After a series of important assignments , he became commanding officer of the light cruiser , and during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on 7 December 1941 was one of the first to bring his ship into action . On 14 May 1942 , he became Commander , Submarines , United States Pacific Fleet ( COMSUBPAC ) ) , and was so serving when killed in the crash of Pan American Flight 1104 into a mountain about southwest of Ukiah in Mendocino County , California , on 21 January 1943 . In the accident , English and other Navy officers were passengers on a four-engine Martin M-130 flying boat , being flown by a Pan American Airways civilian crew . The aircraft — dubbed the '' Philippine Clipper '' before the U.S Navy purchased it and pressed it into service during World War II — was destroyed in the accident ; all 19 aboard were killed
Pan American Flight 1104
Pan Am Flight 1104
Robert Henry English