JAMES W. DANFORTH, LTJG, USN

James Danforth '38

Date of birth: June 28, 1915

Date of death: February 18, 1942

Age: 26

Lucky Bag

From the 1938 Lucky Bag:

JAMES WALKER DANFORTH

Washington, Illinois

Danny, Little Giant

Danny hails from the plains of Illinois, never having seen the splendors of civilization except when his mother took him to Peoria at the age of three. However, his ability to adapt himself to any condition found him at no disadvantage in these strange surroundings. This unforgettable trip so stimulated his curiosity that he joined the Navy. Although his size is not in harmony with his ideas, there is no task too difficult for him, once he decides to tackle it. Football he loves and plays for the game's sake; and were it not for his size he'd wear the varsity blue. His calm assurance, ability to accomplish his ends, and total lack of fear

Wrestling 4, 3, 2, 1; Batt. Football 2, 1; Choir 4, 3, 2, 1; Outdoor Rifle 3; M.P.O.

JAMES WALKER DANFORTH

Washington, Illinois

Danny, Little Giant

Danny hails from the plains of Illinois, never having seen the splendors of civilization except when his mother took him to Peoria at the age of three. However, his ability to adapt himself to any condition found him at no disadvantage in these strange surroundings. This unforgettable trip so stimulated his curiosity that he joined the Navy. Although his size is not in harmony with his ideas, there is no task too difficult for him, once he decides to tackle it. Football he loves and plays for the game's sake; and were it not for his size he'd wear the varsity blue. His calm assurance, ability to accomplish his ends, and total lack of fear

Wrestling 4, 3, 2, 1; Batt. Football 2, 1; Choir 4, 3, 2, 1; Outdoor Rifle 3; M.P.O.

Loss

James was lost when USS Truxtun (DD 229) grounded in Newfoundland on February 18, 1942.

The book "Standing Into Danger" by Cassie Brown detail's Truxtun's loss, as well as the loss of USS Pollux (AKS 2) and USS Wilkes (DD 441), which were also grounded. The website "Dead Reckoning: The Pollux-Truxtun Disaster" is also devoted to the topic.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

He went by Walker.
In April 1933, he won boys vocal, first place, in the 25th annual literary and music meet at Delavan, Illinois. His school Washington came in second overall. His father George was a local lumber dealer.

His wife was listed as next of kin. He has a memory marker in Illinois.

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.