Henry Louis Larsen

President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Larsen the first and only Military Governor of American Samoa on January 15, 1942.[1] He served alongside the Naval Governor Laurence Wild. This led to an odd situation where Larsen outranked Wild militarily while, at the same time, Wild held a position of senior authority to Larsen.[9] Larsen negotiated the American occupation of Western Samoa with New Zealand during World War II.[10]

Larsen served as Governor of Guam from August 15, 1944, to May 30, 1946.[1] Larsen mainly concerned himself with military and construction affairs, leaving the day-to-day administration of the island to Commander James Barton, the Deputy Chief Military Government Officer.[1] The government was restructured into a martial one with ten departments to oversee things like education, labor, and public wealth. Much of this remained similar to the naval government in place before the Japanese invasion of the island, though Larsen had increased power to change governmental organization or law by decree. During his tenure, the term Guamanian first became popular as opposed to referring to the natives as Chamorro as the Chamorro people of Guam and the Japanese held island of Saipan had to be differentiated.[11] He oversaw an effort to round up the remaining Japanese forces who remained on the island. This included a plan in which some senior Japanese prisoners were released under the promise that they would round up other hidden forces and order them to surrender.[12]

A number of altercations involving the service of African American serviceman alongside whites ensued while Larsen commanded the island's forces. These included the shooting of an African American Marine by a white sailor and attacks on African American barracks by whites with smoke grenades. Despite Larsen issuing a statement calling for respect toward military members of "various races and colors", the violence continued. It culminated in the commandeering of automatic weapons and trucks by 43 African American sailors in the short-lived Agana race riot, prompting their arrest by Marine military police and sentencing of up to four years in prison each.[13] The men eventually obtained their freedom after Walter Francis White, a NAACP leader, advocated for them by claiming the situation was created by discrimination toward the men mixed with poor leadership in their unit.[14]

During the war, he commanded over 215,000 personnel on the island and oversaw the development of the island into a major air and sea military base in the single largest construction project in the history of the United States Navy. By the time the war ended, the island contained five air bases and eight air strips, from which many planes made bombing runs on the Japanese mainland.[1] The medical facilities on the island were also revamped, and many of the wounded from engagements like the Battle of Iwo Jima were routed through Guam before returning home.[15] Larsen planned to convert the heavily damaged capital of Agana into a more modern American city with a grid plan similar to Santa Monica, California, but never achieved his "New Agana".[11] Larsen contended that these improvements also provided easily discernible living condition improvements for the native Chamorro people of the island.[16]

Citation:

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Major Henry L. Larsen (MCSN: 0-540), United States Marine Corps, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished service as Battalion Commander, Third Battalion, 5th Regiment Marines. On 4 October 1918, Major Larsen's battalion was leading in the attack made by the Fifth Marines, while operating with the 4th French Army, east of Rheims. The French troops on his left not being advanced, and the Brigade on his right being somewhat in rear of the advance, his battalion had both flanks exposed. In spite of this, his coolness and personal bravery enabled him to hold on to the ground gained. The Germans repeatedly counter-attacked, in one instance directly from his left rear, and his position throughout the whole day was under a most severe artillery and machine-gun fire. Major Larsen constantly visited the most exposed parts of his lines and encouraged his men by his inspiring example.[7]

Citation:

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 Major Henry L. Larsen (MCSN: 0-540), United States Marine Corps, for distinguished service in the line of his profession as Brigade Inspector, Second Brigade, U.S. Marine Corps, in Nicaragua from 1 April 1928 to 26 March 1929. Major Larsen's duties in upbuilding and maintaining the morale of the forces, then engaged in a most difficult mission, were performed in a highly distinguished manner, always displaying zeal, activity, thorough understanding and discretion. His successful performance of these duties contributed greatly to the accomplishment of the mission of the naval forces engaged in the pacification of Nicaragua.[7]