Former governor’s heroism honored 75 years after blast

Virus cancels Rockefeller ceremony

LITTLE ROCK — Winthrop Rockefeller nearly lost his life 75 years ago Thursday after a kamikaze blast on a vessel near Okinawa, Japan.

A famous photo shows the future governor, in a hospital, smiling and with his severely burned hands wrapped in gauze, but few know about Rockefeller’s heroism on that day because he rarely spoke or wrote about it in spite of a long life in the public eye.

“He was a man who came from a very wealthy family, but he seemed to thrive in dangerous or challenging situations,” said Vic Snyder, a former state senator and U.S. congressman. “I think he’s one of those men who learned that about himself when he served in the Army.”

A ceremony commemorating Rockefeller’s heroism on board the USS Henrico during the invasion of Okinawa was scheduled for Thursday at the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum in North Little Rock, but it was canceled during the planning stages because of the covid-19 outbreak.

Marta Loyd, executive director of the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute in Morrilton, said Rockefeller had a “unique life,” one that came with a variety of challenges. He often put himself in situations that required taking risks, she said.

“It is very important for all people, especially Arkansans, to know about Winthrop’s life and the legacy he left us,” Loyd said.

Among the toughest challenges Rockefeller faced during his young adult life was on board that vessel in the Pacific Ocean on April 2, 1945.

According to the Henrico County Historical Society outside Richmond, Va., the USS Henrico “participated in the invasion of Okinawa” for 13 days until it “conducted a night retirement” the evening of April 2. As it moved out to sea, the troopship was struck by a kamikaze suicide plane on the starboard side of the bridge deck, according to the society.

The explosion did not sink the ship, but it caused extensive damage, flooding and deaths. The attack resulted in the deaths of 37 Navy personnel and 14 Army personnel, including six officers, according to the Henrico County Historical Society. Rockefeller was one of two officers on the vessel wounded during the strike.

Snyder said Rockefeller responded bravely during a devastating situation that killed the vessel’s highest-ranking officers.

“He played a prominent role on what happened after that,” Snyder said. “He was trying to help get those troops out. He did all of that after receiving those wounds.”

Rockefeller left the Army as a lieutenant colonel. During his service, he received a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster.

He is in the Infantry Officer Hall of Fame at Fort Benning, Ga., according to John Ward’s biography of Rockefeller, The Arkansas Rockefeller. Rockefeller’s near encounter with death that day 75 years ago nearly wiped out a promising political career that resulted in one of the unlikeliest gubernatorial victories in the South during the mid-1960s.

Rockefeller ran for governor in 1964, a time when his brother, Nelson, was a top-tier candidate for the Republican nomination for president. Nelson Rockefeller lost a contentious race to Barry Goldwater. Later that same year, Winthrop Rockefeller lost his first bid for Arkansas governor.

Two years later, Rockefeller won the governorship in spite of only 1 out of 10 Arkansas voters identifying as Republican at that time.

Snyder, a longtime Democrat, said he considers Rockefeller a “successful” governor.

“He had great compassion and outreach to the AfricanAmerican community in Arkansas,” Snyder said. “He also recognized that government would only work well if its state employees were treated well. He had a vision for the South and [realized] that the South would only do well if we treated each other well.”

Rockefeller won reelection in 1968, but lost in 1970. He died of pancreatic cancer in February 1973 at the age of 60.

“Winthrop Rockefeller’s legacy is rich and multifaceted, and though his life was cut short, … his decades of military service, public service, and philanthropy left a legacy of bold vision, compassionate leadership and a deep desire to understand and earn the respect of all people,” Loyd said.

Even before his service in the Army, Rockefeller was known as a risk-taker.

Before joining the Army, Rockefeller walked away from his privileged life and worked as a “roustabout and roughneck” for the Humble Oil Co. fields in Texas, Loyd said.

The job required someone to jump into a deep, freezing pit of mud at an oil-drilling site. Someone had to stand in there and stir the pit so that it wouldn’t explode. Rockefeller volunteered when others wouldn’t.

“It was important to him to be respected for pulling his own weight and working alongside others, rather than for his last name,” Loyd said.

Rockefeller was survived by his son, Winthrop Paul “Win” Rockefeller, who went on to serve as lieutenant governor of Arkansas as a Republican from 1996 until his death in 2006.

The Arkansas Republican Party’s headquarters in Little Rock is named the Rockefeller Republican Center.

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