GRAHAM P. BRIGHT, LT, USN
Graham Bright '35
Lucky Bag
From the 1935 Lucky Bag:
GRAHAM PAUL BRIGHT
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
"Gram" "Grampawl" "Paul"
PAUL hails from the Smoky City, but he soon dived out of the haze right into the limelight of Academy life and activities. The picture below on a pair of broad shoulders, with a very good natured and attractive personality, all account for his many admiring friends. His proficiency and fine spirit have been well demonstrated by his accomplishments at the Academy, consisting of a high standing in academics, achievements in athletics and innumerable activities. He has retained the love of his Plebe Year sweetheart; he likes to laugh, write letters, organize committees, and is idealistic, hard-working, and conscientious. As an enthusiastic, amiable, and happy roommate, he was non-pareil; as a true friend, none could be better.
Class Football 4, 2, 1. Class Gym 4. Swimming 4, 3, 2, 1, NA. Choir 4, 3, 2, 1. Chairman Class Crest Committee. Chairman Class Ring Committee. Class Secretary-Treasurer 2, 1. 3 Stripes.
GRAHAM PAUL BRIGHT
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
"Gram" "Grampawl" "Paul"
PAUL hails from the Smoky City, but he soon dived out of the haze right into the limelight of Academy life and activities. The picture below on a pair of broad shoulders, with a very good natured and attractive personality, all account for his many admiring friends. His proficiency and fine spirit have been well demonstrated by his accomplishments at the Academy, consisting of a high standing in academics, achievements in athletics and innumerable activities. He has retained the love of his Plebe Year sweetheart; he likes to laugh, write letters, organize committees, and is idealistic, hard-working, and conscientious. As an enthusiastic, amiable, and happy roommate, he was non-pareil; as a true friend, none could be better.
Class Football 4, 2, 1. Class Gym 4. Swimming 4, 3, 2, 1, NA. Choir 4, 3, 2, 1. Chairman Class Crest Committee. Chairman Class Ring Committee. Class Secretary-Treasurer 2, 1. 3 Stripes.
Loss
Graham was killed by "Japanese machine gun fire" during the invasion of Guam on December 10, 1941. He was a supply officer, and is cited in this book as a member of the Office of the Provost Marshall General.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
In his 1930 Wilkinsburg High School yearbook, he was featured in the Hall of Fame section: “Paul’s activities are so varied that it is impossible to confine his abilities to any definite characteristic.” Class President, 3, 4; Gym Exhibit 2, 3, 4; Honor Roll 2, 3; National Honor Society, 3, 4; Football, 2, 3, 4; Advertising Manager Annual, 3, 4; Review Staff, 4; Secretary French Club, 4; School Play, 4; Usher, 4; Science Club, 3; Chairman Ring Committee, 4; Chairman Senior Prom Committee, 4; Rotary Club Representative, 4. “Are not great men the models of nations?” The Perfect Boy would include Paul’s physique.
After high school, he entered Carnegie Institute of Technology. He was nominated to the Naval Academy by Congressman Clyde Kelly.
Graham married Miriam Katharine Engle on June 6, 1935, in the chapel of the Naval Academy with Commander W. N. Thomas, chaplain, officiating. A dinner dance in their honor was held on June 4 at the Bubble Room at the Lord Baltimore Hotel.
In July 1941, he was transferred to the West Coast from Anacostia Flying Field, Washington, where he had been stationed for two years.
He was survived by his wife, father, two brothers and two sisters. His mother had died ten years earlier.
His wife was listed as next of kin. He has a memory marker in Pennsylvania.
Remembrances
From Find A Grave:
Uncle Paul, I'm your niece Marsha, David's first child. I wish I had known you in life. In addition to photographs, my dad gave me a handwritten letter from one of the natives on the island who admired and missed you. Love, Marsha Lee September 22, 2017
(Emailed Ms. Lee on January 8, 2018.)
Namesake
USS Bright (DE 747) was named for Paul; the ship was sponsored by his widow.
Photographs
From The Pittsburgh Press on May 17, 1931, on his appointment to the Naval Academy.
Graham as a midshipman, from The Pittsburgh Press on June 1, 1942
From Pittsburgh Sun Telegraph on May 10, 1942
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.
October 1935
January 1936
July 1936
January 1937
April 1937
CAPT David Claude '24 (Marine Corps Schools, Marine Barracks)
LTjg Dudley Morton '30 (Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
2LT Ralph Haas '36 (Marine Corps Schools, Marine Barracks)
September 1937
January 1938
July 1938
January 1939
October 1939
June 1940
November 1940
April 1941
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
