Commander Aquilla Gibbs Dibrell

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/65051559/aquilla-gibbs-dibrell

"Aboard the Lexington was Commander Aquila Dibrell, Landing Signal Officer. Dibrell was a former test pilot who would later come aboard Casablanca, become the ship's executive officer, then finally, the ship's commanding officer. When the men of Lexington were ordered to abandon ship, Debrell wisely went over the side wearing his shoes and side arm, a Model 1911 Colt. Regrettably, he left the gold-plated Man O' War horseshoes in the cast donated to the ship by the city of Lexington, Kentucky. Dibrell and others were in the water for approximately an hour."

Concerning the Casablanca, "The officer who held everything together and kept morale high over most of the life of the ship was Commander Aquila Dibrell,...The crew and officers, alike, held their executive officer, and finally commanding officer, in high regard and he continued with his true concern for those in the military throughout his life."

After the decommissioning of the CasaB, Dibrell became a flight instructor at Pensacola, Florida, than went to Kingston, Ontario as a representative of the Navy and was sent to the Middle East to look at the future problem areas for strategic planning Purposes. Subsequently, Dibrell took command of Litchfield Park Air Base, and then spent three years as head of Columbia University's ROTC unit...

His last tour was that of District Intelligence Officer for the 11th Naval District in California."

z'...Commander Dibrell always showed respect for the enlisted crew. A tribute to that fact is that he was inducted as a member of the Navy League, of which he was most proud...The Navy League provided the honor guard at his funeral."

This bio is taken from a book by Dr. Barbara G. Jones: The Role the USS Casablanca (CVE-55) Played in World War II in the Pacific.

--information contributed by Rosie McNaughton

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Navy Cross Citation

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Lieutenant Commander Aquilla Gibbs Dibrell, United States Navy, for distinguished service as a Commanding Officer of submarines engaged in patrolling the United States Atlantic Coast during World War I.