Commander Thomas C. Latimore |
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Commander Thomas C Latimore's ship the USS Dobbin at sea, c.1941.
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Governor of American Samoa | |
In office April 10, 1934 – April 17, 1934 |
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Preceded by | George Landenberger |
Succeeded by | Otto Dowling |
Personal details | |
Died | Oahu, Hawaii, U.S. |
Profession |
Naval officer Politician |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States of America |
Service/branch | United States Navy |
Years of service | ? - 1941 |
Rank | commander |
Battles/wars | World War I |
Commander Thomas Calloway Latimore was an American naval officer who was captain of the USS Dobbin, and the 24th (22nd unique) Governor of American Samoa. His disappearance in Hawaii, just months before the 7 December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, remains an unsolved mystery.
Latimore was promoted from Ensign to Lieutenant junior grade in 1917. He served as acting Governor of American Samoa from April 10 to April 17, 1934. After a brief time at Naval Intelligence in Washington, D.C., Latimore, despite being a commander, was given the command of the USS Dobbin in April 1941; a destroyer tender at Pearl Harbor.
Soon after his arrival on Oahu in April 1941, Latimore, who was described as a quiet, solitary man, began to enjoy hiking in the undeveloped Aiea Mountain Range that overlooked Pearl Harbor (at 21°23′09″N 157°55′51″W / 21.3859°N 157.930927°W). But soon afterwards a Yeoman second class named Kenneth Isaacs on the Dobbin recalled that Latimore "came back to the ship, and he had an arm wound which he said he hurt in a fall. For a while he had an arm in a cast."