John Walter Wilcox Jr. (22 March 1882 – 27 March 1942) was a rear admiral of the United States Navy. He saw service in World War I and in the opening weeks of United States involvement in World War II before being lost overboard from his flagship in the North Atlantic Ocean in 1942.
Early life
Wilcox was born in Midway, Georgia, on 22 March 1882. Appointed from Georgia, he was admitted to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, on 21 May 1901, and began his schooling there on 21 June 1901. The 1905 edition of the school yearbook, the Lucky Bag, described him as cheerful and polite, successful in all his endeavors except the academic study of mathematics, and an expert ice skater, and it listed his activities as including baseball, American football, gymnastics, riflery — he was a skilled rifle marksman — and various social positions. He graduated as a member of the class of 1905.
Naval career
Early career
On 23 February 1905, Wilcox reported aboard the new armored cruiser for his first tour of duty. During his tour aboard her, West Virginia conducted training operations initially as part of the United States Asiatic Fleet, which in early 1907 was downgraded in status to that of First Squadron of the Pacific Fleet. After performing the then-mandatory two years of sea duty as a midshipman, he was promoted to ensign on 31 January 1907. By the beginning of 1909 he had transferred to the patrol yacht , which was operating in the Mediterranean. He was promoted to lieutenant (junior grade) on 31 January 1910 and by the beginning of 1911 was serving aboard the battleship , which conducted peacetime training during his tour. He received a promotion to lieutenant on 9 January 1911 while aboard Georgia.
Wilcox completed his tour aboard Georgia in May 1911, and on 5 September 1911 he reported for duty on the staff of the U.S. Naval Academy. He then returned to sea, transferring on 2 June 1913 to the gunboat , which as the flagship of the Third Squadron arrived in the spring of 1914 in Tampico, Mexico, to protect American lives and property, resulting in the Tampico Affair and the United States occupation of Veracruz. In 1915, he transferred to the battleship , which operated along the East Coast of the United States until going into reserve for an overhaul early in 1916. Wilcox completed his tour aboard her in May 1916. He began duty at the New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, on 13 June 1916.
World War I
While Wilcox was at the New York Navy Yard, the United States entered World War I on 6 April 1917. He was promoted to lieutenant commander on 23 May 1917. Late in 1917, he left the navy yard to become the first commanding officer of the armed yacht when she was commissioned on 10 December 1917 for World War I convoy escort and antisubmarine duty in the Atlantic Ocean.
By March 1918, Wilcox was flag secretary on the staff of Commander, Battleship Force 2, United States Atlantic Fleet, and he received the Navy Cross for distinguished service during that duty. On 1 July 1918, he received a promotion to a temporary wartime rank of commander. The war ended on 11 November 1918, and by the beginning of 1919, Wilcox was the executive officer of the troop transport , engaged in bringing American servicemen home from Europe in the immediate aftermath of the war.
Interwar
By the beginning of 1920 Wilcox was serving on the staff of Destroyer Squadron Four in the Pacific Fleet. By the beginning of 1921 he had become commanding officer of the Pacific Fleet destroyer . Toward the end of his tour aboard Boggs he was promoted to the permanent rank of commander on 3 June 1921, and he detached from Boggs on 21 June 1921. He assumed duties at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 11 July 1921.
Wilcox reported to the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, on 23 June 1923 as a student. After completing his classes, he took command of the destroyer on 4 June 1924. She operated off New England, off Charleston, South Carolina, and in the Caribbean under his command. By the beginning of 1926, he was serving on the staff of the Commander, Destroyer Squadrons, Scouting Fleet. Completing this duty in July 1926, he returned to the Naval War College on 12 July 1926 for a tour on its staff. While at the college, he was promoted to captain on 11 December 1928. Wilcox took command of the submarine tender on 15 June 1929.