William W. Outerbridge
| William Woodward Outerbridge | |
|---|---|
| Born |
April 14, 1906 Victoria, Hong Kong |
| Died | September 20, 1986 (aged 80) Tifton, Georgia |
| Allegiance |
 United States
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Navy
|
| Years of service | 1927–1957 |
| Rank | Rear Admiral |
| Commands held |
Ward (DD-139) O'Brien (DD-725) Destroyer Division Forty-Two Destroyer Squadron Four Los Angeles (CA-135) |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | Navy Cross, Legion of Merit |
William Woodward Outerbridge (14 April 1906 – 20 September 1986) was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy. He held the distinction of firing the first shots in defense of the United States during World War II.
Outerbridge was born in Victoria, Hong Kong, and was raised in Middleport, Ohio. He attended Middleport High School and graduated from Marion Military Institute in Alabama. He was then appointed to the United States Naval Academy from which he graduated in 1927. He served in various capacities on ships and ashore, including 3½ years on the China Station (1937–40) aboard the heavy cruiser Augusta (CA-31). In 1940-41 he was Executive Officer of the destroyer Cummings (DD-365), and on December 5, 1941 he was appointed as the captain of the destroyer Ward (DD-139), stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Early in the morning of December 7, 1941, the Ward, while on patrol near the entrance to Pearl Harbor, was alerted by the cargo ship Antares (AG-10) to the presence of a Japanese midget submarine attempting to infiltrate into the harbor entrance. The Ward opened fire with her number three deck gun, then dropped depth charges, and sank the submarine. Outerbridge's radio reports were discounted by senior officers at naval headquarters despite his efforts to emphasize that there could be no mistake, sending a second report with more explicit detail: “We have attacked, fired upon, and dropped depth charges upon submarine operating in defensive sea area.” This happened just 70 minutes before the Japanese naval air forces commenced their attacks on Pearl Harbor. The action by the Ward's crew was thus the first naval action by U.S. forces in World War II, and the gun that fired the first shot was installed as a memorial at the Minnesota State Capitol in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The midget submarine the Ward sank that morning was finally located in August 2002 in 1,300 feet (400 m) of water just outside Pearl Harbor.
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