleet. After performing the then-mandatory two years of sea duty as a midshipman, he was promoted toensign on 31 January 1907.[6] By the beginning of 1909 he had transferred to thepatrolyachtScorpion,[3][6] which was operating in theMediterranean. He was promoted tolieutenant (junior grade) on 31 January 1910[7] and by the beginning of 1911 was serving aboard thebattleshipUSS Georgia,[7] which conducted peacetime training during his tour. He received a promotion tolieutenant on 9 January 1911 while aboardGeorgia.[8]
Wilcox completed his tour aboardGeorgia in May 1911,[8] and on 5 September 1911 he reported for duty on the staff of the U.S. Naval Academy.[9] He then returned to sea, transferring on 2 June 1913 to thegunboatUSS Dolphin,[10] which as theflagship of the Third Squadron arrived in the spring of 1914 inTampico,Mexico, to protect American lives and property, resulting in theTampico Affair and theUnited States occupation of Veracruz. In 1915, he transferred to the battleshipUSS Virginia,[11] which operated along theEast Coast of the United States until going into reserve for an overhaul early in 1916. Wilcox completed his tour aboard her in May 1916.[12] He began duty at theNew York Navy Yard inBrooklyn,New York, on 13 June 1916.[12]
While Wilcox was at the New York Navy Yard, the United States enteredWorld War I on 6 April 1917. He was promoted tolieutenant commander on 23 May 1917.[13] Late in 1917, he left the navy yard to become the firstcommanding officer of the armedyachtUSS Yacona (SP-617) when she wascommissioned on 10 December 1917 forWorld War Iconvoy escort andantisubmarine duty in theAtlantic Ocean.[14][15]
By March 1918, Wilcox wasflag secretary on the staff of commander, Battleship Force 2,United States Atlantic Fleet, and he received theNavy Cross for distinguished service during that duty.[3][16] On 1 July 1918, he received a promotion to a temporary wartime rank ofcommander.[17] The war ended on 11 November 1918, and by the beginning of 1919, Wilcox was theexecutive officer of thetroop transportUSS Von Steuben (ID-3017), engaged in bringing American servicemen home fromEurope in the immediate aftermath of the war.[3][17][18]
By the beginning of 1920 Wilcox was serving on the staff ofDestroyer Squadron Four in the Pacific Fleet.[15] By the beginning of 1921 he had become commanding officer of the Pacific Fleet destroyerUSS Boggs (DD-136).[19] Toward the end of his tour aboardBoggs he was promoted to the permanent rank of commander on 3 June 1921,[20] and he detached fromBoggs on 21 June 1921.[20] He assumed duties at thePhiladelphia Navy Yard inPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania, on 11 July 1921.[20]
Wilcox reported to theNaval War College inNewport,Rhode Island, on 23 June 1923 as a student.[21] After completing his classes, he took command of the destroyerUSS Hopkins (DD-249) on 4 June 1924.[22] She operated offNew England, offCharleston,South Carolina, and in theCaribbean under his command. By the beginning of 1926, he was serving on the staff of the commander, Destroyer Squadrons,Scouting Fleet.[23] Completing this duty in July 1926, he returned to the Naval War College on 12 July 1926 for a tour on its staff.[24] While at the college, he was promoted tocaptain on 11 December 1928.[25] Wilcox took command of thesubmarine tenderUSS Camden (AS-6) on 15 June 1929.[25]
Camden wasdecommissioned on 26 May 1931. Wilcox detached from her on 31 May 1931[26] and on 1 July 1931 reported for duty on the staff of the U.S. Naval Academy,[27] where he served as the school's athletic director until 1934.[28] He returned to sea for his next tour, becoming chief of staff to the commander,Cruisers,Scouting Force, on 14 July 1934.[29] Completing that duty in June 1936,[30] he returned to the Naval War College to serve as head of the college's operations department,[31] and on 7 May 1937 he became chief of staff and aide to collegepresident[32]Rear AdmiralCharles P. Snyder. During his war college tour, he was promoted to rear admiral on 23 June 1938,[32] and became qualified as atranslator orinterpreter ofFrench.[32]
On 23 August 1938, Wilcox took command of theSpecial Service Squadron in thePanama Canal Zone[33] — flying his flag first aboard thegunboatUSS Erie (PG-50) and from 14 January 1939 aboard the gunboatUSS Charleston (PG-51)[34] — until relieved by Rear AdmiralH. Kent Hewitt on 3 August 1940.[35][36][37][note 1] Wilcox was President of theBoard of Inspection and Survey from 18 September 1940[37] to December 1941.[38]
Wilcox was the newly appointed commander, Battleships,United States Atlantic Fleet, when theUnited States enteredWorld War II on 7 December 1941.[39] He came aboard hisflagship, thebattleshipUSS Washington (BB-56), inVirginia'sYork River, to take up his duties on 13 December 1941, simultaneously also taking command of Battleship Division 6.[40]Washington conducted training along theUnited States East Coast and in theGulf of Mexico until March 1942.[41]
On 25 March 1942, Wilcox became commander ofTask Force 39, consisting ofWashington, theaircraft carrierUSS Wasp (CV-7), theheavy cruisersUSS Tuscaloosa (CA-37) andUSS Wichita (CA-45), and eightdestroyers. Thetask force had orders to join the BritishHome Fleet atScapa Flow in theOrkney Islands and thereafter assist the Home Fleet in coveringArctic convoys bound for theSoviet Union. With Wilcox aboardWashington, thetask force departedCasco Bay,Maine, on 26 March 1942, bound for Scapa Flow.[42]
On the morning of 27 March 1942, the second day of the voyage, Wilcox appeared unaccompanied and without a coat onWashington's deck while Task Force 39 was pushing through heavy seas offSable Island in stormy North Atlantic winter weather. He held a few brief conversations with some of the men on deck before they lost track of his whereabouts. At 10:31, a member ofWashington's crew reported a man overboard at42°24′N61°34′W / 42.400°N 61.567°W /42.400; -61.567 (RADM John Wilcox lost) and soon thereafterTuscaloosa sighted a man struggling in the water and took evasive action to avoid running him down. The task force began asearch and rescue operation. Mustering ofWashington's crew found no one missing from the ship's company or Wilcox's staff, and it gradually became apparent that Wilcox himself had gone overboard.[43][44][45]
Wasp launched fourSB2U-2 Vindicatordive bombers to assist in the search, one of which crashed astern ofWasp while attempting to land, killing its two-man crew. About 80 minutes after Wilcox went overboard, the destroyerUSS Livermore (DD-429) sighted his body floating face down in the rough seas, but the bad weather prevented its recovery, and it was never seen again. Task Force 39 soon suspended its search and resumed its voyage to Scapa Flow.[45][46]
Immediately after Wilcox's death, Rear AdmiralRobert C. Giffen aboardWichita took command of Task Force 39. He ordered a board of investigation into the loss of Wilcox to convene aboardWashington on the afternoon of 27 March 1942. It examined 43 witnesses over the next seven days. No one had seen how Wilcox had gone overboard. The heavy seas that morning could simply have swept him overboard, but the board explored other possibilities. Witnesses disagreed on Wilcox's mental state; there were claims that he seemed sad or nervous on the morning of 27 March and that he had exhibited unstable behavior in recent days, but these were balanced by other witnesses who said he seemed of sound mind and that, although he was known to exhibit eccentricities not common among officers of his grade, his behavior otherwise was not unusual on the morning of his death. One witness believed that Wilcox seemed pale and white during his last few minutes on deck and perhaps was ill, leading to speculation that he may have suffered aheart attack while on deck and fallen overboard.[45][47][48][49]
Many rumors circulated in the aftermath of Wilcox's death, including that he had been suicidal and had jumped overboard or that someone pushed him overboard, but none of these ideas could be substantiated. When the board concluded its proceedings on 2 April 1942, it found that no one aboardWashington had been negligent in Wilcox's death and that Wilcox had not died owing to any misconduct of his own.[45][47][4] Decades later, a new hypothesis surfaced based on the reports of Wilcox seeming pale and white while on deck on the morning of 27 March, speculating that he may have beenseasick and had rushed to the ship's side to vomit, but had mistakenly selected an area where lifelines were not rigged, falling overboard as a result.[45] Wilcox was the first U.S. Navy admiral — and one of only two[note 2] — ever lost at sea.[3]
Although Wilcox's body was not recovered from the Atlantic for burial, a memorial marker for him is located atMemory Hill Cemetery inMilledgeville, Georgia.
Navy Cross
World War I Victory Medal
American Defense Service Medal
American Campaign Medal
European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
World War II Victory MedalSource[50]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)