Alfred Naifeh (January 5, 1915 – October 16, 1942) was a law clerk,United States Navy hero duringWorld War II, and the namesake of theUSS Naifeh (DE-352).[1][2][3]
Alfred Naifeh was born on January 5, 1915, in Covington, Tennessee, to a Lebanese immigrant family from JdeidetMarjeyoun,Lebanon.[1][3] He was raised inNorman, Oklahoma.
He graduated from theUniversity of Oklahoma in 1937 with a BA and aLL.B. in 1940.[1] Naifeh was awarded a Cook Fellowship at theUniversity of Michigan Law School and received aLLM degree in 1941.[4] He was a member ofPhi Beta Kappa andOrder of the Coif, a legal honor society.
Following graduation, was admitted to the of theOklahoma Bar Association and became a member of theAmerican Bar Association. He served as a law clerk inOklahoma City forAlfred P. Murrah, judge of theU.S. Circuit Court of Appeals of the 10th Judicial District.[5][4]
Naifeh was a member of theUnited States NavyReserves Officer Training Corps and was called to active duty for World War II.[1] On July 5, 1941, he received a commission as an ensign in theNavy Supply Corps.[1][3] On February 27, 1942, Naifeh was assigned to theUSSMeredith (DD-434) as destroyer division disbursing officer.[1] On October 1, 1942, he was promoted to lieutenant (junior grade).[1][3]
During theBattle of the Solomons Islands, theUSSMeredith, was struck by a Japanese air raid and rapidly sank on October 16, 1942, near Guadalcanal.[1][5][6] Naifeh worked for two days and nights to locate and tend to his wounded shipmates, taking survivors to life rafts.[1][6] On the third day, he fought off sharks that were attacking his shipmates. As a result of his continuing efforts to save his shipmates, he was overcome by exhaustion and died on October 16, 1942.[1][3] Of the 400 crewmen of the USSMeredith, only seventy survived.[6]
Naifeh was posthumously awarded theNavy and Marine Corps Medal and thePurple Heart.[1][5][6] At the ceremony for the former, the citation read:
The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Navy and Marine Corps Medal (Posthumously) to Lieutenant, Junior Grade Alfred Naifeh (NSN: 0-111192), United States Navy, for heroic conduct on 15 October 1942. After the sinking of the U.S.S. MEREDITH (DD-434), Lieutenant, Junior Grade Naifeh persisted in swimming back and forth among the life rafts on which the survivors were clinging, rendering invaluable aid to the men who were wounded or exhausted. He finally was overcome by exhaustion, which resulted in his death.[7]
In 1944, The United States Navy named aJohn C. Butler-class destroyer escort ship theUSSNaifeh (DE-352) after him.[1][2] His mother, Rathia Naifeh, christened the ship atOrange, Texas on February 29, 1944.[3][6] The ship was commissioned on July 4, 1944.[1] On June 27, 1946, the ship was decommissioned and became part of thePacific Reserve Fleet in San Diego.[3] In January 1951, theUSSNaifeh was reinstated to assist in theKorean War and was used in the Pacific until her final decommissioning on June 17, 1960.[3]
