JOHN P. SPEARS, LTJG, USN

John Spears '40

Date of birth: June 25, 1918

Date of death: August 9, 1942

Age: 24

Lucky Bag

From the 1940 Lucky Bag:

JOHN PRATT SPEARS

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Johnny No. 3

Although John's life as a Navy Junior has taken him to many scattered stations he still claims Tennessee as his home state. His early life fitted him well to attain the success that he has achieved at the Academy and will undoubtedly attain in the Fleet. A conscientious worker, John has had very few academic worries. In common with other lightly burdened individuals he has had more time for his other pursuits, namely: boxing, track, and most important, of course — the fair sex. John's four years here have won for him a host of friends, and we all look forward to seeing him again in the Fleet.

Boxing Squad 2, 1; 2 Stripes.

JOHN PRATT SPEARS

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Johnny No. 3

Although John's life as a Navy Junior has taken him to many scattered stations he still claims Tennessee as his home state. His early life fitted him well to attain the success that he has achieved at the Academy and will undoubtedly attain in the Fleet. A conscientious worker, John has had very few academic worries. In common with other lightly burdened individuals he has had more time for his other pursuits, namely: boxing, track, and most important, of course — the fair sex. John's four years here have won for him a host of friends, and we all look forward to seeing him again in the Fleet.

Boxing Squad 2, 1; 2 Stripes.

Loss

John was lost in USS Vincennes (CA 44) during the Battle of Savo Island on August 9, 1942.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

John went to Greta Wert school and Baylor in Chattanooga.
John’s parents were Rear-Admiral and Mrs. W. O. Spears (‘05.) John’s brother Lt. W. O. Spears, Jr. (’38), was also missing in action at the time. He was on the destroyer Pope when it was sunk on February 27, 1942. He returned after three years of imprisonment by the Japanese. Their other brother was Ensign Morton F. Spears, U. S. Naval Reserve at MIT. He would go into the Navy after graduation in February 1943.

His father was listed as next of kin; he was also survived by two brothers: William Jr. (USNA grad, captured following sinking of USS Pope (DE 134)) and Morton, who served in the new cruiser Vincennes at the end of the war.

Photographs

From the Lucky Bag
From Chattanooga Daily Times on May 22, 1936
From Chattanooga Daily Times on December 9, 1941
From Chattanooga Daily Times on September 17, 1942

Career

From History of Class of 1940:

Johnny, a native of Tennessee and a Navy junior, was a member of the varsity boxing squad at the Academy. He breezed through the years on the Severn with aplomb. On graduation, he reported on board VINCENNES, a 10,000-ton Washington treaty heavy cruiser, and was initially assigned as 2nd Division Junior Officer. By late summer, 1941, Johnny was one of only four qualified Officers-of-the-Deck, which assignment continued for the remaining year of the ship's life. In July, he became 2nd Division Officer, with battle station as Turret Officer of the triple-gunned Turret 2 of the 8"/50 main battery.
After "neutrality patrols" and convoy duty in the Atlantic, VINCENNES joined the Pacific Fleet in March, 1942, where he participated in the launching of the Doolittle raid on Tokyo and the Battle of Midway.
On August 7, 1942, the ship was a member of the gunfire support force at the initial landings on Guadalcanal. In the ensuing surface Battle of Savo Island during the early hours of August 9, VINCENNES was in the northern force, leading cruisers QUINCY and ASTORIA and destroyers WILSON and HELM. The attacking Japanese force of five heavy and two light cruisers separated into two columns as they came north, straddling the U.S. force. VINCENNES' main battery commenced firing during condition watch, ceased when the ship's captain came to the bridge, then resumed. The ship fired two salvos under director control, but within the early minutes both of VINCENNES' main battery directors were shot out of commission. At about that time, Turrets 1 and 2 received heavy-caliber hits and part of a shell entered the control booth of Turret 2; Spears was probably initially wounded at that time and the turret lost power. The turret shortly afterward received two direct 8-inch hits, one of which penetrated the faceplate, and was thereafter out of commission. The ship survived only a short time afterwards and finally sank.
Lieutenant (junior grade) Spears and his junior turret officer were both killed during the Battle of Savo Island and their bodies remained with the ship when it sank. Johnny was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart. His surviving shipmates remember him with deep pride and respect. (Submitted by Ray Hundevadt)

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.