Quick Facts
Biography
Lieutenant Commander (USN) Robert Adrian "Adrian" Marks (February 18, 1917 - March 7, 1998) was the U.S. Navy pilot who rescued 56 crewman of the USS Indianapolis after it was sunk by Japanese torpedoes. Marks disobeyed standing orders not to land in open ocean and rescued survivors by lashing them to the wing. His actions rendered the aircraft unflyable. He was awarded the Air Medal by Chester W. Nimitz. After the rescue, the plane was sunk by U.S. forces as it was not able to be recovered.
Early life
Adrian Marks was born in Ladoga, Indiana on February 18, 1917. He was a graduate of Northwestern University and earned a law degree from Indiana University. His father was also a lawyer. He joined the Navy prior to the United States entry in World War II.
World War II
Marks was stationed in Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked the base on December 7, 1941. After the attack and the U.S. entry into the war, Marks attended flight school and became a Naval aviator.
Rescue of USS Indianapolis survivors
After delivering components for the atomic bombs that were eventually used against Japan, the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis was returning to port when it was hit by two torpedoes. It sunk within twelve minutes with a third of the crew going down with the ship. The ship was not noticed as missing for days after the sinking and the survivors faced fatigue, salt water poisoning and shark attacks.
A patrol plane based on land spotted the heads of survivors bobbing on the water but was unable to identify them. Marks was dispatched to the scene to investigate in his Catalina amphibious patrol plane (PBY5A). He spotted the survivors and dropped life rafts. One life raft was destroyed by the drop while others were too far away from the exhausted crew. Against standing orders not to land in open ocean, Marks took a vote of his crew and decided to land the aircraft in twelve foot swells. He was able to maneuver his craft to pick up survivors. Space in the craft was limited so Marks had survivors lashed to the wing with parachute cord. It damaged the wings rendering the aircraft unflyable.
Marks rescued 56 men. After nightfall, the destroyer USS Cecil J. Doyle, the first of seven rescue ships, used its search light as a beacon and instilled hope for those still in the water. The Doyle and others picked up the remaining survivors and after everyone was off Marks' seaplane, the Doyle sunk her.
Marks earned the Air Medal and it was pinned on him by Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, CINCPAC.
Afterward
Following the war, Marks returned to Frankfort, IN and practiced as a lawyer for real-estate law. He died on March 7, 1998 at 81 years of age and was survived by his wife, five children and ten grandchildren.