Douglas Harold Fox was a Lieutenant Commander

Lieutenant Commander

Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...

 in the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

. He died during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal

Naval Battle of Guadalcanal

The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, sometimes referred to as the Third and Fourth Battles of Savo Island, the Battle of the Solomons, The Battle of Friday the 13th, or, in Japanese sources, as the , took place from 12–15 November 1942, and was the decisive engagement in a series of naval battles...

 in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

Biography

Born in Walled Lake, Michigan

Walled Lake, Michigan

Walled Lake is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 6,999 at the 2010 census.-Origins of the name:The town's name is said to have been given by the first Euro-American settler, Walter Hewitt, in 1825...

, Douglas Fox graduated from the United States Naval Academy

United States Naval Academy

The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...

 on 3 June 1926. After service in various ships and shore stations, he was given command of the newly commissioned destroyer Barton (DD-599)

USS Barton (DD-599)

USS Barton was a Benson-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She was the first ship named for Admiral John Kennedy Barton....

 on 29 May 1942.

Lieutenant Commander Fox went down with his ship when she was torpedo

Torpedo

The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...

ed and sunk in the naval Battle of Guadalcanal on 13 November 1942. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross

Navy Cross

The Navy Cross is the highest decoration that may be bestowed by the Department of the Navy and the second highest decoration given for valor. It is normally only awarded to members of the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and United States Coast Guard, but can be awarded to all...

. Fox also later received an Award star

Award star

An award star is a decoration issued to personnel of the United States Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard in lieu of multiple awards of the same award. An award star is very similar to an oak leaf cluster, which serves the same purpose in the United States Army and United States Air Force...

 in lieu of a second Navy Cross for earlier actions on 26 and 30 October and 3 November in which he had rescued downed aviators and survivors of Hornet (CV-8)

USS Hornet (CV-8)

USS Hornet CV-8, the seventh ship to carry the name Hornet, was a of the United States Navy. During World War II in the Pacific Theater, she launched the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo and participated in the Battle of Midway and the Buin-Faisi-Tonolai Raid...

 under hazardous conditions.

Namesake

See USS Douglas H. Fox (DD-779)

USS Douglas H. Fox (DD-779)

USS Douglas H. Fox an , was named in honor of Lieutenant Commander Douglas H. Fox, the commanding officer of the , who went down with his ship when she was torpedoed and sunk in the naval battle of Guadalcanal 13 November 1942...

for a destroyer named in his honor.