EDWARD H. SEILER, JR., CAPT, USN

Edward Seiler, Jr. '39

Date of birth: August 13, 1918

Date of death: December 4, 1958

Age: 40

Lucky Bag

From the 1939 Lucky Bag:

EDWARD HERMAN SEILER, JR.

New Orleans, Louisiana

Ed, Pinky

The fact that he hails from the annual scene of the Mardi Gras cannot deny the unalterable truth that he speaks with a Bronx accent. Academics have been no worry, as his grades have been near the starring mark. This freedom from personal worries relative to the Little Red Books has given Ed spare time which was often spent helping some plebe to get out of the clutches of the Math or Steam Departments. Good-natured by habit, he takes the knocks of life as they come without wasting a lot of words that wouldn't help. His ambition includes either a pair of wings over his breast pocket or a bridge under his feet — maybe both, of course. And he's well on his way.

Battalion Baseball 3, 1; Log Staff 1; G.P.O.

EDWARD HERMAN SEILER, JR.

New Orleans, Louisiana

Ed, Pinky

The fact that he hails from the annual scene of the Mardi Gras cannot deny the unalterable truth that he speaks with a Bronx accent. Academics have been no worry, as his grades have been near the starring mark. This freedom from personal worries relative to the Little Red Books has given Ed spare time which was often spent helping some plebe to get out of the clutches of the Math or Steam Departments. Good-natured by habit, he takes the knocks of life as they come without wasting a lot of words that wouldn't help. His ambition includes either a pair of wings over his breast pocket or a bridge under his feet — maybe both, of course. And he's well on his way.

Battalion Baseball 3, 1; Log Staff 1; G.P.O.

Loss

Ed was lost on December 4, 1958 when the twin-engined plane he was aboard crashed into the Potomac River, Washington, D.C., shortly after taking off from Naval Air Station Anacostia.

Other Information

From Find A Grave:

Lieutenant (Junior Grade) E. H. Seiler, USN was designated Naval Aviator #11545 in 1942. Graduated from U.S. Naval Academy, Class of 1939. Captain Seiler was killed, along with with Navy Capt. William Alvah Thorn (NA #4146/1935), when the twin-engined JRB Beechcraft they were flying crashed into the Potomac River shortly after taking off from NAS Anacostia, Wash., D.C.
Captain Seiler was survived by his widow, Mrs. Madeleine Monju Seiler, two daughters and two sons.

From the January 1959 issue of Shipmate:

We regret to announce the death of Capt. E. H. SEILER, USN, on 4 December in Washington, D. C, as a result of an airplane accident. At the time of his death he was attached to the office of the Anti-Submarine Warfare Readiness Executive Office, of the Office of Naval Operations. Captain Seiler lived at 5616 Colfax Ave., Alexandria. He is survived by his widow, Madeleine, and four children, Madelyn, 15 ; Susan, 12; Edward H., III, 9; and Stephen, 4. Burial was in New Orleans, La.

In the Class of 1939 book "Fifteen Years Later", Ed reported:

Staff, ComFairWings LANT NAS, Norfolk, Va.
Home of record: 3463 Gentilly Blvd., New Orleans, La.
Best mailing address: 1529 Kingston Ave., Norfolk 3, Va.
Wife's name: Madeleine. Children: Madelyn Carol, born 21 Dec 1942; Suzanne Marie, born 3 Aug 1946; Edward Herman III, born 1 Aug 1949.
Decorations and awards: American Defense with star, American Area, World War II Victory.
Qualifications and courses: Naval Aviator (HTA); Armed Forces Staff College.
Hobbies and activities: Two automobiles, three children, a house and flying, Inter-service softball and volleyball.
Wife's hobbies and activities: Three children, a house and a bridge club.
From Memphis I went to Norfolk, Va. as Executive Officer of Air Transport Squadron Twenty-Two, in Sept. 1948. Qualified as Plane Commander with a special instrument rating and flew transport flights until 1 Feb 1950. In the meantime, was promoted to Commander with date of rank 1 July 1949; and became the proud father of a future midshipman, our first boy, born 1 Aug 1949. Attended the Armed Forces Staff College at Norfolk from Feb to July 1950. Reported to the Staff of the Chief of Naval Air Training, NAS, Pensacola, Fla, in July 1950. Served as Reserve Training Officer and Technical Training Officer under VAdm J.D. Price until Sept, 1953. Reported to the Staff of Commander, Fleet Air Wings, U.S. Atlantic Fleet in Oct 1952 and have been serving as Assistant Operations Officer since then.

Career

From the 1956 cruise book from USS Lexington (CV 16):

Executive Officer, Edward H. Seiler, Jr., Commander, USN
Born in New Orleans, still his home, on Aug 13, 1918, Cdr. Seiler from the US Naval Academy in 1939, began career on old LEX (CV-2), became naval aviator in 1942, later skippered Patrol Bomber Squadron 207, progressed to Exec of NAS, Norfolk, then assumed present duty on June 15, 1956. He has four children and two nicknames.

From the 1957 cruise book from USS Lexington (CV 16):

Executive Officer, Edward H. Seiler, Jr., Commander, USN
Commander Seiler was born in New Orleans, still his home, on August 13 and graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1939. Beginning his naval career as a junior officer aboard the "Old" LEXINGTON (CV-2), he was designated a naval aviator in 1942 and from July 1944 to January 1945 was Commanding Officer of Patrol Bomber Squadron 207.
After serving two years as Executive Officer of Air Transport Squadron 22, he attended the Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Va., from which he graduated in June 1950.
Tours of duty with CNATRA Staff and Fleet Air Wings Atlantic Staff were followed by his assignment to NAS Norfolk as Operations Officer and subsequently as Executive Officer. Commander Seiler returned to the LEXINGTON in 1956 as Executive Officer. He was relieved by Commander Frank Malinasky on 2 September 1957.

Photographs

From the Lucky Bag

Navy Directories & Officer Registers

The "Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps" was published annually from 1815 through at least the 1970s; it provided rank, command or station, and occasionally billet until the beginning of World War II when command/station was no longer included. Scanned copies were reviewed and data entered from the mid-1840s through 1922, when more-frequent Navy Directories were available.

The Navy Directory was a publication that provided information on the command, billet, and rank of every active and retired naval officer. Single editions have been found online from January 1915 and March 1918, and then from three to six editions per year from 1923 through 1940; the final edition is from April 1941.

The entries in both series of documents are sometimes cryptic and confusing. They are often inconsistent, even within an edition, with the name of commands; this is especially true for aviation squadrons in the 1920s and early 1930s.

Alumni listed at the same command may or may not have had significant interactions; they could have shared a stateroom or workspace, stood many hours of watch together… or, especially at the larger commands, they might not have known each other at all. The information provides the opportunity to draw connections that are otherwise invisible, though, and gives a fuller view of the professional experiences of these alumni in Memorial Hall.