WILLIAM C. FRANCE, CAPT, USN
William France '24
Lucky Bag
From the 1924 Lucky Bag:
WILLIAM COOK FRANCE
New Rochelle, New York
"Charlie"
WILLIAM COOK FRANCE at a song or a dance, is the peer of all men to behold, with his hot navy line and his glances sublime, he charms all the maidens so bold. But 'tis not of this thing that we wish most to sing—though there's more we could easily tell—'tis his habits so rare that we wish most to air and proclaim e'en to you, New Rochelle. His most prevalent vice—no, never touches the dice—is the wearing of shirts all in ribbons; from the front to the back a most evident lack shows the pelt of his royal "his nibbons." Though we rant and we rave and slip nearer the grave, 'tis all to the vainest of uses, a needle and thread seem to fill him with dread and he balks with the weakest excuses.
We'd forgive him for that if he'd only grow tar and furnish some real competition. "Eat and grow thin", will he ever give in and give up this pernicious ambition? The rest of us brood and give up our food, resort to all kinds of privations, though our efforts he'll conn he just scoffs and scoffs on without fear of a large corporation. So we'll close with a hope that some day he'll elope with a damsel of potent right arm, who will mend all his shirts and drive away flirts and thus keep our "Charley" from harm.
Mandolin Club (4, 3, 2, 1); Leader Mandolin Club (1).
WILLIAM COOK FRANCE
New Rochelle, New York
"Charlie"
WILLIAM COOK FRANCE at a song or a dance, is the peer of all men to behold, with his hot navy line and his glances sublime, he charms all the maidens so bold. But 'tis not of this thing that we wish most to sing—though there's more we could easily tell—'tis his habits so rare that we wish most to air and proclaim e'en to you, New Rochelle. His most prevalent vice—no, never touches the dice—is the wearing of shirts all in ribbons; from the front to the back a most evident lack shows the pelt of his royal "his nibbons." Though we rant and we rave and slip nearer the grave, 'tis all to the vainest of uses, a needle and thread seem to fill him with dread and he balks with the weakest excuses.
We'd forgive him for that if he'd only grow tar and furnish some real competition. "Eat and grow thin", will he ever give in and give up this pernicious ambition? The rest of us brood and give up our food, resort to all kinds of privations, though our efforts he'll conn he just scoffs and scoffs on without fear of a large corporation. So we'll close with a hope that some day he'll elope with a damsel of potent right arm, who will mend all his shirts and drive away flirts and thus keep our "Charley" from harm.
Mandolin Club (4, 3, 2, 1); Leader Mandolin Club (1).
Loss
William was lost on April 2, 1945 when USS Henrico (APA 45) was struck by a kamikaze during the invasion of Okinawa.
He had only taken command of Henrico two weeks earlier, on March 18.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
William graduated from New Rochelle high school. In the 1946 yearbook he was listed in the In Memoriam, Golden Star List.
In July 1927, William married Harriette Rittenhouse Nixon in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. He later married Mildred Redfield on March 12, 1936, in Los Angeles.
In May 1941, William was sent to the Bureau of Ordnance, Navy department in Washington, D. C. He was still there in January 1944.
His father Albert was a photographer for a publishing company, mother Mary. His brother Lt. Albert Finley (’17) served on convoy duty during World War I. Albert then completed submarine training and was stationed at Coco Solo, Panama. In 1944 Albert was commander of USS San Francisco. Brother Ewing attended West Point and in 1944, he was a colonel at the New Cumberland Army Service Forces Depot.
His wife was listed as next of kin; he was also survived by his daughter, Martha. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Bronze Star
William was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star.
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.
July 1924
September 1924
November 1924
January 1925
March 1925
May 1925
July 1925
October 1925
April 1927
April 1928
July 1928
October 1928
January 1929
April 1929
July 1929
October 1929
January 1930
April 1930
October 1930
1LT David Claude '24 (Marine Barracks, Naval Academy)
January 1931
April 1931
July 1931
LCDR Robert English '11
LT Joseph Severyns, Jr. '20
LT Samuel Arthur '20
LT Robert Smith '20
LT Paul Slawson '20
LT John Jones '21
LT John French '22
October 1931
January 1932
April 1932
October 1932
LTjg Julian Morrison, Jr. '25 (Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.)
January 1933
LT Raymond Hansen '22 (Diving School)
LTjg Robley Clark '24 (Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.)
1LT Edward Trumble '25 (Marine Barracks)
LTjg Julian Morrison, Jr. '25 (Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.)
April 1933
LT Raymond Hansen '22 (Experimental Diving Unit)
LTjg Fremont Wright '25 (Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.)
July 1933
October 1933
April 1934
July 1934
October 1934
January 1935
April 1935
October 1935
January 1936
April 1936
July 1936
LT John Hollowell, Jr. '22 (Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.)
LT Henry Batterton '23 (Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.)
January 1937
LT Henry Batterton '23 (Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.)
April 1937
September 1937
January 1938
July 1938
January 1939
October 1939
June 1940
November 1940
April 1941
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