JOHN F. FAIRBANKS, JR., LT, USN

John Fairbanks, Jr. '32

Date of birth: July 4, 1908

Date of death: March 1, 1942

Age: 33

Lucky Bag

From the 1932 Lucky Bag:

JOHN FRANCIS FAIRBANKS, JR.

Quincy, Massachusetts

"Jack" "Muscles"

The massiveness of the "Lexington," then under construction near his home, was perhaps a decided factor in John's entering the Naval Academy. Soon he had taken his oath of "I do" in the Commandant's office and, his life's ambition attained, he at once took his job seriously with excellent results.

Although his home for the past few years has been in the "City of Drags," John's speech betrays the fact that his earlier years were spent in the heart of New England. But there is another element in his make-up—perhaps of Virginia, his mother's home—for there is in him the dreamer, surely not born of rugged Massachusetts.

John is quiet and reserved. At times, however, he bubbles over with enthusiasm for some event or other to which he might turn his attention. Inherent American aggressiveness and tact, coupled with Scottish canniness and a keen sense of responsibility have produced in John those desirable qualities necessary for a successful Naval career.

Class Football; Wrestling; 2 Stripes.

JOHN FRANCIS FAIRBANKS, JR.

Quincy, Massachusetts

"Jack" "Muscles"

The massiveness of the "Lexington," then under construction near his home, was perhaps a decided factor in John's entering the Naval Academy. Soon he had taken his oath of "I do" in the Commandant's office and, his life's ambition attained, he at once took his job seriously with excellent results.

Although his home for the past few years has been in the "City of Drags," John's speech betrays the fact that his earlier years were spent in the heart of New England. But there is another element in his make-up—perhaps of Virginia, his mother's home—for there is in him the dreamer, surely not born of rugged Massachusetts.

John is quiet and reserved. At times, however, he bubbles over with enthusiasm for some event or other to which he might turn his attention. Inherent American aggressiveness and tact, coupled with Scottish canniness and a keen sense of responsibility have produced in John those desirable qualities necessary for a successful Naval career.

Class Football; Wrestling; 2 Stripes.

Loss

John was lost when USS Edsall (DD 219) was sunk on on March 1, 1942 by Japanese surface and air forces. He was the ship's executive officer.

Other Information

From Find A Grave:

John Jr, or Jack as he was known to many friends, was the son of John Francis Sr and Minnie Catherine Kyger Fairbanks who married in Philadelphia, PA on 12 Oct 1907. John Jr's siblings were Dora Reid, Robert Hamlin and Ethel Virginia Fairbanks. The family moved often due to John Sr's professions in magazine and automobile sales businesses. Tragedy struck the family while they were in Parkersburg, West Virginia. On a hot summer's day, 03 Sep 1922, ten yr old Robert Hamlin Fairbanks, John Jr's younger brother, was wading in the Worthington Creek when he disappeared. His body was found more than a week later 400 feet below the point where he went down.
The family then moved to Quincy, MA in 1923. Their home was near the John Quincy Adams historical site and close to the Fore River shipyard where the USS Lexington (CV-2) was under construction. On Easter Sunday, 04 April 1926, John Jr and his sister Dora participated in an Easter pageant called "Triumph of Love" at the Bethany Congregational Church in Quincy, MA. Several months later, John graduated from Quincy high school at commencement exercises on Wednesday afternoon, 23 June 1926. He was one of 151 seniors to receive their diplomas. Jack was active in extra-curricular activities while in high school. Track, Debating Society, Hi-Y Club and the Easter Pageant of 1925 were just a few of those school activities.
Six months after he received his diploma another tragedy befell the Fairbanks family. John's mother, Mrs Minnie Fairbanks, took ill and died suddenly in Quincy on 29 Jan 1927. She was only 43 years old. Funeral services were conducted at the Bethany Congregational Church after which her remains were buried in Mt. Wollaston cemetery in Quincy on 31 Jan 1927.
His family was still resident in Quincy, MA when John Jr entered the Naval Academy at Annapolis on 28 Jun 1928 with an At-Large appointment. During his tenure at the Academy, Jack was active in football and wrestling.
His class mates said this about him in the Lucky Bag yearbook of 1932; "The massiveness of the "Lexington," then under construction near his home, was perhaps a decided factor in John's entering the Naval Academy. Soon he had taken his oath of "I do" in the Commandant's office and, his life's ambition attained, he at once took his job seriously with excellent results.
Although his home for the past few years has been in the "City of Drags," John's speech betrays the fact that his earlier years were spent in the heart of New England. But there is another element in his make-up—perhaps of Virginia, his mother's home—for there is in him the dreamer, surely not born of rugged Massachusetts.
John is quiet and reserved. At times, however, he bubbles over with enthusiasm for some event or other to which he might turn his attention. Inherent American aggressiveness and tact, coupled with Scottish canniness and a keen sense of responsibility have produced in John those desirable qualities necessary for a successful Naval career."
Jack graduated from the Naval Academy with a commission as an Ensign of the Line on 02 June 1932 standing 327th in a graduating class of 421. After a brief leave to visit family, Ensign Fairbanks reported on board the aircraft carrier USS Lexington (CV-2) on 30 June 1932 for his first tour of active duty. After he detached from the Lexington in Aug 1933, Ens. Fairbanks transferred to the destroyer, USS Cole (DD-155) for several years. While on board Cole, Ens Fairbanks was promoted to Lieutenant (Junior Grade) on 02 Jun 1935. That tour was followed by a tour of duty on board the heavy cruiser, USS Minneapolis (CA-36).
He then transferred to the fleet replenishment oiler, USS Kanawha (AO-1), for a short tour before reporting for duty under instruction at the Naval Academy graduate school on 29 July 1939. While at the Academy Ltjg Fairbanks was promoted to Lieutenant (Lt) on 26 Jun 1940. In Feb 1941, Lt Fairbanks detached from the Naval Academy and proceeded across the United States then across the Pacific to duty in July 1941 with the USS Edsall (DD-219) in the Asiatic Fleet in Manila, Philippines. Lt Fairbanks relieved Lt Joshua Nix as Executive Officer of Edsall on 13 Oct 1941 when Lt Nix became the commanding officer. While underway, Lt Fairbanks was the ship's navigator.
The threat of hostilities between the United States and Japan grew closer to the boiling point as the year 1941 moved into the fall. The new Asiatic Fleet CINC, Admiral Thomas C. Hart, determined it was time to send all of the families of his sailors home. There was push-back from the resentful spouses who initially declined to leave their husbands. It was only a threat to indefinitely restrict their spouses to their ships without leave that finally convinced the families; it was time to comply with orders and return to the continental United States (CONUS). Admiral Hart's directive probably saved many family members from internment by the Japanese or worse.
Ordered to comply with Adm. Hart's "defensive deployment" well south of Manila, units of the Asiatic Fleet including destroyer tender USS Blackhawk (AD-9), USS Edsall (DD-219) and other ships of Destroyer Division (DesDiv) 57, got underway on 25 Nov 1941, and arrived on the morning of 29 Nov 1941 in Balikpapan, a major oil port on the eastern coast of Borneo.
Upon commencement of hostilities between Japan and the United States on 08 Dec 1941 in the Far East Time Zone, Edsall was at sea with other units of DESDIV 57 enroute to Batavia (Djakarta) when they received the war notice. They were rerouted to Singapore to provide anti-submarine (ASW) protection for the new British battleship, HMS Prince of Wales and the older battle cruiser HMS Repulse, known collectively as Force Z. Both ships were sunk by Japanese bombers on 10 Dec 1941 before DesDiv 57 units could rendezvous with Force Z. The US destroyers conducted search and rescue operations for the crew of the two British War ships, but none were found. It was learned later that several British ships have already retrieved the survivors of the sinking. DesDiv 57 remained in Singapore until 14 Dec when they were ordered to Surabaja, Java.
Over the next month, Edsall helped provide convoy escort and ASW protection to various allied shipping. As Edsall and her sister ship, USS Alden (DD-211), were escorting the oiler Trinity to Darwin, Australia on Tuesday, 20 Jan 1942 Alden detected an enemy submarine. The destroyers promptly began an aggressive, yet unsuccessful initial search. The ships broke off the search and proceeded to Darwin arriving later that morning. Later that afternoon the two destroyers were ordered back to sea to attack enemy submarines off Port Darwin. Edsall and Alden joined three Australian navy corvettes who had located a submarine.
The HMAS Deloraine began attacking the contact and was joined by Edsall. It was soon evident from an emerging oil slick that the two ships had sunk the IJN submarine I-124 in late afternoon on the 20th. Several days later navy divers from USS Holland (AS-3) confirmed the sinking of I-124. Edsall had participated in the first detection, attack, and destruction of a full-sized IJN submarine sunk (at least in part) by U.S. surface forces in WWII. Several days later on 23 Jan, Edsall sustained damage during another attack on a suspected submarine. One of her depth charges exploded prematurely in shallow water damaging one of two propeller shafts. This damage would play an important role in her eventual sinking about five weeks later.
On 3 February, Edsall and other American units of the American-British-Dutch-Australian Force (ABDA) moved up to Tjilatjap, Java in order to be closer to the combat theater and refueling facilities. She continued her service as a patrol vessel off southern Java. On 26 February, she steamed from Tjilatjap with her sister ship USS Whipple (DD-217) to rendezvous with the converted seaplane tender USS Langley (AV-3) carrying P-40E fighters and crews for the defense of Java. On 27 February, the Langley, along with Edsall and Whipple, came under attack by sixteen (16) Mitsubishi G4M "Betty" bombers of the Japanese 21st and 23rd Naval Air Flotillas and escorted by fifteen (15) A6M Reisen fighters. The attack fatally damaged Langley. She had to be abandoned and later scuttled by Whipple. Edsall rescued 177 survivors; Whipple, 308.
On 28 February, the two destroyers rendezvoused with the fuel replenishment ship USS Pecos (AO-6) off Flying Fish Cove, Christmas Island some 250 miles southwest of Tjilatjap. A sudden attack by land based Japanese bombers forced Edsall and the other ships to head for the open sea. They headed directly south into the Indian Ocean for the rest of 28 February in high winds and heavy seas. Early in the pre-dawn hours of 1 March, Whipple and Edsall transferred all the Langley survivors to Pecos less 31 Army Air Force pilots. There were now close to 700 personnel on board the ship. Whipple then set off for Cocos Islands as protection for the tanker Belita sent to meet her there. The Pecos, carrying a large number of survivors was ordered to Australia. Edsall had retained 31 USAAF pilots from Langley needed to assemble and fly an additional 27 P-40E fighters shipped to Tjilatjap aboard the transport Sea Witch. Edsall was instructed to return these "fighter crews" to Tjilatjap. At 0830, she reversed course and headed back to the northeast for Java.
At noon that day, planes from Japanese aircraft carrier Soryu attacked Pecos and struck again an hour later. Finally, in mid-afternoon, third and fourth strikes from aircraft carriers Hiryu and Akagi fatally wounded the Pecos. While under attack, Pecos radioed for help. After Pecos sank, Whipple returned to the scene intentionally arriving after dark. She eventually rescued 232 survivors. Many other survivors, although visible to crewmembers on board Whipple, had to be abandoned at sea because Whipple made sonar contact with what was believed to be several Japanese submarines. It was just too dangerous for her to remain in the area.
Edsall may have heard Pecos's call for help or she may have been complying with orders to reverse course and steam toward Australia. For whatever the reason, Edsall reversed course and was never heard from again. The US Navy Department simply said Edsall was lost due to enemy action.
Lt Fairbanks was listed as missing in action on 01 Mar 1942. The US Navy Department declared all Edsall crewmembers "presumed dead" on 25 Nov 1945. This finding of presumptive death date was fixed in order to take care of settlements and claims. At that point, no one suspected that survivors from Edsall were among many victims of war crimes on Celebes.
After WWII ended, an Allied War Crimes Tribunal was convened in Java. During the course of the Tribunal's investigations, an eyewitness to Japanese executions was discovered and interviewed. He testified that he witnessed the execution by the Japanese of a number of POWs in 1942. He led investigators to the Japanese Execution Grounds mass grave, Kendari II, Celebes, N.E.I. Five sets of remains* in a group of about 10 were later identified from ID tags as USS Edsall crewmen. The other five were unknown but were possibly US Army Air force personnel on board Edsall from the Langley. A sixth set of remains were found in another burying ground on Celebes. They were identified by an ID tag as those of Fireman Second Class (F2) Loren Stanford Myers, a crewman from the Edsall.
All of these remains were disinterred and reburied in the US Military Cemetery, Barrackpore, India on 12 Nov 1946. After three years, their remains were disinterred again and reburied in a mass grave at the National cemetery at Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, MO on 20 Dec 1949. The remains of F2 Myers were reinterred according to immediate family wishes in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, HI on 31 Mar 1950. With the discovery of these remains, their presumed date of death was amended to 02 Mar 1942.
Because no known survivors lived to tell the story, the details surrounding the sinking of Edsall remained largely a mystery for more than a half century. Finally, after historians compiled bits and pieces of information from various allied sources over the years, Japanese records and eyewitnesses on the Chikuma recently became available. The new information points to a short but epic battle involving the aging Edsall and one of the world's strongest naval forces of its day.
After Edsall reversed her course on 01 Mar 1942 and steamed away from Java, she stumbled upon Admiral Nagumo's battle force, Kido Butai that had been prowling the Indian Ocean in search of enemy shipping. Unfortunately, Edsall was spotted first. She was misidentified as a light cruiser of the Marblehead class. IJN battleships Hiei and Kirishima and heavy cruisers Tone and Chikuma were detached from the battle force to attack Edsall with surface gunfire.
The old four-stacker began evasive maneuvers frustrating the Japanese for the next hour and half. However, because of the damage done previously to one of her propeller shafts, Edsall was unable to make top speed or maneuver fully. At one point, Edsall turned and launched her torpedoes narrowly missing Chikuma. The Japanese fired some 1400 rounds resulting in only one or two direct hits. The frustrated Admiral Nagumo called upon his carriers to finish off the Edsall. She was attacked by dive-bombers from two Japanese carriers (Kaga, Soryu,) and possibly a third (Hiryu) before succumbing to this devastating attack. The Edsall went down at 1900 hours, 01 Mar 1942, 430 miles south of Java.
Japanese eyewitnesses confirm that at least eight Edsall crewman from a large number of survivors were fished out of the water and brought on board the Chikuma. The rest of the survivors were left to their fate in the water. Chikuma and the rest of the battle force arrived at Staring Bay anchorage, Celebes on 11 Mar 1942. Three dozen POWs, 8 or more from the Edsall and the remainder from a Dutch ship, were turned over to the Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces based at Kendari where they were executed on 24 Mar 1942 near Kendari II airfield. CDR Gerry Lawton, USN (ret.)

His sister was listed as next of kin.

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.

October 1932

Ensign, USS Lexington

Others at this command:

LT Harry Brandenburger '21
LT Edwin Crouch '21
LTjg Eugene Lindsey '27

ENS Walter Bailey '31
ENS Eugene Lytle, Jr. '31
ENS Daniel Gothie '32

ENS Albert Major, Jr. '32
ENS William Thorn '32

Others at or embarked at this command:

LCDR Henry Mullinnix '16 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LT William Sample '19 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LT John Jones '21 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LT William Ault '22 (Torpedo and Bombing Squadron (VT) 1S)

LTjg Henry Twohy '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5S)
ENS John Yoho '29 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3S)
ENS Edwin Kelly '30 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 1B)
ENS Lance Massey '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3S)

January 1933

Ensign, USS Lexington

Others at this command:

LT Harry Brandenburger '21
LT Edwin Crouch '21
LTjg Eugene Lindsey '27

ENS Walter Bailey '31
ENS Eugene Lytle, Jr. '31
ENS Daniel Gothie '32

ENS Albert Major, Jr. '32
ENS William Thorn '32

Others at or embarked at this command:

LCDR Henry Mullinnix '16 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LT William Sample '19 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LT John Jones '21 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LT William Ault '22 (Torpedo and Bombing Squadron (VT) 1S)
LTjg Henry Twohy '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5S)

ENS John Yoho '29 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3S)
ENS Edwin Kelly '30 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 1B)
ENS Victor Gaulin '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3S)
ENS Lance Massey '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3S)

April 1933

Ensign, USS Lexington

Others at this command:

CDR Henry Cecil '10
LT Harry Brandenburger '21
LT Edwin Crouch '21

LTjg Eugene Lindsey '27
ENS Walter Bailey '31
ENS Daniel Gothie '32

ENS Albert Major, Jr. '32
ENS William Thorn '32

Others at or embarked at this command:

LT William Ault '22 (Torpedo and Bombing Squadron (VT) 1S)
LTjg Arthur Farrell '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg Henry Twohy '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
ENS John Yoho '29 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)

ENS Edwin Kelly '30 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 1B)
ENS Victor Gaulin '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS Lance Massey '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)

July 1933

Ensign, USS Lexington

Others at this command:

LCDR Ryland Tisdale '15

ENS Daniel Gothie '32

ENS William Thorn '32

Others at or embarked at this command:

LTjg James McDonough '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg Arthur Farrell '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg Henry Twohy '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
ENS John Yoho '29 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)

ENS Edwin Kelly '30 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 1B)
ENS Victor Gaulin '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS Lance Massey '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg Charles Ostrom '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)

October 1933

Ensign, USS Lexington

Others at this command:

LCDR Ryland Tisdale '15

ENS Daniel Gothie '32

ENS William Thorn '32

Others at or embarked at this command:

LTjg James McDonough '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg Arthur Farrell '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg Henry Twohy '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg John Yoho '29 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)

ENS Edwin Kelly '30 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 1B)
ENS Victor Gaulin '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS Lance Massey '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg Charles Ostrom '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)