JOSEPH D. LISTER, LT, USN

Joseph Lister '44

Date of birth: June 16, 1920

Date of death: July 20, 1946

Age: 26

Lucky Bag

From the 1944 Lucky Bag:

Joseph Douglas Lister

Waterbury, Connecticut

Steady as she goes, Joe! "Wedgie" cut his eye teeth sailing boats along the Connecticut coast. A natural love of the sea turned his thoughts to the Naval Academy. While here he spent his weekdays with the dinghy team and his weekends on the Highland Light. During the winter battalion wrestling and the Model Club occupied his time. Joe has been a "Red Mike" ever since he walked in the main gate with a picture of a certain brunette from Hartford in his suitcase. His cheery disposition, which has persisted through several close shaves with Skinny, has kept our spirits up and will certainly spread sunshine where-ever he goes.

The Class of 1944 was graduated in June 1943 due to World War II. The entirety of 2nd class (junior) year was removed from the curriculum.

Joseph Douglas Lister

Waterbury, Connecticut

Steady as she goes, Joe! "Wedgie" cut his eye teeth sailing boats along the Connecticut coast. A natural love of the sea turned his thoughts to the Naval Academy. While here he spent his weekdays with the dinghy team and his weekends on the Highland Light. During the winter battalion wrestling and the Model Club occupied his time. Joe has been a "Red Mike" ever since he walked in the main gate with a picture of a certain brunette from Hartford in his suitcase. His cheery disposition, which has persisted through several close shaves with Skinny, has kept our spirits up and will certainly spread sunshine where-ever he goes.

The Class of 1944 was graduated in June 1943 due to World War II. The entirety of 2nd class (junior) year was removed from the curriculum.

Loss

Joseph was lost when his F4U-4 Corsair crashed shortly after taking off from USS Princeton (CV 37) on July 20, 1946 in the vicinity of Hawaii.

Other Information

From the Hartford Courant on July 27, 1946:

Lieutenant Joseph D, Lister, 26, of 190 Park Road, West Hartford, has been reported dead, the Navy Department has informed his wife, Mrs. Mary Fk. Lister, He was previously reported as missing following a recent air crash in the Pacific.
Lieutenant Lister was born in Waterbury and attended Crosby High School there and Randle’s Preparatory School in Washington prior to his appointment to the Naval Academy.
He was graduated from Annapolis in the class of 1944 and served as a line officer in the European and Mediterranean theaters for 13 months after his graduation from the Academy. He returned to this country for flight training and won his wings a year ago.
At the time of the crash Lieutenant Lister was piloting an F4U Corsair fighter plane from the aircraft carrier, USS Princeton.
Besides his wife, he leaves his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth D. Lister of Waterbury.

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Joseph was nominated to the Naval Academy by Senator Danaher.
On October 15, 1944, at the Naval Chapel at Annapolis, Joseph married Mary Elizabeth Perreault. Lieutenant William E. Donnelly was his best man.

His body was not recovered, and he is listed on the Tablets Of The Missing in the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial.