Playing career | |
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1913 | Navy |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
1913–1914 | Navy |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 10–0 |
Laurence Wild (May 1,1890 –May 26,1971) was a United States Navy Captain,college basketball player and coach,and the governor of American Samoa from August 8,1940,to June 5,1942. Wild was born in Wilber,Nebraska, [1] and lived in the 4th Congressional District of Nebraska for much of his adult life. [2] [3] He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1913;while there he played for the Navy Midshipmen basketball team,and was named a 1913 NCAA Basketball All-American. [4] [5] He returned as head coach of the team for one year (1913–14),coaching for ten games and winning all of them.
While a Lieutenant Commander,Wild served as a communications officer for Submarine Squadron 11. [6] President of the United States Franklin Roosevelt recommended Wild for the rank of captain in 1939. [2]
During his governorship,a more complicated political structure arose in American Samoa when Brigadier General Henry Louis Larsen of the United States Marine Corps became Military Governor and Island Commander of Tutuila. Though Larsen outranked him and commanded the military on the island,Wild held the senior position,and ultimately maintained control over the administration of all the islands in American Samoa. [1] On March 13,1941,Wild ordered the construction of an airfield on the main island. [1]
Governor Wild was the first wartime governor of American Samoa. Under his administration,preparations for the defense of Tutuila,particularly Pago Pago,commenced. On January 5,1942,the U.S. Navy began mining the approaches to Pago Pago. Wild recommended to the Chief of Naval Operations the establishment of an insular native force distinct from the Fitafita Guard. This led to the creation of a force that later became the First Samoan Battalion,U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. [7]
He died in Coronado,California on May 26,1971. [1]
Pago Pago is the capital of American Samoa. It is in Maoputasi County on Tutuila,which is American Samoa's main island.
Tutuila is the largest and most populous island of American Samoa and is part of the archipelago of the Samoan Islands. It is the third largest island in the Samoan Islands chain of the Central Pacific. It is located roughly 4,000 kilometers (2,500 mi) northeast of Brisbane,Australia and lies over 1,200 kilometers (750 mi) to the northeast of Fiji. It contains a large,natural harbor,Pago Pago Harbor,where Pago Pago,the capital of American Samoa,is situated. Pago Pago International Airport is also located on Tutuila. The island's land expanse is about 68% of the total land area of American Samoa. With 56,000 inhabitants,it is also home to 95% of the population of American Samoa. The island has six terrestrial and three marine ecosystems.
Fagatogo is the downtown area of Pago Pago. Located in the low grounds at the foot of Matafao Peak,it was the location of the first American settlement on Tutuila Island. It includes the sub-village of Malaloa. Today,Fagatogo is the government,commercial,financial,and shipping center of Tutuila. It is also the administrative capital of American Samoa. It is the location of the American Samoa Fono (legislature),and is listed in the Constitution of American Samoa as the territory's official seat of government. Its population is 1,737.
Pago Pago International Airport,also known as Tafuna Airport,is a public airport located 7 miles (11.3 km) southwest of the central business district of Pago Pago,in the village and plains of Tafuna on the island of Tutuila in American Samoa,an unincorporated territory of the United States.
Utulei or ʻUtulei is a village in Maoputasi County,in the Eastern District of Tutuila,the main island of American Samoa. Utulei is traditionally considered to be a section of Fagatogo village,the legislative capital of American Samoa,and is located on the southwest edge of Pago Pago Harbor. Utulei is the site of many local landmarks:The A. P. Lutali Executive Office Building,which is next to the Feleti Barstow Library;paved roads that wind up to a former cablecar terminal on Solo Hill;the governor's mansion,which sits on Mauga o Alii,overlooking the entrance to Goat's Island,and the lieutenant governor's residence directly downhill from it;the Lee Auditorium,built in 1962;American Samoa's television studios,known as the Michael J. Kirwan Educational Television Center;and the Rainmaker Hotel. Utulei Terminal offers views of Rainmaker Mountain.
Benjamin Franklin Tilley was an American Naval officer who served from the end of the American Civil War through the Spanish–American War. He was the first acting governor of American Samoa as well as the territory's first naval governor.
United States Naval Station Tutuila was a naval station in Pago Pago Harbor on the island of Tutuila,part of American Samoa,built in 1899 and in operation until 1951. During the United States Navy rule of American Samoa,from 1900 to 1951,it was customary for the commandant of the station to also serve as Military Governor of the territory. Benjamin Franklin Tilley was the first commandant and the first officer responsible for the naval station's construction.
Government House,also known as Building No.1,Naval Station,Tutuila or Government House,U.S. Naval Station Tutuila,is a historic government building on the grounds of the former United States Naval Station Tutuila in Pago Pago,American Samoa. Built in 1903,it has served as a center of government on the island for much of the time since then. Government House was listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places in 1972,and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1990.
American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the South Pacific Ocean. Centered on 14.3°S 170.7°W,it is southeast of the island country of Samoa,east of the International Date Line and the Wallis and Futuna Islands,west of the Cook Islands,north of Tonga,and some 310 miles (500 km) south of Tokelau. American Samoa is the southernmost territory of the United States,situated 2,200 miles (3,500 km) southwest of the U.S. state of Hawaii,and one of two U.S. territories south of the Equator,along with the uninhabited Jarvis Island.
ʻAoa is a village on the north-east coast of Tutuila Island,American Samoa. It is located on the north coast,close to the island's eastern tip,at a narrowing of the island and is connected by road with Amouli on the south coast. ʻAoa is the oldest site on Tutuila to yield ceramics. Located in a large U-shaped valley on the northeast coast of the island,ʻAoa sits on a wide,sandy beach fronted by a large,deep bay. Fresh water is supplied by a steady river which runs through the village. It is located in Vaifanua County.
William Michael Crose was a United States Navy Captain and the seventh Naval Governor of American Samoa,from November 10,1910 to March 14,1913. He was the first person designated "Governor of American Samoa",rather than the previous "Governor of Tutuila".
John Martin Poyer was the Naval Governor of American Samoa,from March 1,1915,to June 10,1919. He held the longest term of any American governor appointed over the territory by the United States Government. A Naval Academy graduate,Poyer served in numerous positions and retired in 1906 on account of failing health;however,the navy recalled him to service in 1915 to serve as governor. During the 1918 flu pandemic,Poyer quarantined the territory to stop the spread of the pandemic to American Samoa. Because of his actions,no deaths occurred in American Samoa,and he received the Navy Cross. Upon his final retirement,Poyer had reached the rank of commander.
Edward William Hanson was a United States Navy Vice admiral and the governor of American Samoa from June 26,1938,to July 30,1940. As Governor of American Samoa,Hanson believed that the native Samoans had a good way of life,and did little to interfere with established practices on the islands.
Jesse Rink Wallace was a United States Navy Rear admiral and the Governor of American Samoa. He served as governor for a period of only ten days from July 30,1940,to August 8,1940. After his brief time as governor,Wallace served with the Office of Judge Advocate General of the Navy until August 1944,when he was ordered to the Pacific Theater as commanding officer of the Amphibious command ship Eldorado. He led that ship during the Iwo Jima and Okinawa campaigns while serving as flagship of Vice admiral Richmond K. Turner.
John Gould Moyer was a United States Navy Rear admiral,and the governor of American Samoa from June 5,1942,to February 8,1944. He was born in Chicago,Illinois,but lived in both Indiana and Hawaii for much of his life. Moyer was admitted to the United States Naval Academy on June 16,1910,and became an Ensign shortly upon graduation. He became a Commander in 1934,a Captain in 1939,and eventually a Rear admiral. During his governorship,Moyer recommended the tour of duty of the men under his command be reduced,and took over command of the United States Marines barracks previously under the control of Brigadier general Henry Louis Larsen.
Ralph Waldo Hungerford was a United States Navy Captain,and the governor of American Samoa from January 27,1945,to September 3,1945. He was born April 21,1896,in Windsor,New York,but moved to Rhode Island later in life. He received appointment to the United States Naval Academy on June 17,1915. During World War II,he served on the staff of Rear Admiral Adolphus Andrews in defense of the East Coast of the United States;he specialized in antisubmarine warfare. He was awarded the Legion of Merit on January 14,1943. Hungerford became governor on January 27,1945,and faced the daunting task of restoring the island to a pre-Pacific War economy. He died in 1977 in Pennsylvania.
Lieutenant General Henry Louis Larsen was a United States Marine Corps officer,the second Military Governor of Guam following its recapture from the Empire of Japan,and the first post-World War II Governor of Guam. He also served as the Military Governor of American Samoa alongside civilian Governor of American Samoa Laurence Wild. Larsen was among the first troops overseas in both World Wars. During World War I,he commanded the 3rd Battalion 5th Marines and participated in numerous battles in France,earning the Navy Cross,three Silver Stars,the Croix de guerre with palm,and the French Legion of Honour. In between the World Wars,he served during the United States occupation of Nicaragua,where he earned his second Navy Cross,the Presidential Medal of Merit from President of Nicaragua JoséMaría Moncada Tapia,and his first Navy Distinguished Service Medal.
The Courthouse of American Samoa,formerly Administration Building,Navy No. 21,is a historic building near Pago Pago Harbor in Fagatogo,American Samoa. It is a two-story wood-frame building mounted on concrete piers,with a two-story veranda on three sides. A concrete vault is located at the back of the building. The court house was reported by the local commander to have been completed about 1904. It housed the offices and other facilities from which the United States Navy administered the island from its construction until 1952,and was where advisory councils of the island's indigenous leaders were held. The building is one of the oldest standing in American Samoa,having survived typhoons and other perils.
Naval Base Upolu was a naval base built by the United States Navy in 1942 to support the World War II effort. The base was located on Upolu Island,Samoa in the Western Pacific Ocean,part of the Samoan Islands's Naval Base Samoa. After the surprise attack on Naval Station Pearl Harbor on December 7,1941,the US Navy was in need of setting up more advance bases in the Pacific Ocean. At Naval Base Upolu the Navy built a sea port,an airbase and a seaplane base.
Naval Base Samoa,codename Operation Straw,was a number of United States Navy bases at American Samoa in the central Pacific Ocean. The bases were used during World War II to support the island hopping Pacific War efforts of the allied nations fighting the Empire of Japan.
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