James Devereux

James Devereux

James Patrick Sinnott Devereux (born September 20, 1903 in Cabana , Cuba , † August 5, 1988 in Baltimore , Maryland ) was an American politician and brigadier general of the US Marine Corps (USMC). Between 1951 and 1959 he represented the state of Maryland in the US House of Representatives .

Career before the war

James Devereux attended public schools in his home country and then the Army and Navy Preparatory School in Washington, DC This was followed by courses at the Tome School in Port Deposit in Maryland, a school in Lausanne in Switzerland and at Loyola College in Baltimore. In 1923 he joined the United States Marine Corps , of which he was a member until 1948. He reached the rank of brigadier general. He was stationed in Nicaragua , Cuba and China .

Battle for Wake

→ Main article : Battle for Wake

The Pacific island of Wake was an important aircraft location between the American Hawai and the then Japanese-occupied Marianas, which was defended by a small garrison of Marines under the command of Devereux. From December 8th, the island was bombed several times, including many of the stationed American planes were devastated until the morning of December 11th a Japanese fleet tried to land troops. The marines, supported by civilian volunteers, were able to sink one of the enemy destroyers and damage other ships with their outdated guns. In addition, several landing craft capsized in the rough sea. The Japanese retreated to the open sea, where they were attacked by the base's four undestroyed aircraft the next day, and another destroyer was sunk.

The American press took up the dogged defense of the Marines, which, in particular in contrast to the defeat in Pearl Harbor, increased morale in the USA. The press soon claimed that when asked what to send to his troops, Major Deveraux had answered “Send us more Japs! (Send us more Japsen!) “Replied. Major Devereux himself denied, however, that he had ever uttered "such a fabulous donkey". The alleged quote, however, did not fail to have a propaganda effect on the American public.

The American Pacific Fleet refused to support the defenders of Wake, as it was feared that the Japanese fleet, whose position was unclear, would cause them.

The defenders continued to fight until, after daily attacks by Japanese bombers on December 22nd, none of their aircraft were operational. On the night of December 23rd, Japanese units finally landed on the island. At around 1:30 p.m. on December 23, the defenders under Deveraux capitulated. He was later awarded the Navy Cross for his service in the defense of Wake Island . He remained in captivity until 1945.

After the war

After his release he continued his military career until 1948. He then ran a horse breeding business at Glyndon in Maryland. At the same time he began a political career as a member of the Republican Party .

In the 1950 congressional elections , James Devereux was elected as a candidate for his party in the second constituency of Maryland state in the US House of Representatives in Washington, where he succeeded Democrat William P. Bolton on January 3, 1951 . After three re-elections, he was able to complete four terms in Congress by January 3, 1959 . These were determined by the events of the Cold War , the Korean War and the civil rights movement . Since 1952 Devereux was a member of the armed forces committee. He campaigned for the desegregation and against racial discrimination in the workplace.

In 1958 he renounced another candidacy. Instead, Devereux ran unsuccessfully for the governor of Maryland. Between 1962 and 1966 he was the chief of security in Baltimore County . He then retired, which he spent in Ruxton , Maryland. He was married three times and had four children of his own and four stepchildren. He died on August 5, 1988 in a Baltimore hospice and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery , Virginia .

Web links

Commons : James Devereux  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

• Official biography of the US Marine Corps
• James Devereux in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• James Devereux in the database of Find a Grave (English)