Richard Nott Antrim

OFFERED TO SUFFER A FELLOW PRISONER’S PUNISHMENT AT MAKASSAR

Richard Nott Antrim graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1931 and built a varied career at sea and in naval aviation. He served aboard USS New York and USS Portland, qualified as a lighter-than-air naval aviator, and became executive officer of the destroyer USS Pope. When the United States entered the Second World War, Pope was operating with the Asiatic Fleet in the Dutch East Indies.

In early 1942, Pope fought in the naval actions around Balikpapan, Bali and the Java Sea. On 1 March, while escorting the damaged cruiser HMS Exeter with the destroyer HMS Encounter, Pope was attacked by Japanese surface ships and aircraft. After a prolonged fight the ship was disabled and sunk. Antrim, wounded, organized the evacuation and helped survivors gather around a motor whaleboat and rafts. Japanese forces captured the survivors and transported them to Makassar, where Antrim and other Allied personnel were held as prisoners of war.

In April, Japanese guards prepared to punish a fellow American naval officer before the assembled prisoners. Antrim tried to calm the guard and persuade him to hear the accusation. The officer was struck repeatedly with a hawser and kicked until he lost consciousness. Antrim then stepped forward and offered to receive the rest of the punishment. His intervention stunned the guards and gave the prisoners a moment of hope; the officer survived. The action later became the basis for Antrim’s Medal of Honor. He also received the Bronze Star for a separate act of quiet resistance in captivity: arranging the construction of a large “US” sign among slit trenches so Allied aircraft could identify the prisoners’ location.

Antrim was liberated in 1945 and returned to naval service. He commanded the destroyer USS Turner, served in naval planning and policy roles, and later commanded the attack transport USS Montrose. The Medal of Honor was presented by President Harry S. Truman at the White House on 30 January 1947. Antrim retired in 1954 as a rear admiral and died in 1969. The Navy named the guided-missile frigate USS Antrim in his honor.

Medal of Honor citation

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while interned as a Prisoner of War of the enemy Japanese in the city of Makassar, Celebes, Netherlands East Indies, in April 1942. Acting instantly on behalf of a Naval officer who was subjected to a vicious clubbing by a frenzied Japanese guard venting his insane wrath upon the helpless prisoner, Commander (then Lieutenant) Antrim boldly intervened, attempting to quiet the guard and finally persuading him to discuss the charges against the officer. With the entire Japanese force assembled and making extraordinary preparations for the threatened beating, and with the tension heightened by 2,700 Allied prisoners rapidly closing in, Commander Antrim courageously appealed to the fanatic enemy, risking his own life in a desperate effort to mitigate the punishment. When the other had been beaten unconscious by 15 blows of a hawser and was repeatedly kicked by three soldiers to a point beyond which he could not survive, Commander Antrim gallantly stepped forward and indicated to the perplexed guards that he would take the remainder of the punishment, throwing the Japanese completely off balance in their amazement and eliciting a roar of acclaim from the suddenly inspired Allied prisoners. By his fearless leadership and valiant concern for the welfare of another, he not only saved the life of a fellow officer and stunned the Japanese into sparing his own life but also brought about a new respect for American officers and men and a great improvement in camp living conditions. His heroic conduct throughout reflects the highest credit upon Commander Antrim and the United States Naval Service.

Sources

Naval History and Heritage Command. “Antrim, Richard Nott.” Modern Biographical Files, adapted from Rear Admiral Richard Nott Antrim, United States Navy, Deceased, 25 September 1967.

Naval History and Heritage Command. “Commander Richard N. Antrim, USN.” Photograph NH 105631 and Medal of Honor citation, as printed in Medal of Honor, 1861–1949: The Navy, p. 151.

United States Naval Academy. “Richard Nott Antrim.” Notable Graduates.