Awards Letter of Commendation | Nationality United States Name Edmund Root | |
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Succeeded by George Andrew Alexander Alma mater | ||
Edmund Spence Root (December 27, 1881 – February 27, 1961) was a United States Navy Captain who served as the 34th Naval Governor of Guam. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1905, serving on many ships as an ensign. He served as the inaugural commanding officer of two ships: the USS Rizal and the USS Astoria. He served during World War I as commander of the U-boat hunting USS Rowan, for which he received a letter of commendation. As governor, he generated controversy by expelling 112 Japanese laborers from Guam. The Guam Museum also opened during his term of office.
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Naval career
Root was appointed to the United States Naval Academy from Ohio in 1901. He reported aboard the USS Alabama in 1906, and 1908 he served aboard the USS Maine as an ensign. On April 4, 1910, he began service aboard the USS Bainbridge.
In 1913, he served aboard the USS Glacier. During World War I, Root served within the Bureau of Navigation and then with the Destroyer fleet stationed out of Queenstown, Ireland. In the war, he commanded the USS Rowan, specifically seeking out and engaging German U-boats, for which he received a letter of commendation. On May 28, 1919, Root set sail aboard the USS Rizal as her first commanding officer. In 1934, he served as the first commanding officer of the USS Astoria. In the 1940s, he headed the naval officer procurement program in Chicago, where he oversaw the area's initial WAVES program.
Governorship
Root served as Naval Governor of Guam from May 15, 1931 to June 21, 1933. Root caused controversy between the United States and Japanese governments in 1933 when he expelled 112 Japanese citizens from Guam after their residence permits expired. The Guam Museum opened during his term. The Edmund S. Root Agricultural School in Guam is named in his honor.