honoring northwestern's heroes -- adrian marks

Honoring Northwestern University’s Heroes — Adrian Marks “The Angel of the Sea”

Soon a second angel came in sight His name was Adrian Marks

He set the plane down on the sea To save them from the sharks

“A Tribute to the Men of the USS Indianapolis” by Michael Monroney Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 107 (Friday, July 27, 2001) [House p.H4764)

Adrian Marks was 20 years old when he graduated from Northwestern University. He was 28 years old when he ran head on into what he later described as “a sparkling, sun-swept afternoon of horror.”

At 3:50 pm on Thursday, August 2, 1945 Marks and his aircrew of nine in a PBY5A “Catalina” amphibious aircraft struggled to understand what they were seeing below them in the waters of the Philippine Sea. Several hundred American sailors were floating in an oil slick that spread for miles. Some huddled together in and around life rafts. Some floated alone in their life jackets. Some were being eaten by sharks. These 317 souls — adrift at sea for the last four days with sharks and without hope — were all that were left from the 1,196 sailors aboard the USS Indianapolis when she was hit and sunk in less than 12 minutes by two torpedoes from a Japanese submarine at 12:14 am on Monday, July 30th.

They had no food nor waterAnd more their rank grew thin

Until an angel flew aboveA man named Wilbur Gwinn

An oil-slicked sea and blackened formsIs what the pilot saw

What ship has sunk? He asked himselfAs he looked down in awe

He dipped his wings, their spirits soaredHelp must be on the way

And all their prayers seemed answeredOn that sunny August day

Wilbur Gwinn, “The Angel of the Air,” arrived on the scene, completely by accident, during a routine surveillance flight at 11:18 am on Thursday, August 2nd. Gwinn immediately called for assistance from his squadron mates 290 miles to the south on the Island of Peleliu. Marks and his squadron commanding officer, George Atterberry, launched together at 12:42.

Air-sea rescues require that pilots and crews offer all possible assistance from the air before departing for their own safe landings ashore or on ships because they’ve exhausted their supplies and are running low of gas. While Marks and his crew were the first to arrive on scene in an amphibious aircraft, standing orders prohibited Catalina pilots from attempting open sea landings due to the inherent dangers. Catalinas were designed to operate on protected waters — harbors, rivers, coastlines — with the surface chop of the water below 4 feet. The open

(c) 2016 All Rights Reserved Daniel E. Moore, Jr. Page � of �1 4

ocean swells below were approximately 12 feet — at least 3 times greater than what most pilots and crews would consider reasonably safe for amphibious flight operations.

Fortunately for the 56 of sailors adrift by themselves, Marks and crew were anything but typical or reasonable. Marks knew that no ship would be on the scene until after midnight. After discussing the situation with his co-pilot and crew, Marks disregarded the orders prohibiting open sea landings and decided he would attempt his first ever open sea landing. In his words, “this decision was based partly on the number of single survivors and the fact that they were bothered by sharks. We did observe bodies being eaten by sharks.”

At 4:30 pm Marks notified Atteberry, flying overhead in a non-amphibious airplane, that he was going to attempt an open sea landing. Atteberry reminded Marks about the dangers of an open sea landing in a PBY. Marks and his crew made all preparations for landing at 5:05 pm. In his words:

An area for landing was selected with the purpose of picking up the most survivors… A power stall was made into the wind. The wind was due North, swells about 12 feet high. The plane landed in three bounces, the first bounce being about 15 feet high…. Immediately after landing a survey of damage done to the plane exposed rivets pulled loose and some seams ripped open. My plane captain and navigator effected emergency repairs, plugging rivet holes with pencils and stuffing seams with cotton. The radio compartment took on water slowly and would have to be bailed out during the night - 10 to 12 buckets of water per hour. The hull of the ship survived very well. While the Navigator was inspecting the damage, my Co-Pilot went aft to organize the rescue party. We proceeded to locate survivors, the single ones, being aided by Commander Atteberry advising me via voice radio just where to go. It was very difficult to see good because of the high swells and without a doubt we would have missed many if it hadn't been for Commander Atteberry directing our actions. We tried to bring the survivors close to the port side and throw a life raft to them. Considerable difficulty was had because of the speed of the plane taxiing and the survivors were dragged through the water. We had to cut the plane’s motors quite a few times and considerable time was lost in starting and stopping. We got better at picking the people up as time went by. We had the ladder out and I had a man on the ladder to grab any men who drifted by. The survivors could not help themselves very much, as most of them were weakened terribly and could not grab the ladder and climb up by themselves. Further difficulties were caused by the fact that some of the men were burned and every time we grabbed them it caused extreme pain. Some of them had broken arms, legs, etc., and extreme care had to be used in handling them.…. Between the time of our landing and darkness, we picked up over 30 single survivors, most of them were in critical condition and would probably not have survived the night…. After dark, several shouts for help were heard nearby and my radioman and another crew man volunteered to go out in a rubber boat to pick them up. I wished them good luck and


they cast off. It wasn't long until they were back with two additional men. It was very difficult for them to locate the plane after they had shoved off because of the fact that the auxiliary unit had gone out and we had no lights on the plane. We did have some carbide lights that worked to a good advantage.

When Marks’ Catalina’s fuselage/cabin reached capacity with about 30 survivors, they tied another 26 to the top of the plane’s wing.

At 12:15 am on Friday August 3, 1945 the USS Cecil J. Doyle, the first of seven rescue ships, arrived and began full scale seaborne rescue operations — 7 hours and 15 minutes after Marks landed and the start of the survivors fifth day in the sea. Marks and crew worked until 3:30 am transferring all 56 survivors to the Doyle which did heavy damage to the plane due to heavy swells. The next morning Marks inspected the plane and decided it was too damaged to safely take off. He ordered its destruction and the Doyle sank the plane.

Twelve days later, Japan surrendered, ending World War II.

Of the 1,196 souls aboard the USS Indianapolis when she was hit by the Japanese torpedoes, almost 300 went down with the ship. Of the 880 or so remaining, a total of 317 survived over the next five days at sea. Marks and crew are credited for saving the lives of 56 who were most exposed and vulnerable.

For their extraordinary heroism, Lieutenant Adrian Marks, USNR, was awarded an Air Medal. His crew received letters of recognition. Marks reportedly refused to wear his Air Medal because he believed his crew should have received higher levels of awards for their proven valor.

Conversations with my fellow naval aviators — to include a former numbered Pacific fleet commander — all agree. Marks and crew earned greater recognition. Marks’ airmanship and seamanship are worthy of a Distinguished Flying Cross. His entire crew deserve Air Medals. In addition, Navy-Marine Corps Medals should be awarded to his radioman and crewman who volunteered to leave the safety of their PBY at night in order to rescue two additional sailors.

Robert Adrian Marks (he did not use his first name) was born on February 18, 1917 at Ladoga, Indiana. He received his undergraduate degree in speech from Northwestern University in 1937. While there he joined Acacia fraternity, joined the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) Unit, and participated in Sextant, the naval honorary organization. Commissioned in the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1937, Marks earned his law degree from Indiana University Law School in 1940. He was at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked on December 7, 1941. After World War II, Marks returned to his hometown of Frankfort, Indiana, where he practiced law until his death in Frankfort on March 7, 1998 at age 81.

HONORING NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY’S HEROES

Northwestern University’s Evanston Campus has three locations honoring the memory and sacrifices of its heroes who lost their lives while in uniform during times of war and peace: 1)


Alice Millar Chapel has the most comprehensive list of 425 names dating from the Civil War to the present; 2) Across from the Henry Crown Sports Pavilion and Norris Aquatic Center is a plaque honoring those 75 people who gave their lives during the Civil War (7) and World War I (68). On the grounds between the Main Library and the Norris University student center is a list of names from Northwestern's Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) unit who died during World War II.

The following sites on campus honor individuals: the David Thomas Hanson plaque near Harris Hall; the Richard Voigts memorial flagpole next to the football stadium. Liturgical banners and a brass plaque on the east wall of Alice Millar Chapel memorialize LT William Arthur Heep, USN Northwestern Class of 1964 who was killed in 1968 during the Vietnam War while piloting and F-4B Phantom from the USS Constellation/Carrier Air Wing FOURTEEN.

Northwestern’s NROTC unit also has a history book detailing the actions by some of its greatest heroes, like Adrian Marks.

Daniel E. Moore, Jr., was also a member of Northwestern NROTC graduating in 1977 with an undergraduate degree in history — 40 years and a world apart from Adrian Marks. Marks went on to become an American hero, Moore a U.S. Navy Captain, retired. From 2003-2006 Moore was Northwestern University’s Professor of Naval Science and the Commanding Officer of its NROTC Unit. He was privileged to serve as a naval aviator for 29 years.


honoring northwestern's heroes -- adrian marks

Leadership & Management