HOWARD R. HEALY, LCDR, USN
Howard Healy '22
Lucky Bag
From the 1922 Lucky Bag:
HOWARD RAYMOND HEALY
Chelsea, Massachusetts
"Pop"
WE HAVE sought for some word that would fit "Pop," but there is only one—lazy. He is too lazy to be true. We have sought the height of laziness and it is "Pop!" A man who knows a 4.0 and will not drag her because it is too much work rates the prize in laziness.
A savoir from Massachusetts, "Pop" became a regular subscriber to The Saturday Evening Post, the Red Book, the Cosmo, the Boston Herald and the Christian Science Monitor during Plebe Year when he could coast along just short of starring on his inherent ability plus what he remembered from twelve months at M.I.T. The time that he spent keeping sat in reading would have starred him easily. In athletics "Pop" has made his mark in the Mexican brand: if you were to ask him to exert himself, the most probable reply would be, "What do you think I am, a f-o-o-l?"
"Kissh Popah!"
HOWARD RAYMOND HEALY
Chelsea, Massachusetts
"Pop"
WE HAVE sought for some word that would fit "Pop," but there is only one—lazy. He is too lazy to be true. We have sought the height of laziness and it is "Pop!" A man who knows a 4.0 and will not drag her because it is too much work rates the prize in laziness.
A savoir from Massachusetts, "Pop" became a regular subscriber to The Saturday Evening Post, the Red Book, the Cosmo, the Boston Herald and the Christian Science Monitor during Plebe Year when he could coast along just short of starring on his inherent ability plus what he remembered from twelve months at M.I.T. The time that he spent keeping sat in reading would have starred him easily. In athletics "Pop" has made his mark in the Mexican brand: if you were to ask him to exert himself, the most probable reply would be, "What do you think I am, a f-o-o-l?"
"Kissh Popah!"
Loss
Howard was lost when USS Lexington (CV 2) was sunk on May 8, 1942 in the Battle of the Coral Sea. He was the ship's damage control officer.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Howard graduated from Chelsea high school in 1917 where he had been on the basketball team. He studied at M. I. T. for one year, and then was appointed to the Naval Academy by Congressman Alvin T. Fuller.
In 1929, he received his master of science degree in engineering at the University of Michigan.
He married Josephine Kenkel, a librarian in Long Beach, on January 28, 1933, at her home. Howard was stationed on the USS Pennsylvania. On February 12, she was involved in an automobile accident on the way to a post-nuptial tea and broke her arm.
His father Thomas, a manager of a heater company, died in June 1909. Howard’s mother was Alice; brothers were William, Albert, and Harold; and his sisters were Alice, Claire, and Kathryn. Kathryn married his classmate Edward Frawley (’22,) and Howard was his best man.
From Wikipedia:
Healy was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts and graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1922. After serving on various ships of the fleet and as an instructor at the Naval Academy, Healy commanded Dorsey (DD-117) 1937–1939.
After a tour at Naval Torpedo Station, Newport, R.I., Comdr. Healy reported 13 March 1941 as Damage Control Officer on board Lexington. During the Battle of the Coral Sea, Lexington took two torpedoes and two bomb hits 8 May 1942, and despite heroic damage control could not be saved.
Commander Healy died on board and was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star for his courage, leadership, and professional excellence during the battle to save his ship. Commander Healy perished at his battle station.
Commander Healy lived at 236 Roswell Avenue, Long Beach, California at the time of his death
His wife was listed as next of kin; he was also survived by two sons, Howard, Jr. (age 9 in 1943) and Thomas (age 7). Howard Jr. retired a Navy Captain and naval aviator; Thomas was killed in a car crash in 1962 while an Ensign in submarine school.
Photographs
From The Boston Globe on March 3, 1943
Bronze Star
Unable to find the citation of the Bronze Star he was awarded.
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 1923
September 1923
November 1923
January 1924
March 1924
January 1925
March 1925
May 1925
October 1927
January 1928
April 1928
July 1928
LCDR Norman Scott '11
LCDR Albert Rooks '14
LCDR Cassin Young '16
LT John Gillon '20
LT John Burrow '21
LT Joseph Hubbard '21
LT Edwin Crouch '21
LTjg William Ault '22
October 1928
January 1929
April 1929
July 1929
October 1929
January 1930
October 1930
July 1931
October 1931
January 1932
April 1932
October 1932
January 1933
April 1933
July 1933
LCDR Lyman Swenson '16
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT Robert Smith '20
LT Paul Register '21
LT George Brooke '21
1LT Charles Kail '23
LT Hallsted Hopping '24
LTjg Lawrence McPeake '24
LTjg James Smith, Jr. '25
LTjg Knowlton Williams '25
October 1933
LCDR Lyman Swenson '16
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT Robert Smith '20
LT Paul Register '21
LT George Brooke '21
1LT Charles Kail '23
LT Hallsted Hopping '24
LTjg Lawrence McPeake '24
LTjg William Graham, Jr. '25
LTjg Andrew Harris '25
LTjg James Smith, Jr. '25
April 1934
LCDR Lyman Swenson '16
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT Robert Smith '20
LT Paul Register '21
LT William Gray '21
LT George Brooke '21
1LT Charles Kail '23
LT Hallsted Hopping '24
LT Lawrence McPeake '24
LTjg William Graham, Jr. '25
LTjg Andrew Harris '25
July 1934
LCDR Albert Rooks '14
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT Paul Register '21
LT William Gray '21
LT George Brooke '21
LT Edward Metcalfe '22
LT Eugene Elmore '22
1LT Charles Kail '23
LTjg William Graham, Jr. '25
LTjg John Graff '26
October 1934
LCDR Albert Rooks '14
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT Paul Register '21
LT William Gray '21
LT George Brooke '21
LT John French '22
LT Edward Metcalfe '22
LT Eugene Elmore '22
1LT Charles Kail '23
January 1935
LCDR Albert Rooks '14
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT Paul Register '21
LT William Gray '21
LT George Brooke '21
LT John French '22
LT Edward Metcalfe '22
LT Eugene Elmore '22
1LT Charles Kail '23
April 1935
LCDR Albert Rooks '14
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT Paul Register '21
LT William Gray '21
LT George Brooke '21
LT John French '22
LT Edward Metcalfe '22
LT Eugene Elmore '22
LTjg Heywood Edwards '26
LTjg John Reybold '26
October 1935
CDR Samuel Moore '13
LT William Gray '21
LT John French '22
LT Edward Metcalfe '22
LT Eugene Elmore '22
LT Richard Gingras '25
LTjg Ralph Hickox '27
LTjg Robert Winters '27
January 1936
CDR Samuel Moore '13
LT William Gray '21
LT John French '22
LT Edward Metcalfe '22
LT Eugene Elmore '22
LT Richard Gingras '25
LTjg Ralph Hickox '27
LTjg Robert Winters '27
April 1936
CDR Samuel Moore '13
LT William Gray '21
LT John French '22
LT Edward Metcalfe '22
LT Eugene Elmore '22
LT Richard Gingras '25
LTjg Ralph Hickox '27
LTjg Robert Winters '27
July 1936
January 1937
April 1937
September 1937
January 1938
July 1938
January 1939
October 1939
June 1940
November 1940
April 1941
Namesake
"Kearny, New Jersey, July 4 1943, holding bottles in their hands that they smashed against the prows of the vessels named for their husbands, both former Lieutenant Commanders, Mrs. Ralph Hickox (Left) of Washington D.C., Mrs. Howard R. Healy of Long Beach, California, participated in the launching ceremonies for the destroyers USS Hickox (DD-673) and USS Healy (DD-672) respectively on July 4 1943, at the Kearny Shipyards of U.S. Steel's Federal Shipbuilding Company. Their husbands, both Naval Heroes, died in action in the present war. Photo courtesy of the Acme Newspictures."
USS Healy (DD 672) was named for Howard; the ship was sponsored by his widow.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
