HOWARD P. FISCHER, LTJG, USN

Howard Fischer '38

Date of birth: June 30, 1917

Date of death: March 2, 1942

Age: 24

Lucky Bag

From the 1938 Lucky Bag:

HOWARD PHILIP FISCHER

New York City, New York

Fish, Ham

Despite the handicap of coming from the big city, Howard early won our esteem with his cheerful disposition and friendliness to all. His career as a snake ended with his removal from circulation Youngster year, and he has since been regularly found awaiting the delivery of his daily epistle from a certain dark-eyed girl at home. Being of an easy-going nature, little disturbs him, and the Ac Departments' fiercest onslaughts have left him unscathed. Most of his spare time has been spent thrashing up the water hereabouts, and he has contributed much towards the making of better water polo teams. His generosity and genial disposition have won him many friends, and, with his deep love for the service, Ham will go far in any man's navy.

Crew 4; Water Polo 4, 3, 2; Batt. Football 2; Lucky Bag; M.P.O.

HOWARD PHILIP FISCHER

New York City, New York

Fish, Ham

Despite the handicap of coming from the big city, Howard early won our esteem with his cheerful disposition and friendliness to all. His career as a snake ended with his removal from circulation Youngster year, and he has since been regularly found awaiting the delivery of his daily epistle from a certain dark-eyed girl at home. Being of an easy-going nature, little disturbs him, and the Ac Departments' fiercest onslaughts have left him unscathed. Most of his spare time has been spent thrashing up the water hereabouts, and he has contributed much towards the making of better water polo teams. His generosity and genial disposition have won him many friends, and, with his deep love for the service, Ham will go far in any man's navy.

Crew 4; Water Polo 4, 3, 2; Batt. Football 2; Lucky Bag; M.P.O.

Loss

Howard was lost when USS Pillsbury (DD 227) was sunk by a superior Japanese surface force in a night action on March 2, 1942, 200 miles east of Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

From the Daily Register, Red Bank, New Jersey, April 16, 1942: Howard took part in five major battles in the Far East before his death. His ship was proceeding to Australia when last heard from.
Memorial services were held April 14 at Temple Rodeph Sholo in New York City and were attended by 1800 people. A tribute to his memory was paid by Congressman Joseph A. Gavagan who recommended his appointment to the Naval Academy.
His mother was Frances A., an attorney and well-known figure in Democratic circles. His father Francis, born in 1879 Austria Hungary, died July 5, 1939. He had been an attorney and former instructor of mathematics and science at the Stuyvesant high school in New York City. His brother was Ira, and his sister was Edna.
His last message to his mother stated “From now on you will not know where I am or what I am doing.”

His father was listed as next of kin.

Edward has a memory marker in Arlington National Cemetery and another in New York.

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.