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Courtney Shands, Class of 1923

Admiral Shands graduated from the United States Naval Academy and was commissioned in 1927. He was the captain of the water polo team and played center on the football team. He was a fighter pilot during WWII and was awarded the Navy Cross, Air Medal and the Purple Heart. He fought in the Battle for Malta, and he led the air attack on Guadalcanal from the USS Wasp, was injured when the ship was sunk, but went on to fly fighters out of Henderson Field until he was severely wounded. At the end of the war he was the skipper of the carrier Takanis Bay, and during the Korean war was skipper of the USS Oriskany, then the largest carrier in the fleet. Late in his career he headed up the social weapons (i.e., atomic) command. During his career he logged 5,000 flight hours and 327 carrier landings. He retired as a rear admiral. He died in 1968 survived by his wife, Elizabeth Jones Shands, his son, Courtney, and his daughter, Bettie.