James Devereux
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| James Patrick Sinnott Devereux | |
|---|---|
| February 20, 1903–August 5, 1988 (aged 85) | |
 BGen James Devereux |
|
| Place of birth | Cabana, Cuba |
| Place of death | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Marine Corps |
| Years of service | 1923-1948 |
| Rank | Brigadier General |
| Battles/wars | World War II *Battle of Wake Island |
| Awards | Navy Cross |
| Other work | U.S. Representative, Maryland (1951-1959) |
James Patrick Sinnott Devereux (February 20, 1903 – August 5, 1988) was a United States Marine Corps general who was Commanding Officer of the 1st Defense Battalion during the defense of Wake Island in December 1941. He was captured on Wake Island as a prisoner of war, along with his men, after a 15-day battle with the Japanese. After his release in September 1945, he concluded his military career in 1948 and represented the second congressional district of the state of Maryland in the United States House of Representatives for four terms from 1951–1959. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election as Governor of Maryland in 1958.
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[edit] Early life and career
Devereux was born in Cabana, Cuba, where his father, an Army surgeon, was stationed. In 1910, the family moved to Chevy Chase, Maryland. There, Devereux, one of ten children, rode to the hounds in Rock Creek Park and played polo. At age 10 he obtained a driver's license from the District of Columbia, which had no age requirement at the time.
Devereux also attended the Army and Navy Preparatory School in Washington, D.C., the Tome School at Port Deposit, Maryland, LaVilla in Lausanne, Switzerland (when his parents lived in Vienna, Austria), and Loyola College of Baltimore, Maryland.
Devereux enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in July 1923, was commissioned a second lieutenant in February 1925, and then was assigned to duty in Norfolk, Virginia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Marine Barracks at Quantico, Virginia, and at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In 1926, he was detailed to the mail guard detachment in New York and later was transferred to the force of Marines in Nicaragua as a company officer.
Returning to the United States early in 1927, he was assigned to the USS Utah and subsequently was transferred ashore again to Nicaragua. Shortly thereafter he was ordered to the Orient and while in China was promoted to first lieutenant. Other duty in China included command of the Mounted Detachment of the Legation Guard at Peking.
In 1933, following a year's tour of duty at Quantico, he was assigned to the Coast Artillery School at Fort Monroe, Virginia. Following his promotion to captain in December 1935, he was ordered back to Quantico, where, until 1936, he instructed in the Base Defense Weapons School and aided in the preparation of a Marine Corps manual on Base Defense Weapons.
In 1938, following a tour of duty with the Marine Detachment on board the USS Utah, Devereux was transferred to the Marine Corps Base at San Diego, California.
[edit] Defense of Wake Island
In January 1941, Devereux was ordered to Pearl Harbor and later assumed command of a defense regiment on Wake Island. On the morning of December 8, 1941, he received the message that Pearl Harbor had been attacked by the Japanese. In the fight that followed, then-Major Devereux and his men damaged two cruisers, sank two destroyers, one escort vessel, and destroyed or damaged a total of 72 aircraft, and probably sank one submarine. Two more destroyers were damaged the last day. After days of bitter fighting, the 449 Marines surrendered to the Japanese on December 23, 1941.
After his capture, he remained on Wake Island until January 12, 1942 when he was sent away with his men on the Nita Maru. He stopped at Yokohama, where some American officers debarked, but later arrived at Woosung, China, located downriver from Shanghai, on January 24. He remained there until December 9, 1942, when he was transferred to Kiangwan, where he spent 29 months imprisoned. For five weeks, he stayed at Fungtai, near Peiping, and then was transferred to camps in central Hokkaidō.
[edit] After World War II
Devereux was released from the Japanese prison camp in September 1945. After a brief rehabilitation leave, he was assigned as a student in the Senior Course at the Amphibious Warfare School at Quantico from September 1946 to May 1947. Upon completion of his studies, he was detached to the First Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, Oceanside, California, and was serving with that organization when he concluded his 25-year career on August 1, 1948. In 1947, his book, Story of Wake Island, was published.
Devereux was advanced to the rank of brigadier general upon retirement in accordance with law, having been specially commended for the performance of duty in actual combat. For his leadership in defending the tiny American outpost for 15 days against overwhelming odds, Devereux was awarded the Navy Cross. His citation reads in part, "For distinguished and heroic conduct in the line of his profession in the defense of Wake Island…"
[edit] Awards and Decorations
BGen Devereux's awards include:
Presidential Unit Citation(with bronze star in lieu of second award) (Wake Island, 1941)
Second Nicaraguan Campaign Medal (1927 to 1929)
Yangtze Service Medal (China, 1930)
Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal (China, 1930; second award with Wake Island Clasp and Silver "W", Wake Island, 1941)
American Defense Service Medal (with Base Clasp and one Bronze Star
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (with one Bronze Star)
[edit] Post-military career
After his tenure in the Marines, Devereux engaged in farming near Glyndon, Maryland in 1946. He was elected as a Republican to the U.S. Congress, serving from January 3, 1951 to January 3, 1959, and was not a candidate for renomination in 1958, but was an unsuccessful candidate for election as Governor of Maryland.
He later served as director of public safety for Baltimore County, Maryland from December 1962 to 1966, and was a resident of Ruxton, Maryland until his death in Baltimore, aged 85. He is interred in Arlington National Cemetery.
[edit] Family
While stationed in the Philippines, Devereux met and married (in 1932) the daughter of an American missionary. She died in 1942 of complications from diabetes. He remarried after in 1946; there were children from both marriages.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
This article incorporates text in the public domain from the United States Marine Corps.- This article incorporates text in the public domain from the U.S. Government.
- James Devereux at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Retrieved on 2008-02-07
- Brigadier General James P. S. Devereux, USMC. Who's Who in Marine Corps History. History Division, United States Marine Corps. Retrieved on 2007-10-08.
- Eugene L. Meyer, "A Hero's Welcome", Bethesda Magazine, July/August 2007
| Preceded by William P. Bolton |
U.S. Congressman, Maryland 2nd District 1951—1959 |
Succeeded by Daniel B. Brewster |
