JOHN F. NELSON, LTJG, USN

John Nelson '28

Date of birth: January 30, 1907

Date of death: August 7, 1935

Age: 28

Lucky Bag

From the 1928 Lucky Bag:

JOHN FREDERICK NELSON

Sharon Springs, Kansas

"Duke" "Fritz"

"FRITZ" Nelson, better known as "Duke," hails from "way out west in Kansas." He attended high school in the eastern part of the state. He may have had a good opportunity of learning there, but nevertheless he says he had a great time and even admits he never opened a book. Consequently his Plebe Year was no path of roses. He realizes what it means to "pull sat." He also realizes the benefit of getting "velvet," but ordinarily "Duke" will tell you that a good sailor always sails "close hauled."

"Duke" likes sports. He wanted to be a boxer but his ability as a boxer did not justify his taking it up. The sub-squad may have made him lose interest in boxing and crew, but "Duke" believes in giving them all a try.

Class Football (2, 1); Class Basketball (4, 3); Class Rifle (2, 1); Small Bore Rifle (2).

JOHN FREDERICK NELSON

Sharon Springs, Kansas

"Duke" "Fritz"

"FRITZ" Nelson, better known as "Duke," hails from "way out west in Kansas." He attended high school in the eastern part of the state. He may have had a good opportunity of learning there, but nevertheless he says he had a great time and even admits he never opened a book. Consequently his Plebe Year was no path of roses. He realizes what it means to "pull sat." He also realizes the benefit of getting "velvet," but ordinarily "Duke" will tell you that a good sailor always sails "close hauled."

"Duke" likes sports. He wanted to be a boxer but his ability as a boxer did not justify his taking it up. The sub-squad may have made him lose interest in boxing and crew, but "Duke" believes in giving them all a try.

Class Football (2, 1); Class Basketball (4, 3); Class Rifle (2, 1); Small Bore Rifle (2).

Loss

John was lost on August 7, 1935, near Otay Mesa, California when the plane he was piloting went into a spin and crashed. The other man aboard was also killed; they were members of Scouting Squadron (VS) 4B.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

The plane was attached to scouting Squadron 4 and crashed on Roll’s Farm. It went into a left-hand spin and crashed from 500 feet. The other six planes from the formation landed quickly, but there were no survivors of the crash.
John had just returned to Los Angeles on the S. S. Antigua from Balboa, Canal Zone, on June 2.
John was born in Tilden, Nebraska. His father was Hugo, a physician, who died in 1940. His mother was Celia who died in 1913. His twin sisters were Aurora and Maria, and his younger sister was Margaret. In 1910 the family lived in Excelsior Springs, Missouri, and in 1920, they lived in Sharon Springs, Kansas. Hugo's sister and mother lived with them.
His widow Marian W. resided in San Diego. His father lived in Sharon Springs.

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.