JOHN J. SHAFFER, III, CDR, USN
John Shaffer, III '30
Lucky Bag
From the 1930 Lucky Bag:
JOHN JACKSON SHAFFER
Houma, Louisiana
"Jack"
JACK possesses that intangible charm of personality which, with an unaffected ease of manner, distinguishes the perfect gentleman in the genuine sense. A man among men, he has endeared himself to those who love him, and to those fortunates who are in daily contact with him, Jack has shown that his idiosyncrasies are few, his abilities varied, and his perfect good humor perennial.
He is one of the few who strive to attain the ideal and yet in so doing can appreciate the quiet pleasures of life and understand the foibles of his fellow men. He has set his goal and notwithstanding the wiles of fate he will achieve it. He accomplishes his work thoroughly, but unobtrusively, and his success and popularity are but milestones; for to Jack the greatest joy of life is achievement.
Jack fostered a desire to become a gymnast and by dint of conscientious effort during the long winter months he made a worthy addition to the team which won the InterCollegiate Championship. His literary talents gained him the associate-editorship of the Lucky Bag.
Associate Editor Lucky Bag 2, 1; Associate Editor Reef Points 1; Reef Points Staff 2; Gym Team 4, 3, 2, 1; "GNAT."; Two Stripes.
JOHN JACKSON SHAFFER
Houma, Louisiana
"Jack"
JACK possesses that intangible charm of personality which, with an unaffected ease of manner, distinguishes the perfect gentleman in the genuine sense. A man among men, he has endeared himself to those who love him, and to those fortunates who are in daily contact with him, Jack has shown that his idiosyncrasies are few, his abilities varied, and his perfect good humor perennial.
He is one of the few who strive to attain the ideal and yet in so doing can appreciate the quiet pleasures of life and understand the foibles of his fellow men. He has set his goal and notwithstanding the wiles of fate he will achieve it. He accomplishes his work thoroughly, but unobtrusively, and his success and popularity are but milestones; for to Jack the greatest joy of life is achievement.
Jack fostered a desire to become a gymnast and by dint of conscientious effort during the long winter months he made a worthy addition to the team which won the InterCollegiate Championship. His literary talents gained him the associate-editorship of the Lucky Bag.
Associate Editor Lucky Bag 2, 1; Associate Editor Reef Points 1; Reef Points Staff 2; Gym Team 4, 3, 2, 1; "GNAT."; Two Stripes.
Loss
John was lost on April 8, 1944, when he succumbed to wounds sustained the previous day during a successful attack on the German submarine U-856. He was the commanding officer of USS Champlin (DD 601).
Other Information
A note at Find A Grave indicates John was aboard USS Arizona (BB 39) at the time of her destruction on December 7, 1941.
From researcher Kathy Franz:
John met his wife, the former Barbara Townsend, in 1931 at Bremerton where she was the guest of her uncle and aunt, Admiral and Mrs. Edward Hale Campbell.
At a nautical cocktail party on April 3, 1938, their engagement was announced by the Navy’s Signal Corps code from a miniature ship – the S. S. Townsend. It was anchored in a sea of blue flowers on the dining room's buffet. The couple were married on June 25, at St. Clement’s Church in Berkeley, California. Their daughter Sandra (or Ivy) was 3 ½ years old when John died.
John served with Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd on board the U. S. S. Arizona when the admiral was killed at Pearl Harbor. He also served in Washington, D. C., on the staff of Admiral Ernest J. King.
In September, 1943, John was promoted to the rank of commander.
John’s father John was a plantation manager. His mother, the former Etta Lee, was a direct descendant of General Robert E. Lee, and his brother was Lt. Col. M. L. Shaffer, U.S. Army.
His wife was listed as next of kin. John has a memory marker in Arkansas.
Photographs
From the Evening Star on April 12, 1944
From The San Francisco Examiner on June 27, 1938
Legion of Merit
From Hall of Valor:
The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Legion of Merit (Posthumously) to Commander John J. Shaffer, III (NSN: 0-63162), United States Navy, for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the Government of the United States as Commanding Officer of a United States Navy Destroyer during action against a U-boat in the Atlantic on 7 April 1944. Commander Shaffer made repeated sound attacks and forced the submarine to the surface. He continued the attack with gunfire and finally rammed the submarine. Determined that contact should not be lost, he conned his vessel from an exposed position and sustained a wound which resulted in his death the next day.
General Orders: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 329 (August 1944)
Service: Navy
Rank: Commander
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 1930
January 1931
April 1931
July 1931
October 1931
January 1932
LTjg Theodore Marshall '24 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 4B)
April 1932
LTjg Theodore Marshall '24 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 4B)
October 1932
ENS Robert Mackert '31 (USS California)
ENS Martin Koivisto '32 (USS California)
ENS Maximilian Schmidt '32 (USS California)
ENS James Marshall '32 (USS California)
January 1933
April 1933
July 1933
October 1933
April 1934
July 1934
October 1934
January 1935
April 1935
October 1935
January 1936
April 1936
July 1936
January 1937
April 1937
September 1937
LT Robert Bedilion '22
LT William Hobby, Jr. '23
LT Richard Baron '24
LT Richard Gingras '25
LT Harold Pound '25
LT William Graham, Jr. '25
LT Andrew Harris '25
LT Ralph Hickox '27
LTjg John Bermingham '29
January 1938
LT Robert Bedilion '22
LT William Hobby, Jr. '23
LT Richard Baron '24
LT Richard Gingras '25
LT Harold Pound '25
LT William Graham, Jr. '25
LT Andrew Harris '25
LT Ralph Hickox '27
LT John Bermingham '29
July 1938
LT William Hobby, Jr. '23
LT Richard Baron '24
LT Harold Pound '25
LT William Graham, Jr. '25
LT Andrew Harris '25
LT Hilan Ebert '26
LT John Bermingham '29
LT Egbert Roth '29
LT Victor Gaulin '30
LTjg Russell Ross '30
LT John Bisson '30
January 1939
LCDR Robert Bedilion '22
LCDR William Hobby, Jr. '23
LT Richard Baron '24
LT Harold Pound '25
LT William Graham, Jr. '25
LT Andrew Harris '25
LT Hilan Ebert '26
LT John Bermingham '29
LT Egbert Roth '29
LT Victor Gaulin '30
LT Russell Ross '30
October 1939
June 1940
ENS Carl Weeden '40 (USS Arizona)
ENS Edward Cloues '40 (USS Arizona)
ENS Howard Merrill '40 (USS Arizona)
ENS Eric Young '40 (USS Arizona)
ENS Frank Lomax '40 (USS Arizona)
ENS Orville Smith '40 (USS Arizona)
November 1940
ENS Carl Weeden '40 (USS Arizona)
ENS Edward Cloues '40 (USS Arizona)
ENS Howard Merrill '40 (USS Arizona)
ENS Eric Young '40 (USS Arizona)
ENS Frank Lomax '40 (USS Arizona)
ENS Orville Smith '40 (USS Arizona)
April 1941
LCDR Paul Register '21 (USS Arizona)
LT Clifford Janz '31 (USS Arizona)
ENS Carl Weeden '40 (USS Arizona)
ENS Edward Cloues '40 (USS Arizona)
ENS Howard Merrill '40 (USS Arizona)
ENS Ulmont Whitehead, Jr. '40 (USS Arizona)
ENS Frank Lomax '40 (USS Arizona)
ENS Orville Smith '40 (USS Arizona)
ENS Richard Glenn '41 (USS Arizona)
ENS Douglas Hein '41 (USS Arizona)
ENS Frank Welch, Jr. '41 (USS Arizona)
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
