EDWIN P. MARTIN, LCDR, USN
Edwin Martin '29
Lucky Bag
From the 1929 Lucky Bag:
EDWIN PRATHER MARTIN
Maysville, Kentucky
"Ed" "Doc" "Flossie"
LADIES and gentlemen, a true son of the old Bluegrass State. With but slight interest in horses, he devotes himself to the other half of the famous pair—pretty women. When the time of hops rolls around, Ed is there in his glory—usually dragging. An otherwise good average received a grave set-back one week-end during Youngster year, but usually he has been a credit to his class. His one bad habit is his love of fishing—he goes crabbing almost every week-end. He's not the perfect snake as yet, but it's not for lack of trying. He, too, takes his dragging seriously.
There's a streak of Scotch somewhere in his make-up, as he demonstrated when someone attempted to inveigle him into a bet. Ed doesn't bet; he makes investments. The quiet of Second Class Cruise was shattered with a loud bang, when overnight "Flossie" burst forth into fame, achieved his new nick-name, a private yell, and much notoriety. No reason has yet been found for this occurrence, but it might have been San Francisco. Quien sabe?
Doc is an athlete, too, but of the radiator variety. Those of us who have been privileged to know Ed well will always remember him as a quiet and unassuming friend, a true shipmate, and an always dependable member of the gold-brick squad.
Crew 3, 2; 150 lb. Gymkhana 4. Sub-Squad 4, 3, 2. 1 P.O.
EDWIN PRATHER MARTIN
Maysville, Kentucky
"Ed" "Doc" "Flossie"
LADIES and gentlemen, a true son of the old Bluegrass State. With but slight interest in horses, he devotes himself to the other half of the famous pair—pretty women. When the time of hops rolls around, Ed is there in his glory—usually dragging. An otherwise good average received a grave set-back one week-end during Youngster year, but usually he has been a credit to his class. His one bad habit is his love of fishing—he goes crabbing almost every week-end. He's not the perfect snake as yet, but it's not for lack of trying. He, too, takes his dragging seriously.
There's a streak of Scotch somewhere in his make-up, as he demonstrated when someone attempted to inveigle him into a bet. Ed doesn't bet; he makes investments. The quiet of Second Class Cruise was shattered with a loud bang, when overnight "Flossie" burst forth into fame, achieved his new nick-name, a private yell, and much notoriety. No reason has yet been found for this occurrence, but it might have been San Francisco. Quien sabe?
Doc is an athlete, too, but of the radiator variety. Those of us who have been privileged to know Ed well will always remember him as a quiet and unassuming friend, a true shipmate, and an always dependable member of the gold-brick squad.
Crew 3, 2; 150 lb. Gymkhana 4. Sub-Squad 4, 3, 2. 1 P.O.
Loss
Edwin was lost when USS Ingraham (DD 444) was sunk on August 22, 1942 by a collision with an oil tanker while on convoy duty off the coast of Nova Scotia. Ingraham sank almost immediately, and depth charges on her stern detonated as she went down. Only eleven men survived.
He was the only Lieutenant Commander aboard; he was likely the ship's executive officer.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Edwin graduated from Maysville High School. He married Agatha Mercier on March 3, 1930, at St. Matthew’s church in New York City.
Edwin wife was listed as next of kin. He has a memory marker in Kentucky.
Note
Despite multiple sites that list him as a Commander, believe Memorial Hall is correct with Lieutenant Commander. Both the Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps of 1943 and Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps of 1944 — which gives his date of death — list him as LCDR.
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.
July 1929
October 1929
January 1930
April 1930
April 1931
January 1932
April 1932
October 1934
January 1935
April 1935
October 1935
January 1936
April 1936
January 1937
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September 1937
January 1938
July 1938
January 1939
October 1939
June 1940
November 1940
April 1941
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