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35-592: Born in Minneapolis, Van Valkenburgh moved to Milwaukee when he was a toddler. His father was a prominent lawyer also named Franklin Van Valkenburgh, who served as Milwaukee assistant city attorney and a U.S. attorney for Wisconsin. His great-grandmother's brother was Daniel Wells Jr., who represented Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District in the 1850s. His mother was Jane Irvin Swoope, daughter of H.B. Swoope,

70-637: A U.S. attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, the grandson of Captain Peter Swoope, Sr. an 18th Century pioneer of Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. Her brother was William Swoope , a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1923 to 1927. He grew up on Milwaukee's east side, attending Cass Elementary School and graduating from East Side High School, later renamed Riverside High School. Franklin Van Valkenburgh

105-420: A letter to a relative, Faith Van Valkenburgh Vilas, dated November 4, 1941, Captain Van Valkenburgh wrote: "We are training, preparing, maneuvering, doing everything we can do to be ready. The work is intensive, continuous, and carefully planned. We never go to sea without being completely ready to move on to Singapore if need be, without further preparation. Most of our work we are not allowed to talk about off of

140-473: A token force. During the reign of King Kalākaua the United States was granted exclusive rights to enter Pearl Harbor and to establish "a coaling and repair station". Although this treaty continued in force until August 1898, the U.S. did not fortify Pearl Harbor as a naval base. As it had for 60 years, the shallow entrance constituted a formidable barrier against the use of the deep protected waters of

175-755: Is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu , Hawaii, west of Honolulu . It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States , before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875 . Much of the harbor and surrounding lands are now a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the United States Pacific Fleet . The U.S. government first obtained exclusive use of

210-666: Is that the tide of events rushes on to annexation to the United States." From the conclusion of the Civil War , to the purchase of Alaska , to the increased importance of the Pacific states, the projected trade with countries in Asia and the desire for a duty-free market for Hawaiian staples, Hawaiian trade expanded. In 1865, the North Pacific Squadron was formed to embrace the western coast and Hawaii. Lackawanna in

245-405: The 3d Naval District from August 6, 1938, to January 22, 1941. On February 5, 1941, Van Valkenburgh relieved Capt. Harold C. Train as commanding officer of USS  Arizona  (BB-39) . Newly refitted at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard , Arizona served as flagship of Battleship Division 1 for the remainder of the year, based primarily at Pearl Harbor with two trips to the west coast. In

280-536: The Hawaiians . Puʻuloa was regarded as the home of the shark goddess, Kaʻahupahau, and her brother (or son), Kahiʻuka, in Hawaiian legends. According to tradition, Keaunui , the head of the powerful Ewa chiefs, is credited with cutting a navigable channel near the present Puʻuloa saltworks, by which he made the estuary, known as "Pearl River", accessible to navigation. Making due allowance for legendary amplification,

315-731: The destroyer USS  Talbot  (DD-114) on July 10, and commanded Destroyer Squadron 5 from March 31, 1932. After attending the Naval War College , Newport, R.I. , and completing the senior course in May 1934, Comdr. Van Valkenburgh next served as inspector of naval materiel at the New York Navy Yard before going to sea again as commanding officer of USS  Melville  (AD-2) from June 8, 1936, to June 11, 1938. Promoted to captain while commanding Melville —on December 23, 1937—he served as inspector of material for

350-662: The gunboat USS  Pampanga  (PG-39) as executive officer on June 23, 1914, for a short tour in the southern Philippines before his detachment on August 4,. After returning to the United States, Lt. (jg.) Van Valkenburgh joined USS  Connecticut  (BB-18) on November 11,. Following postgraduate work in steam engineering at the Naval Academy in September 1915, he took further instruction in that field at Columbia University before reporting to USS  Rhode Island  (BB-17) on March 2, 1917. The entry of

385-467: The 6th to moor at berth F-7 alongside Ford Island . Both Captain Van Valkenburgh and the embarked division commander, Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd , spent the next Saturday evening, December 6, on board. Suddenly, shortly before 08:00 on December 7, Japanese planes initiated their attack on Pearl Harbor. Captain Van Valkenburgh ran from his cabin and arrived on the navigation bridge, where he immediately began to direct his ship's defense. A quartermaster in

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420-642: The Naval Academy—until May 15, 1925—before he joined USS  Maryland  (BB-46) on June 26,. Commissioned commander on June 2, 1927, while in Maryland , he soon reported for duty in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations on May 21, 1928, and served there during the administrations of Admirals Charles F. Hughes and William V. Pratt . Detached on June 28, 1931, Van Valkenburgh received command of

455-525: The Navy and the Air Force merged their two nearby bases; Pearl Harbor joined with Hickam Air Force Base to create Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam . In December 2016, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a joint visit to Pearl Harbor with US President Barack Obama . This trip marked the 75th anniversary of the attack and was the first official visit by a sitting Japanese leader. On December 4, 2019,

490-404: The U.S.S. Arizona blew up from magazine explosions and a direct bomb hit on the bridge which resulted in the loss of his life. William I. Swoope William Irvin Swoope (October 3, 1862 – October 9, 1930) was an attorney and politician from Clearfield, Pennsylvania . A Republican , he served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1923 to 1927. William I. Swoope

525-611: The United States for Commerce and Seamen" was appointed to look after American business in the Port of Honolulu . These commercial ties to the American continent were accompanied by the work of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions . American missionaries and their families became an integral part of the Hawaiian political body. Throughout the 1820s and 1830s, many American warships visited Honolulu. In most cases,

560-523: The United States into World War I found Van Valkenburgh serving as the battleship's engineering officer. Subsequent temporary duty in the receiving ship at New York preceded his first tour as an instructor at the Naval Academy. On June 1, 1920, Van Valkenburgh reported on board USS  Minnesota  (BB-22) for duty as engineer officer, and he held that post until the battleship was decommissioned in November 1921. He again served as an instructor at

595-613: The air defense of Hawaii, for American commanders thought the Japanese would attack either Wake Island or the Philippines and had no understanding of the capabilities and proper employment of air power. As it was, had the Pacific Fleet acted on the war warnings, it undoubtedly would have sortied and been at sea on December 7, where the major ships would have been sunk in deep water, making salvage impossible. Shortly after

630-581: The commanding officers carried letters from the U.S. Government giving advice on governmental affairs and of the relations of the island nation with foreign powers. In 1841, the newspaper Polynesian , printed in Honolulu, advocated that the U.S. establish a naval base in Hawaii for the protection of American citizens engaged in the whaling industry. The British Hawaiian Minister of Foreign Affairs Robert Crichton Wyllie , remarked in 1840 that, "... my opinion

665-536: The complete disregard of his own life." In 1943, the destroyer USS  Van Valkenburgh  (DD-656) was named in his honor. For conspicuous devotion to duty, extraordinary courage and complete disregard of his own life, during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl Harbor T.H., by Japanese forces on 7 December 1941. As commanding officer of the U.S.S. Arizona, Capt. Van Valkenburgh gallantly fought his ship until

700-628: The desire for the United States to have a permanent presence in the Pacific both contributed to the decision. Following the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, the United States Navy established a base on the island in 1899. On December 7, 1941, the base was attacked by the Imperial Japanese Navy airplanes and midget submarines, causing the American entry into World War II . There was no meaningful plan for

735-471: The devastating Japanese surprise attack at Pearl Harbor, two American military commanders, Lt. Gen. Walter Short and Adm. Husband Kimmel , were demoted of their full ranks. The two American commanders later sought to restore their reputations and full ranks. Over the years, Pearl Harbor remained a main base for the US Pacific Fleet after World War II along with Naval Base San Diego . In 2010,

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770-488: The estuary already had an outlet for its waters where the present gap is; but Keaunui is typically given the credit for widening and deepening it. During the early nineteenth century, Pearl Harbor was not used for large ships due to its shallow entrance. The United States' interest in the Hawaiian Islands grew as a result of its whaling, shipping and trading activity in the Pacific. As early as 1820, an "Agent of

805-562: The following year was assigned to cruise among the islands, "a locality of great and increasing interest and importance". This vessel surveyed the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands toward Japan. As a result, the United States claimed Midway Island . The Secretary of the Navy was able to write in his annual report of 1868, that in November 1867, 42 American flags flew over whaleships and merchant vessels in Honolulu to only six of other nations. This increased activity caused

840-500: The inlet and the right to maintain a repair and coaling station for ships here in 1887. The surprise attack on the harbor by the Imperial Japanese Navy on December 7, 1941, led the United States to declare war on the Empire of Japan , marking the United States' entry into World War II . Pearl Harbor was originally an extensive shallow embayment called Wai Momi (meaning 'Waters of Pearl') or Puʻuloa (meaning 'long hill') by

875-493: The inner harbor. The United States and the Hawaiian Kingdom signed the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875 as supplemented by Convention on December 6, 1884. This treaty was ratified in 1887. On January 20, 1887, the United States Senate allowed the Navy the exclusive right to maintain a coaling and repair station at Pearl Harbor. (The US took possession on November 9 that year). The Spanish–American War of 1898 and

910-540: The islands and to the mainland aboard U.S. warships were arranged for members of the Hawaiian royal family and important island government officials. When King Lunalilo died in 1873, negotiations were underway for the cession of Pearl Harbor as a port for the duty-free export of sugar to the U.S. With the election of King Kalākaua in March 1874, a riot prompted landing of sailors from USS Tuscarora and Portsmouth . The British warship, HMS  Tenedos , also landed

945-634: The permanent assignment of at least one warship to Hawaiian waters. It also praised Midway Island as possessing a harbor surpassing Honolulu's. In the following year, Congress approved an appropriation of $ 50,000 on March 1, 1869, to deepen the approaches to this harbor. After 1868, when the Commander of the Pacific Fleet visited the islands to look after American interests, naval officers played an important role in internal affairs. They served as arbitrators in business disputes, negotiators of trade agreements and defenders of law and order. Periodic voyages among

980-487: The pilot house asked if the captain wanted to go to the conning tower —a less-exposed position in view of the Japanese strafing—but Captain Van Valkenburgh adamantly refused and continued to man a telephone. A violent explosion suddenly shook the ship, throwing the three occupants of the bridge—Captain Van Valkenburgh, an ensign, and the quartermaster, to the deck, and blowing out all of the bridge windows completely. The ensign managed to escape, but Captain Van Valkenburgh and

1015-491: The quartermaster were never seen again. A continuing fire, fed by ammunition and oil, raged for two days until finally being extinguished on December 9. Despite a thorough search, Captain Van Valkenburgh's body was never found; all that was ever retrieved was his Annapolis class ring. Captain Van Valkenburgh posthumously received the Medal of Honor —the citation reading in part: "for devotion to duty ... extraordinary courage, and

1050-557: The ship. I have spent 16 to 20 hours a day on the bridge for a week at a time, then a week of rest, then at it again. "Our eyes are constantly trained Westward, and we keep the guns ready for instant use against aircraft or submarines whenever we are at sea. We have no intention of being caught napping." On December 4, the battleship went to sea in company with USS  Nevada  (BB-36) and USS  Oklahoma  (BB-37) for night surface practice and, after conducting these gunnery exercises, returned to Pearl Harbor independently on

1085-667: Was appointed a midshipman at the United States Naval Academy on September 15, 1905, and graduated on June 4, 1909. After service in the battleship USS  Vermont  (BB-20) and in USS ; South Carolina , Van Valkenburgh was commissioned ensign on June 5, 1911. Traveling to the Asiatic Station soon thereafter, he joined the submarine tender USS  Rainbow  (AS-7) at Olongapo , Philippine Islands , on September 11,. He reported to

Franklin Van Valkenburgh - Misplaced Pages Continue

1120-875: Was born in Clearfield, Pennsylvania on October 3, 1862, the son of attorney Henry Bucher Swoope and Susanna P. (Irwin) Swoope. He attended The Hill School in Pottstown, PA and Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts , then attended Harvard Law School . He graduated in 1886, then studied law in the Curwensville office of his uncle Roland D. Swoope. He attained admission to the bar later that year, and practiced law in Minnesota , Nebraska , and Bellefonte, Pennsylvania . While living in Bellefonte, he

1155-583: Was buried at Hillcrest Cemetery in Clearfield. In 1899, Swoope married Elizabeth Susan Hartswick. They were married until his death. The Swoopes were the parents of a daughter, Priscilla. Swoope was the nephew of U.S. Representative John Patton . This article about a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor

1190-504: Was elected as a Republican to the 68th Congress . He was reelected to the 69th Congress , and served March 4, 1923 to March 3, 1927. During his second term, Swoope served as chairman of the United States House Committee on Invalid Pensions . He declined to run for reelection in 1926 . After leaving Congress, Swoope resumed the practice of law in Clearfield. He died in Clearfield on October 9, 1930. Swoope

1225-422: Was elected to a term as town burgess . In 1892, Swoope returned to Clearfield and continued the practice of law. He was elected county Republican committee chairman on two occasions, and served as district attorney for Clearfield County from 1901 to 1907. He was a delegate to the 1916 Republican National Convention . He served as deputy attorney general for Pennsylvania from 1919 to 1923. In 1922, Swoope

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