This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Michael Frederick, DK2
to remember
Hathaway, Amos Townsend, CAPT USN(Ret).
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Contact Info
Home Town Pueblo, CO
Last Address Charleston, SC
Date of Passing Aug 26, 1996
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
Wall/Plot Coordinates 12 8533-7
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
After his Navy service, Amos Hathaway was a mathematics professor at the Citadel, South Carolina, from 1966 to 1979.
Other Comments:
Navy Cross
Awarded for Actions During World War II
Service: Navy
Division: U.S.S. Heermann (DD-532)
General Orders: Commander 7th Fleet: Serial 0678 (February 1, 1945)
Citation: The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Commander Amos Townsend Hathaway, United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service in the line of his profession as Commanding Officer of the Destroyer U.S.S. HEERMANN (DD-532), during a strike against major units of the enemy Japanese Fleet, in the Battle off Samar Island, on 25 October 1944. When a formidable column of Japanese battleships, cruisers and destroyers attacked our small Task Unit of Escort Carriers, Commander Hathaway twice closed to four thousand yards of the hostile disposition to launch torpedo attacks on heavy ships of the enemy, holding his ship under a constant bombardment of gunfire and succeeded in scoring one confirmed hit on a battleship. Again maneuvering within short range, he skillfully brought his surface guns to bear on two heavy cruisers and greatly assisted in putting these ships out of action. By his courageous action he diverted enemy fire from our lightly armed carriers to his own ship, thereby materially aiding in their protection. His leadership, gallant fighting spirit and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
Description The Battle of Tulagi and Gavutu–Tanambogo was a land battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, between the forces of the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied (mainly United States (U.S.) Marine) ground forces. It took place from 7–9 August 1942 on the Solomon Islands, during the initial Allied landings in the Guadalcanal campaign.
In the battle, U.S. Marines, under the overall command of U.S. Major General Alexander Vandegrift, successfully landed and captured the islands of Tulagi, Gavutu, and Tanambogo among which the Japanese Navy had constructed a naval and seaplane base. The landings were fiercely resisted by the Japanese Navy troops who, outnumbered and outgunned by the Allied forces, fought and died almost to the last man.
At the same time that the landings on Tulagi and Gavutu–Tanambogo were taking place, Allied troops were also landing on nearby Guadalcanal, with the objective of capturing an airfield under construction by Japanese forces. In contrast to the intense fighting on Tulagi and Gavutu, the landings on Guadalcanal were essentially unopposed. The landings on both Tulagi and Guadalcanal initiated the six-month long Guadalcanal campaign and a series of combined-arms battles between Allied and Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands area.
