Arnold E. True
Recipient of the Navy Cross
Arnold Ellsworth True (January 23, 1901 – December 11, 1979) was a highly decorated officer in the U.S. Navy with the rank of rear admiral, who is most famous for his service as Commanding officer of the Sims-class destroyer USS Hammann during the Battle of Midway.
Early life
Arnold Ellsworth True was born in Owenton, Kentucky, on January 23, 1901, and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1920. His early naval career included serving in cruisers, destroyers, and other ships, as well as with airships until 1929, when he began studying Aerology and Meteorology. After receiving his Master of Science Degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1931, he practiced those disciplines in a variety of navy positions.
World War II service
USS Hammann
Lieutenant Commander True attended the Naval War College in 1938-39 and then assumed command of the new destroyer USS Hammann (DD-412) in August 1939. His ship was part of the destroyer screen assigned to protect the USS Yorktown (CV-5) during the pivotal showdown with the Japanese Navy at The Battle of Midway. On June 6, 1942, after the carrier was damaged by Japanese dive bombers, his destroyer was ordered alongside the Yorktown to provide pumping power as part of a massive effort to keep the vessel afloat so that it could be salvaged.
According to the official navy record:
The first torpedo appeared to pass under the Hammann in the vicinity of No. 2 gun and exploded against the side of the Yorktown. The second torpedo struck the Hammann in #2 fireroom.
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This entry incorporates text from “Arnold E. True” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.