Ivan Wettengel

Ivan Wettengel
Wettengel in 1911
25th Naval Governor of Guam
In office
July 7, 1920 – February 27, 1921
Preceded byWilliam Gilmer
Succeeded byJames Sutherland Spore
Personal details
BornIvan Cyrus Wettengel
1876 (1876)
Illinois, US
DiedFebruary 19, 1935 (aged 58–59)
San Diego, California, US
Alma materUnited States Naval Academy
AwardsNavy Cross
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Navy
Rank Captain
CommandsUSS Mindoro
USS Wisconsin
USS Texas
Naval Training Station Hampton Roads
Battles/warsWorld War I

Ivan Cyrus Wettengel (1876 – February 19, 1935) was an American naval officer and politician. A United States Navy captain, he served as the 25th Naval Governor of Guam.

Born in Illinois, he served in World War I and received the Navy Cross. During his tenure as governor, he attempted to assemble a bull-mounted Guam Cavalry. A number of locations in Guam are named for him.

Biography

Wettengel was born in 1876, in Illinois. At the time of his appointment to the Naval Academy he lived in Colorado.[1]

Military career

Wettengel graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1896.[2] Ensign Wettengel served aboard USS Buffalo.[3] He commanded USS Mindoro in 1900.[4] In 1902, while a lieutenant, he saw duty aboard USS Constellation.[5] He served aboard USS Newark in 1905[6] and USS Minnesota in 1906.[7] In 1914, he served aboard USS Arkansas as a lieutenant commander.[8] He commanded USS Wisconsin during World War I, for which he received the Navy Cross.[2]

In 1917, Wettengel was promoted to the rank of captain.[9] On April 12, 1918, he assumed command of the USS Montana (ACR-13).[10]

Wettengel served as Naval Governor of Guam from July 7, 1920, to February 27, 1921.[11] He overturned many of the policies of William Gilmer, the widely criticized and disliked governor prior to him.[12] During his tenure, the Navy opened the first naval aviation station on the island, at Orote Peninsula.[13] He attempted a military experiment during his time in office by forming the Guam Cavalry. These units rode mounted bulls but the idea was abandoned when the bulls proved untrainable.[14] He endorsed increasing medical aid to the island in an effort to in improving the "civilizing and Americanization" of the Chamorro people by making health care and sanitation more widespread.[15]

After serving as Governor, Wettengel commanded USS Texas from May 22, 1924, until September 28, 1925, when he became commander of Naval Training Station Hampton Roads.[16][17] He retired in 1926, at the rank of captain.[2][18]

Personal life and death

Wettengel's first wife died on December 13, 1927, while he was stationed at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard.[19] He then married to Janet Buchanan Wettengel. Wettengel died on February 19, 1935 in San Diego, from a muocardial infraction.[20] According to The San Diego Sun, he was 58 years old.[18]

A number of locations on Guam are named in Wettengel's honor. Wettengel Elementary School, opened in 1968 in Dededo, Guam, briefly held the Eloy Q. Benavente Elementary School in 2008 before protest led school officials to reaffirm its original name in honor of Wettengel.[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ Official Register of the United States: Containing a List of Officers and Employés in the Civil, Military, and Naval Service. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. 1893. p. 641. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
  2. ^ a b c "Valor Awards for Ivan Cyrus Wettengel". Military Times. Gannett Government Media. 2011. Archived from the original on 30 August 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
  3. ^ "Army and Navy Orders". New York Tribune. New York City. Whitelaw Reid. 10 March 1901. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
  4. ^ Register of the Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps and Reserve Officers on Active Duty. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. 1900. p. 36. Retrieved 12 June 2011. Ivan Cyrus Wettengel.
  5. ^ Congressional Serial Set. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. 1902. p. 32. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
  6. ^ "Admiral Sigsbee's Flagship, Newark, Reached Port Yesterday". The Pensacola Journal. Pensacola, Florida. Loftin. 13 April 1905. p. 5. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
  7. ^ Register of the Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. 1906. p. 17. Retrieved 12 June 2011. Ivan C Wettengel.
  8. ^ Register of the Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. 1914. p. 20. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
  9. ^ "186 Naval Officers Promoted; Make 12 New Rear Admirals". South Bend News-Times. December 26, 1917. p. 8. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  10. ^ "USS MONTANA - MISSOULA (Armored Cruiser No. 13/CA 13)". NavSource. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  11. ^ "Naval Era Governors of Guam". Guampedia. Guam: University of Guam. 10 August 2010. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
  12. ^ "Chapter 3: America on Guam — 1898-1950". War in the Pacific National Historical Park: Administrative History. Washington, D.C.: National Park Service. 8 May 2005. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
  13. ^ a b Hart, Therese (13 November 2008). "Wettengel Elementary name change draws controversy". Marianas Variety News & Views. Saipan. Younis Art Studio. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
  14. ^ Rogers, Robert (1995). Destiny's Landfall: A History of Guam. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. p. 146. ISBN 0-8248-1678-1. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
  15. ^ Hattori, Anne Perez (2006). "'The Cry of the Little People of Guam ': American Colonialism, Medical Philanthropy, and the Susana Hospital for Chamorro Women, 1898-1941". Health and History. 8 (1). Australia and New Zealand: Australian and New Zealand Society of the History of Medicine: 9. doi:10.2307/40111527. JSTOR 40111527.
  16. ^ Power, Hugh Irvin (1993). Battleship Texas. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press. p. 135. ISBN 0-89096-519-6. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
  17. ^ "New Governor of Virgin Islands". The Gettysburg Times. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. 5 August 1925. p. 2. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
  18. ^ a b "Retired Navy Captain Dies". The San Diego Sun. 20 February 1935. p. 2. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
  19. ^ "Mrs. Ivan C. Wettengel". The New York Times. New York City. The New York Times Company. 14 December 1927. p. 29.
  20. ^ "Capt. I. C. Wettengel". Public Opinion. 21 February 1935. p. 2. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
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