Gordon Waite Underwood (June 3, 1910 – January 15, 1978) was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

captain who was awarded the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Naval Service's second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is equivalent to the Army ...

for his achievements during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He is the namesake of the ship .

Early life

Gordon Underwood was born in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

on June 3, 1910, and at an early age moved with his family to

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. In 1932, he was appointed to the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

. At the Naval Academy he proved to be an outstanding student and superb athlete. He earned letters and starred in football and track. He was awarded the coveted Naval Academy Sword for athletic excellence.

Naval career

Following his graduation from the Naval Academy, Underwood served in . This tour was followed by training at the United States Submarine School in

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the outlet of the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, which empties into Long Island Sound. The cit ...

. After his graduation he served in the Submarine School, , , and . In 1941, he attended

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

and earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

Marine Engineering Marine engineering is the engineering of boats, ships, submarines, and any other marine vessel. Here it is also taken to include the engineering of other ocean systems and structures – referred to in certain academic and professional circ ...

. Returning to sea duty, Underwood was assigned to the Staff of Commander Submarine Squadron Ten as Squadron Engineer supporting submarines on war patrol. In January 1944, he was assigned as

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

of . On this ship during three war patrols he was credited with destruction of 76,000 tons of enemy shipping, including the

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

''Shinyo''. For each of his war patrols he was awarded a

and in recognition of the great successes of the first two patrols ''Spadefish'' was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. Underwood's record of success in his war patrols remains one of the most notable in the history of the United States Navy Submarine Service.

Corporate career

Captain Underwood retired from the navy in 1962 after 30 years of distinguished service. After retirement, he became Vice President of Spelin Inc.,

Mountain View, California Mountain View is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. Named for its views of the Santa Cruz Mountains, the population was 82,376 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Mountain V ...

. He was also Vice President of Filter-Aire of

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until his retirement.

Awards & Decorations

Navy Cross citation (first award)

''Commander in Chief Pacific: Serial 07434 (December 10, 1944)''
The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Commander Gordon Waite Underwood (NSN: 0-71439), United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession as Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. SPADEFISH (SS-411), on the FIRST War Patrol of that submarine during the period 23 July 1944 to 24 September 1944, in enemy controlled waters of the Luzon Strait in the Philippine Islands. Through tenacious and highly aggressive actions Commander Underwood skillfully penetrated heavy and unusually alert escort screens, which included air support, to press home cleverly planned and well executed torpedo attacks which resulted in the sinking of six enemy ships totaling 40,000 tons and damaging two additional enemy ships totaling 14,500 tons. Subsequent heavy anti-submarine efforts by the enemy and their depth charging were skillfully evaded by his intelligent evasive tactics thus enabling him to escape and avoid severe damage to his ship. Through his experience and sound judgment Commander Underwood brought his ship safely back to port. His conduct throughout was an inspiration to his officers and men and in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

Navy Cross citation (second award)

''Commander in Chief Pacific: Serial 01690 (February 25, 1945)''
The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting a Gold Star in lieu of a Second Award of the Navy Cross to Commander Gordon Waite Underwood (NSN: 0-71439), United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession as Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. SPADEFISH (SS-411), on the SECOND War Patrol of that submarine during the period 23 October 1944 to 12 December 1944, in enemy controlled waters of the East China Sea. By his superb skill, courage, and aggressiveness, Commander Underwood successfully launched well-planned and smartly executed attacks which resulted in sinking enemy ships totaling over 30,000 tons and damaging an additional large vessel. Through his experience and sound judgment Commander Underwood brought his ship safely back to port. His conduct throughout was an inspiration to his officers and men and in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

Navy Cross citation (third award)

''Commander in Chief Pacific: Serial 03555 (April 25, 1945)''
The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting a Second Gold Star in lieu of a Third Award of the Navy Cross to Commander Gordon Waite Underwood (NSN: 0-71439), United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession as Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. SPADEFISH (SS-411), on the THIRD War Patrol of that submarine during the period 6 January 1945 to 13 February 1945, in enemy controlled waters of the East China Sea. Making six courageous attacks in the face of unusually numerous escorts, Commander Underwood coolly penetrated the defenses of four escort vessels each time and successfully concluded five attacks which resulted in sinking four enemy ships for a total of 16,400 tons and in damaging one ship for 7,500 tons. By his vast experience gained in previous depth charge attacks, he cleverly evaded extremely heavy countermeasures and brought his ship back to port. His skill, courage and unwavering devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

References

A portion of this text originated from the public domain ship's history of USS ''Underwood'

{{DEFAULTSORT:Underwood, Gordon W. 1910 births 1978 deaths Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) United States Navy officers United States Navy personnel of World War II United States submarine commanders