Clark Daniel Stearns

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Clark Daniel Stearns (born January 15, 1870 in Miami-Dade County , Florida , †  May 25, 1944 in Miami , Florida) was an American naval officer. By the end of his military service, he had reached the rank of captain. He was the military governor of American Samoa in 1913 and 1914 .

Career

In 1891 graduated from Clark Stearns, the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis ( Maryland ). He then proposed a career as an officer in the United States Navya. Between July 14, 1913 and October 2, 1914, he was the military governor of American Samoa. During this time he set up three committees to improve the political and social situation. This involved an administrative committee, which consisted of the individual district governors, a hospital committee with three members per district and a control committee, which checked the work of the administration. Stearns also set up new ministries in its suburbs, including legal, finance, home affairs, agriculture and health departments.

In 1918 he commanded the military freighter USS Roanoke . There he made an attempt, with the approval of his superiors, to achieve more participation for the crew members on board the ship. He founded two agencies, consisting of officers or crew degrees, who deal with the processes on board the ship, similar to a works council. This also included the assessment of disciplinary measures. The aim was to reduce tension within the team. Stearns received the Navy Distinguished Service Medal for service aboard the USS Roanoke.

He then proposed a reform of naval criminal law. In 1921 he took command of the battleship USS Michigan . There he introduced the same system as on the Roanoke . This time, however, this measure was sharply rejected by the navy management. The latter saw in this an undermining of their authority and spoke of a "Soviet spirit", which is thus moving into the navy. After just 107 days, he was relieved of his command on the Michigan and transferred to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard near Bremerton in Washington state.

After the Kanto earthquake that struck Japan in 1923 , Clark Stearns led American relief efforts. For this he received a medal from the Japanese Red Cross, which he sent back to the Japanese after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He died of heart failure on May 25, 1944 aboard a submarine off Miami and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

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