Clark Daniel Stearns

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Clark Daniel Stearns
Nathan Woodworth Post
Personal details
BornJanuary 15, 1870
Miami-Dade County, Florida
DiedMay 25, 1944(1944-05-25) (aged 74)
Alma materUnited States Naval Academy
OccupationNaval officer
AwardsNavy Distinguished Service Medal
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/serviceUnited States Navy Seal United States Navy
Rank Captain
CommandsUSS Roanoke
USS Michigan (BB-27)

Clark Daniel Stearns (January 15, 1870 – May 25, 1944) was the Naval Governor of American Samoa. Stearns commanded various vessels, on which he set up organized committees for the crew to give suggestions to the officers. He hoped to alleviate tensions between the enlisted men and officers. However, upon his appointment to the battleship USS Michigan (BB-27), he was removed from command of these activities.

Stearns relieved Nathan Woodworth Post as Governor of

Japanese Red Cross, as well as the Navy Distinguished Service Medal during his career. He retired at the rank of Captain.[1]

Life and career

Stearns was born in Big Rapids, MeCosta County, Michigan.

Miami, Florida, of a coronary thrombosis.[4]

Naval career

In 1918, Stearns was posted to

Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels supported the effort.[5]
During his command of Roanoke, Stearns received the Navy Distinguished Service Medal.[5] After leaving command of Roanoke, Stearns examined the Naval Penal System, ruled it "archaic", and recommended the creation of an Office of Discipline.[5]

Stearns commanded the battleship USS Michigan next, but was relieved of his command in 1921 after only 107 days, after allowing his sailors to form the same organized committees as he had on Roanoke. At the advent of the Warren Harding administration, admirals who had opposed Naval Secretary Josephus Daniels' and Assistant Naval Secretary Franklin D. Roosevelt's attempts under the Woodrow administration to "democratize" the Navy, saw Stearns' actions as a move which could subvert naval authority by implementing organizations similar to

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility,[6] claiming that allowing sailors to advise officers was against naval tradition and broke down disciplinary authority.[7]

After the

Japanese Red Cross; he sent this medal back to Japan following the Attack on Pearl Harbor.[2] He also served as a lighthouse inspector.[8]

Governorship

Stearns became the ninth

Samoans in becoming more involved in government. These committees were "Committee A: Executive Committee, consisting of District Governors; Committee B: Committee of the Samoan Hospital, with three members from each district, and Committee C: Auditing Committee, to give the fullest publicity to the statement of government accounts."[9] He further established the American Samoan Judicial, Treasury, Interior, Agriculture, and Public Health Departments.[10]
Stearns gave command back to Lt. Post on October 2, 1914.

Notes

  1. ^ Military Times (2009).
  2. ^ a b Genealogy and Memoirs of Isaac Stearns and His Descendants, Avis Stearns van Wagenen, Courier Printing Co., Syracuse, 1901.
  3. ^ New York Times, June 2, 1893.
  4. ^ Sorensen and Theroux (2007), 126.
  5. ^ a b c d e Guttridge (2006), 178.
  6. ^ a b Guttridge (2006), 179.
  7. ^ The Evening Independent (1921), 18.
  8. ^ Lake Carriers' Association (1911), 153.
  9. ^ a b Government of American Samoa (2008), 2.
  10. ^ Sorensen and Theroux (2007), 225.

References

  • "Clark Stearns".
    Army Times Publishing Company
    . Retrieved October 5, 2009.
  • Guttridge, Leonard (2006). Mutiny: A History of Naval Insurrection (illustrated ed.).
    ISBN 1-59114-348-9
    . Retrieved 5 October 2009.
  • "Historical Notes" (PDF). Tapuitea: Official American Samoa Government Weekly Newsletter. III (16). Government of American Samoa. April 16, 2008. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
  • Lake Carriers' Association (1911). Annual Report. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
  • Sorensen, Stan; Joseph Theroux (2007). "The Samoan Historical Calendar, 1606-2007" (PDF). Government of American Samoa. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 February 2009. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
  • "Stearns, Clark Daniel". University of Miami. 2009. Retrieved October 5, 2009.
  • "No Sovietism Goes in the Navy".
    The Evening Independent. St. Petersburg, Florida
    . June 23, 1921. Retrieved October 5, 2009.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Clark_Daniel_Stearns&oldid=1157281865"