ANDREW B. HAMM, LCDR, USN
Andrew Hamm '39
Lucky Bag
From the 1939 Lucky Bag:
ANDREW BRITTE HAMM
Bowdon, Georgia
A. B.
THIS Georgia cracker, better known as "A. B." to his multitude of friends, hails from the metropolis of Bowdon, Georgia, a place he certainly loves—or perhaps it is the Georgia peaches there. An enthusiastic Navy man, A. B. will rate an admiral's flag yet. That is, if he doesn't lose a wing; for he is determined to become one of Uncle Sam's ace birdmen. The only way you can make him angry is to mention a rope. He has never been unsat, and is always ready for a "bull session," especially if the topic is girls or automobiles. Ordinarily easy-going, yet he is conscientious in executing his duties. Considering his good nature and his capability it seems hardly necessary to wish him luck. We know he'll get there.
Manager Track 4, 3, 2, 1; Battalion Water Polo 3; Boat Club; Radio Club; Cut Exchange; 1 Stripe.
ANDREW BRITTE HAMM
Bowdon, Georgia
A. B.
THIS Georgia cracker, better known as "A. B." to his multitude of friends, hails from the metropolis of Bowdon, Georgia, a place he certainly loves—or perhaps it is the Georgia peaches there. An enthusiastic Navy man, A. B. will rate an admiral's flag yet. That is, if he doesn't lose a wing; for he is determined to become one of Uncle Sam's ace birdmen. The only way you can make him angry is to mention a rope. He has never been unsat, and is always ready for a "bull session," especially if the topic is girls or automobiles. Ordinarily easy-going, yet he is conscientious in executing his duties. Considering his good nature and his capability it seems hardly necessary to wish him luck. We know he'll get there.
Manager Track 4, 3, 2, 1; Battalion Water Polo 3; Boat Club; Radio Club; Cut Exchange; 1 Stripe.
Loss
Andrew was lost when his SB2C-4E Helldiver was shot down by anti-aircraft fire over Kure, Japan, on July 28, 1945. He was commanding officer of Bombing Squadron (VB) 1, operating from USS Bennington (CV 20).
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Andrew attended Bowdon High School and West Georgia College of Carrollton, Georgia. He was appointed to the Naval Academy from the fourth congressional district of Georgia.
In 1920 the family lived in Birmingham, Alabama where his father was a manager at an automobile battery company.
His father was Emerson; mother Ruth; sisters Llewellyn, Rosa Bell, and Marguerite; brother Dr. Emerson Hamm of Savannah. When his sister Llewellyn married in August 1944, Andrew was stationed at Cecil Field, Jacksonville.
His wife was listed as next of kin.
Photographs
From the Lucky Bag
From Hall of Valor:
The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Lieutenant Commander Andrew Britte Hamm (NSN: 0-82340), United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism in operations against the enemy while serving as Pilot of a carrier-based Navy Dive Bomber of Bombing Squadron ONE (VB-1), attached to the U.S.S. BENNINGTON (CV-20), and deployed over Kure, Japan, on 24 July 1945. While flying a dive bomber plane, Lieutenant Commander Hamm pressed home his attack in the face of intense and accurate anti-aircraft fire from enemy warships and shore batteries and scored a direct bomb hit on an enemy aircraft carrier in the heart of the Japanese homeland. At the time, he was the leader of his squadron's phase of the overall Task Force attack on a concentration of Japanese battleships, heavy and light cruisers, aircraft carriers and numerous smaller war craft in the Kure Naval Base harbor. Under his skillful direction and determined leadership, his squadron contributed materially to the outstanding success of the Task Force attack. His heroic conduct was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
Action Date: 24-Jul-45
Service: Navy
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Company: Bombing Squadron 1 (VB-1)
Division: U.S.S. Bennington (CV-20)
This action, against a "cleverly camouflaged Amagi class carrier," was captured in a photograph.
From Hall of Valor:
The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting a Gold Star in lieu of a Second Award of the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Lieutenant Commander Andrew Britte Hamm (NSN: 0-82340), United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism in operations against the enemy while serving as Pilot of a carrier-based Navy Dive Bomber of Bombing Squadron ONE (VB-1), attached to the U.S.S. BENNINGTON (CV-20), and deployed over Kure, Japan, on 28 July 1945. While flying a Navy dive bomber plane in which, in the face of one of the heaviest anti-aircraft barrages ever encountered over the Japanese homeland, Lieutenant Commander Hamm pressed home his attack to a very low altitude above the target, released his bomb and scored a direct hit on an enemy aircraft carrier. At the time he was the leader of his Dive Bombing Squadron in its attack on Japanese battleships, heavy and light cruisers, aircraft carriers and smaller warships in the heavily defended Kure Naval Base harbor of the island of Honshu. His own damaging bomb hit and his leadership of the attack in the face of the intense and accurate anti-aircraft fire of the ship and shore batteries contributed materially to the success of the overall attack by the Task Force. His determination and heroic conduct were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
Action Date: 28-Jul-45
Service: Navy
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Company: Bombing Squadron 1 (VB-1)
Division: U.S.S. Bennington (CV-20)
Distinguished Flying Cross
From Hall of Valor:
The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Lieutenant Commander Andrew Britte Hamm (NSN: 0-82340), United States Navy, for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight on 14 July 1945 as the leader of ten dive bombing planes which carried spotting officers for the first surface bombardment of the Japanese homeland by battleships and cruisers of the United States Navy. The bombardment was directed against major industrial targets on the island of Honshu in the heart of Japan. For two hours he circled over the target area of Kamaishi in the face of intense anti-aircraft fire from ships in the harbor and camouflaged shore batteries thereby placing his spotter in the most advantageous positions from which to direct the salvos of battleships and cruisers. At times he flew so low his plane barely cleared the hilltops. His leadership, determination and skillful airmanship on this occasion were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
Action Date: July 14, 1945
Service: Navy
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Company: Bombing Squadron 1 (VB-1)
Division: U.S.S. Bennington (CV-20)
From Hall of Valor:
The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting a Gold Star in lieu of a Second Award of the Distinguished Flying Cross to Lieutenant Commander Andrew Britte Hamm (NSN: 0-82340), United States Navy, for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight on 18 July 1945 when he nominated himself to fly as the leader of a division of bombers which dived last in an attack on an enemy battleship in the Yokosuka Naval Base in the heart of the Japanese homeland. In taking this action, he placed himself in a position from which to make the most accurate observations of the damage done by planes preceding him in the attack. By the same token his division became the target of the most accurate of the intense heavy and medium anti-aircraft fire of warships and shore batteries. In the face of this withering fire, he pressed home his attack and dropped his bomb alongside the battleship and then maneuvered his plane at a low altitude to obtain excellent photo coverage of the bombing attacks. His leadership, determination and skillful airmanship on this occasion were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
Action Date: July 18, 1945
Service: Navy
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Company: Bombing Squadron 1 (VB-1)
Division: U.S.S. Bennington (CV-20)
The "Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps" was published annually from 1815 through at least the 1970s; it provided rank, command or station, and occasionally billet until the beginning of World War II when command/station was no longer included. Scanned copies were reviewed and data entered from the mid-1840s through 1922, when more-frequent Navy Directories were available.
The Navy Directory was a publication that provided information on the command, billet, and rank of every active and retired naval officer. Single editions have been found online from January 1915 and March 1918, and then from three to six editions per year from 1923 through 1940; the final edition is from April 1941.
The entries in both series of documents are sometimes cryptic and confusing. They are often inconsistent, even within an edition, with the name of commands; this is especially true for aviation squadrons in the 1920s and early 1930s.
Alumni listed at the same command may or may not have had significant interactions; they could have shared a stateroom or workspace, stood many hours of watch together… or, especially at the larger commands, they might not have known each other at all. The information provides the opportunity to draw connections that are otherwise invisible, though, and gives a fuller view of the professional experiences of these alumni in Memorial Hall.
October 1939
June 1940
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
