James Devereux

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James Patrick Sinnott Devereux
February 20, 1903(1903-02-20)–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

Main article: Battle 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.

Maj Devereux, as POW in Shanghai, c. 1942.
Maj Devereux, as POW in Shanghai, c. 1942.

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:

[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

United States Marine Corps Portal

[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.
  • 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
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