This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Robert Cox, YNCS
to remember
Sprague, Clifton Albert F (Ziggy), VADM USN(Ret).
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Contact Info
Home Town Dorchester, MA
Last Address San Diego, CA
Date of Passing Apr 11, 1955
Location of Interment Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery (VA) - San Diego, California
Notable career events:
- Entered the U.S. Naval Academy in June 1914 and graduated one year early on June, 28, 1917 in response to World War 1.
- Nicknamed "Ziggy" at the USNA.
- Served in the Atlantic on the Gun Boat Wheeling during World War 1 employed on combat patrol and escort duties in the Azores and Gibraltar areas.
- Was designated as one of the Navy's first 300 Flight Officers in August 1921.
- Credited with assisting inventor Carl Norden with improvements to aircraft carrier arresting gear on Lexington and Saratoga in the late 1920s.
- Was the first U.S. Navy Pilot to fly a non-stop round trip flight from Hawaii to Midway Island in February 1934.
- Was CO of Sea Plane Tender Tangier during the Japanese Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941.
- Commanded the fast carrier Wasp in 1943 and 1944.
- Promoted to Rear Admiral in July 1944.
- His Task Unit 77.4.3 fought off the superior Japanese Centre Force at Leyte Gulf (Battle Off Samar) on October 25, 1944.
- Served as Commander of Carrier Division 26 at Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
- Commanded Carrier Division 2, embarked on USS Ticonderoga (CV-14) which operated against the Japanese home islands of Kyushu, Honshu, and Hokkaido in the summer of 1945.
- Was Commander, Navy Air Group for Operation Crossroads nuclear tests in July 1946.
- In November 1950, was the first U.S. Navy Admiral to fly over the North Pole.
- The guided missile frigate USS Clifton Sprague (FFG-16) commissioned March 21, 1981.
- Inducted into the Carrier Aviation Hall of Fame in 1985.
Other Comments:
Navy Cross
Awarded for Actions During World War II
Service: Navy
Division: Task Unit 77.4.3
General Orders: Commander 7th Fleet: Serial 0193 (January 19, 1945)
Citation: The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Rear Admiral Clifton Albert F. Sprague, United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service in the line of his profession as Commander, Task Unit SEVENTY-SEVEN POINT FOUR POINT THREE (TU-77.4.3), consisting of six escort carriers and aboard the U.S.S. FANSHAW BAY (CVE-70), in action against the enemy from 18 through 25 October 1944. Rear Admiral Sprague furnished air support to amphibious attack groups landing troops on the shores of Leyte Gulf, Philippine Islands. On 25 October 1944, this Task Unit was taken under fire by a strong enemy force consisting of battleships, cruisers, and destroyers, and was under air attack from Japanese suicide dive bombers. In the face of overwhelming enemy fire power and speed he repeatedly launched aircraft against the enemy Fleet, directed torpedo attacks by the screen, and so skillfully maneuvered his force that only two of his carriers were lost. His stubborn defense and damage inflicted on the enemy ships by ships and aircraft of his command was a major factor contributing to the Japanese decision to retire from the Battle of Samar Island. Admiral Sprague's personal courage and determination in the face of overwhelming enemy surface gunfire and air attack were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
Mariana and Palau Islands Campaign (1944)/Battle of Tinian
From Month/Year
July / 1944
To Month/Year
August / 1944
Description The Battle of Tinian was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Tinian in the Mariana Islands from 24 July until 1 August 1944. The 9,000-man Japanese garrison was eliminated, and the island joined Saipan and Guam as a base for the Twentieth Air Force.
The 4th Marine Division landed on 24 July 1944, supported by naval bombardment and marine artillery firing across the strait from Saipan. With the help of Seabee ingenuity the Marines were able to land where the Japanese did not expect, along the Northwest coast with its water's edge small coral cliffs. A successful feint for the major settlement of Tinian Town diverted defenders from the actual landing site on the north of the island. They withstood a series of night counterattacks supported by tanks, and the 2nd Marine Division landed the next day.
The weather worsened on 28 July, damaging the pontoon causeways, and interrupting the unloading of supplies. By 29 July, the Americans had captured half the island, and on 30 July the 4th Marine Division occupied Tinian Town and Airfield No. 4.
Japanese remnants made a final stand in the caves and ravines of a limestone ridge on the south portion of the island, making probes and counterattacks into the Marine line. Resistance continued through 3 August, with some civilians murdered by the Japanese.
Aftermath
By 10 August 1944, 13,000 Japanese civilians were interned, but up to 4,000 were dead through suicide, murdered by Japanese troops or killed in combat. The garrison on Aguijan Island off the southwest cape of Tinian, commanded by Lieutenant Kinichi Yamada, held out until the end of the war, surrendering on 4 September 1945. The last holdout on Tinian, Murata Susumu, was captured in 1953.
After the battle, Tinian became an important base for further Allied operations in the Pacific campaign. Camps were built for 50,000 troops. Fifteen thousand Seabees turned the island into the busiest airfield of the war, with six 7,900-foot (2,400 m) runways for attacks by United States Army Air Forces B-29 Superfortress bombers on enemy targets in the Philippines, the Ryukyu Islands, and mainland Japan, including the March 9/10 1945 Operation Meetinghouse firebombing of Tokyo and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. North Field was built over Airfields No. 1 and 3, and became operational in February 1945, while West Field was built over Airfield No. 2, and became operational in March 1945.