DUDLEY H. ADAMS, CDR, USN

Dudley Adams '39

Date of birth: March 7, 1917

Date of death: May 13, 1953

Age: 36

Lucky Bag

From the 1939 Lucky Bag:

DUDLEY HALE ADAMS

Burlington, Vermont

Dud

Another Army brat who saw the light, his pet grievance has been that he continually held the section leader sack. He spent more than his share of plebe year in the hospital. After the skinny and math departments caused him to spend a very unathletic Youngster year, he came to the fore to show his natural ability as a runner and to win his cross-country N-Star in the fall of his second class year. He's done his share of dragging. Dudley's love of gadgets and complicated radio hookups brought forth many peculiar contraptions, of which a surprising number really worked. Dud is always extremely cheerful, and he possesses an unlimited good humor which makes him well liked by all.

Cross Country 4, 2, 1, cNc*; Track 2, 1; Log 2, 1, Associate News Editor; French Club 2, 1; Quarterdeck 1; Boat Club 4, 3; Radio Club 3; Glee Club 4; C.P.O.

DUDLEY HALE ADAMS

Burlington, Vermont

Dud

Another Army brat who saw the light, his pet grievance has been that he continually held the section leader sack. He spent more than his share of plebe year in the hospital. After the skinny and math departments caused him to spend a very unathletic Youngster year, he came to the fore to show his natural ability as a runner and to win his cross-country N-Star in the fall of his second class year. He's done his share of dragging. Dudley's love of gadgets and complicated radio hookups brought forth many peculiar contraptions, of which a surprising number really worked. Dud is always extremely cheerful, and he possesses an unlimited good humor which makes him well liked by all.

Cross Country 4, 2, 1, cNc*; Track 2, 1; Log 2, 1, Associate News Editor; French Club 2, 1; Quarterdeck 1; Boat Club 4, 3; Radio Club 3; Glee Club 4; C.P.O.

Obituary

From Naval History Command:

Dudley Hale Adams was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 7, 1917, son of Donald B. and Louise R. (Ufford) Adams. He attended Burlington (Vermont) High School And Columbia University, New York, New York, for one year prior to his appointment to the US Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, from the State of New York in 1935. As of midshipmen he was a member of the French Club, the Quarterdeck Society, and the news staff of the Log and participated in cross country track. Graduated and commissioned Ensign on June 1, 1939, he subsequently advanced in rank, attaining that of Commander, to date from July 1, 1949.
Following graduation from the Naval Academy in 1939, he joined the USS Tennessee. Detached from that battleship in February 1941, he had flight training at the Naval Air Stations, Pensacola and Miami, Florida. Designated Naval Aviator on September 5, 1941, he had further instruction with the Advanced Carrier Training Group, Norfolk, Virginia, until January 1942, when he reported aboard the USS Wasp. He was attached to that aircraft carrier during the initial assault on Guadalcanal, August 7, 1942. “For meritorious achievement… against enemy Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands on August 7, 1942…” he was awarded the Air Medal. The citation continues in part:
“While attempting to drive off several Japanese Zeros which were harassing the plane ahead of him in formation, Lieutenant Adams was attacked by an enemy fighter from behind. Although severely wounded in the engagement, he succeeded in bringing his severely damaged plane to be safe landing on the sea alongside one of our destroyers…“
He was also awarded the Purple Heart Medal for wounds received in this action.
Transferred to a shore hospital for treatment, he rejoined the Wasp early in September 1942, and was aboard her when she was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine on September 15, of that year. She was sunk by destroyer of our Navy to prevent her from falling into the hands of the enemy.
Between October 1942 in January 1944 he was an instructor in fighters and bombers at the Naval Air Station, Vero Beach, Florida, after which he served as Executive Officer of Fighting Squadron SEVENTY NINE, operating in the Atlantic. In April 1944 he transferred to Fighting Squadron ONE HUNDRED AND FOUR, to command that squadron until September 1944. He next had duty as executive officer and commanding officer of the Naval Air Combat Training Unit, Pacific. Designated for Aeronautical Engineering Duty Only (Electronics) in 1946, he was assigned in March of that year, to the Bureau of Aeronautics, Navy Department, Washington, D. C., where he remained until August 1950. He was then transferred to the Naval Air Technical Training Center, Memphis, Tennessee. He was so serving when he was killed as a result of an airplane crash on May 15th, 1953, in Memphis.

He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Photographs

From the Lucky Bag

Wartime Service

Dudley was shot down by Japan's fourth most successful ace of the war, who had 64 confirmed kills. Dudley ditched his aircraft near USS Dewey; his crewman did not survive. They were flying a SBD-3 Dauntless dive bomber of Scouting Squadron (VS) 71.

Navy Directories & Officer Registers

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.