Adrian Marks became an American hero at age 28 -- The Angel of the Sea

1. Honoring Northwestern University’s Heroes — Adrian Marks “The Angel of the Sea”
Soon a second angel came in sight
His name was Adrian Marks
He set the plane down on the sea
To save them from the sharks
“A Tribute to the Men of the USS Indianapolis” by Michael Monroney
Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 107 (Friday, July 27, 2001) [House p.H4764)
Adrian Marks was 20 years old when he graduated from Northwestern University. He was 28
years old when he ran head on into what he later described as “a sparkling, sun-swept
afternoon of horror.”
At 3:50 pm on Thursday, August 2, 1945 Marks and his aircrew of nine in a PBY5A “Catalina”
amphibious aircraft struggled to understand what they were seeing below them in the waters of
the Philippine Sea. Several hundred American sailors were floating in an oil slick that spread for
miles. Some huddled together in and around life rafts. Some floated alone in their life jackets.
Some were being eaten by sharks. These 317 souls — adrift at sea for the last four days with
sharks and without hope — were all that were left from the 1,196 sailors aboard the USS
Indianapolis when she was hit and sunk in less than 12 minutes by two torpedoes from a
Japanese submarine at 12:14 am on Monday, July 30th.
They had no food nor water
And more their rank grew thin
Until an angel flew above
A man named Wilbur Gwinn
An oil-slicked sea and blackened forms
Is what the pilot saw
What ship has sunk? He asked himself
As he looked down in awe
He dipped his wings, their spirits soared
Help must be on the way
And all their prayers seemed answered
On that sunny August day
Wilbur Gwinn, “The Angel of the Air,” arrived on the scene, completely by accident, during a
routine surveillance flight at 11:18 am on Thursday, August 2nd. Gwinn immediately called for
assistance from his squadron mates 290 miles to the south on the Island of Peleliu. Marks and
his squadron commanding officer, George Atterberry, launched together at 12:42.
Air-sea rescues require that pilots and crews offer all possible assistance from the air before
departing for their own safe landings ashore or on ships because they’ve exhausted their
supplies and are running low of gas. While Marks and his crew were the first to arrive on scene
in an amphibious aircraft, standing orders prohibited Catalina pilots from attempting open sea
landings due to the inherent dangers. Catalinas were designed to operate on protected waters
— harbors, rivers, coastlines — with the surface chop of the water below 4 feet. The open
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2. ocean swells below were approximately 12 feet — at least 3 times greater than what most pilots
and crews would consider reasonably safe for amphibious flight operations.
Fortunately for the 56 of sailors adrift by themselves, Marks and crew were anything but typical
or reasonable.
Marks knew that no ship would be on the scene until after midnight. After discussing the
situation with his co-pilot and crew, Marks disregarded the orders prohibiting open sea landings
and decided he would attempt his first ever open sea landing. In his words, “this decision was
based partly on the number of single survivors and the fact that they were bothered by sharks.
We did observe bodies being eaten by sharks.”
At 4:30 pm Marks notified Atteberry, flying overhead in a non-amphibious airplane, that he was
going to attempt an open sea landing. Atteberry reminded Marks about the dangers of an open
sea landing in a PBY. Marks and his crew made all preparations for landing at 5:05 pm. In his
words:
An area for landing was selected with the purpose of picking up the most
survivors… A power stall was made into the wind. The wind was due
North, swells about 12 feet high. The plane landed in three bounces, the
first bounce being about 15 feet high…. Immediately after landing a
survey of damage done to the plane exposed rivets pulled loose and
some seams ripped open. My plane captain and navigator effected
emergency repairs, plugging rivet holes with pencils and stuffing seams
with cotton. The radio compartment took on water slowly and would have
to be bailed out during the night - 10 to 12 buckets of water per hour. The
hull of the ship survived very well. While the Navigator was inspecting the
damage, my Co-Pilot went aft to organize the rescue party. We
proceeded to locate survivors, the single ones, being aided by
Commander Atteberry advising me via voice radio just where to go. It
was very difficult to see good because of the high swells and without a
doubt we would have missed many if it hadn't been for Commander
Atteberry directing our actions. We tried to bring the survivors close to
the port side and throw a life raft to them. Considerable difficulty was had
because of the speed of the plane taxiing and the survivors were dragged
through the water. We had to cut the plane’s motors quite a few times
and considerable time was lost in starting and stopping. We got better at
picking the people up as time went by. We had the ladder out and I had a
man on the ladder to grab any men who drifted by. The survivors could
not help themselves very much, as most of them were weakened terribly
and could not grab the ladder and climb up by themselves. Further
difficulties were caused by the fact that some of the men were burned and
every time we grabbed them it caused extreme pain. Some of them had
broken arms, legs, etc., and extreme care had to be used in handling
them.…. Between the time of our landing and darkness, we picked up
over 30 single survivors, most of them were in critical condition and would
probably not have survived the night…. After dark, several shouts for help
were heard nearby and my radioman and another crew man volunteered
to go out in a rubber boat to pick them up. I wished them good luck and
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3. they cast off. It wasn't long until they were back with two additional men. It
was very difficult for them to locate the plane after they had shoved off
because of the fact that the auxiliary unit had gone out and we had no
lights on the plane. We did have some carbide lights that worked to a
good advantage.
When Marks’ Catalina’s fuselage/cabin reached capacity with about 30 survivors, they tied
another 26 to the top of the plane’s wing.
At 12:15 am on Friday August 3, 1945 the USS Cecil J. Doyle, the first of seven rescue ships,
arrived and began full scale seaborne rescue operations — 7 hours and 15 minutes after Marks
landed and the start of the survivors fifth day in the sea. Marks and crew worked until 3:30 am
transferring all 56 survivors to the Doyle which did heavy damage to the plane due to heavy
swells. The next morning Marks inspected the plane and decided it was too damaged to safely
take off. He ordered its destruction and the Doyle sank the plane.
Twelve days later, Japan surrendered, ending World War II.
Of the 1,196 souls aboard the USS Indianapolis when she was hit by the Japanese torpedoes,
almost 300 went down with the ship. Of the 880 or so remaining, a total of 317 survived over
the next five days at sea. Marks and crew are credited for saving the lives of 56 who were most
exposed and vulnerable.
For their extraordinary heroism, Lieutenant Adrian Marks, USNR, was awarded an Air Medal.
His crew received letters of recognition. Marks reportedly refused to wear his Air Medal
because he believed his crew should have received higher levels of awards for their proven
valor.
Conversations with my fellow naval aviators — to include a former numbered Pacific fleet
commander — all agree. Marks and crew earned greater recognition. Marks’ airmanship and
seamanship are worthy of a Distinguished Flying Cross. His entire crew deserve Air Medals. In
addition, Navy-Marine Corps Medals should be awarded to his radioman and crewman who
volunteered to leave the safety of their PBY at night in order to rescue two additional sailors.
Robert Adrian Marks (he did not use his first name) was born on February
18, 1917 at Ladoga, Indiana. He received his undergraduate degree in
speech from Northwestern University in 1937. While there he joined Acacia
fraternity, joined the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) Unit,
and participated in Sextant, the naval honorary organization. Commissioned
in the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1937, Marks earned his law degree from
Indiana University Law School in 1940. He was at Pearl Harbor when the
Japanese attacked on December 7, 1941. After World War II, Marks
returned to his hometown of Frankfort, Indiana, where he practiced law until
his death in Frankfort on March 7, 1998 at age 81.
HONORING NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY’S HEROES
Northwestern University’s Evanston Campus has three locations honoring the memory and
sacrifices of its heroes who lost their lives while in uniform during times of war and peace: 1)
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4. Alice Millar Chapel has the most comprehensive list of 425 names dating from the Civil War to
the present; 2) Across from the Henry Crown Sports Pavilion and Norris Aquatic Center is a
plaque honoring those 75 people who gave their lives during the Civil War (7) and World War I
(68). On the grounds between the Main Library and the Norris University student center is a list
of names from Northwestern's Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) unit who died
during World War II.
The following sites on campus honor individuals: the David Thomas Hanson plaque near Harris
Hall; the Richard Voigts memorial flagpole next to the football stadium. Liturgical banners and a
brass plaque on the east wall of Alice Millar Chapel memorialize LT William Arthur Heep, USN
Northwestern Class of 1964 who was killed in 1968 during the Vietnam War while piloting and
F-4B Phantom from the USS Constellation/Carrier Air Wing FOURTEEN.
Northwestern’s NROTC unit also has a history book detailing the actions by some of its greatest
heroes, like Adrian Marks.
Daniel E. Moore, Jr., was also a member of Northwestern NROTC graduating in 1977 with an
undergraduate degree in history — 40 years and a world apart from Adrian Marks. Marks went
on to become an American hero, Moore a U.S. Navy Captain, retired. From 2003-2006 Moore
was Northwestern University’s Professor of Naval Science and the Commanding Officer of its
NROTC Unit. He was privileged to serve as a naval aviator for 29 years.
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