ALAN H. SCHIRMER, LT, USN

Alan Schirmer '40

Date of birth: December 17, 1917

Date of death: June 19, 1943

Age: 25

Lucky Bag

From the 1940 Lucky Bag:

ALAN HARVEY SCHIRMER

Aberdeen, South Dakota

Al

"O, young Lochinvar is come out of the west." Yes, Al is from South Dakota. We hear about it now and then, as Al wrapped in sweater, bathrobe, and blanket, and sitting on the radiator tells us how cold it is back there in a man's country. Al spends a lot of his afternoons over at the crew house and a lot of them just sitting while thinking deep thoughts. Every now and then we notice him in the choir, at cross country, at German Club, out in a half rater, or doing any number of other things. Reading, writing, working, or playing, Al's life is certain to be an eventful and a happy one.

Choir 4, 3, 2, 1; Language Club 3, 2, 1; Crew Squad 4; Reef Points 2, Circulation Manager 1; Glee Club 2; Radio Club 4; Boat Club 1; 2 Stripes.

ALAN HARVEY SCHIRMER

Aberdeen, South Dakota

Al

"O, young Lochinvar is come out of the west." Yes, Al is from South Dakota. We hear about it now and then, as Al wrapped in sweater, bathrobe, and blanket, and sitting on the radiator tells us how cold it is back there in a man's country. Al spends a lot of his afternoons over at the crew house and a lot of them just sitting while thinking deep thoughts. Every now and then we notice him in the choir, at cross country, at German Club, out in a half rater, or doing any number of other things. Reading, writing, working, or playing, Al's life is certain to be an eventful and a happy one.

Choir 4, 3, 2, 1; Language Club 3, 2, 1; Crew Squad 4; Reef Points 2, Circulation Manager 1; Glee Club 2; Radio Club 4; Boat Club 1; 2 Stripes.

Loss

Al was lost when his "training plane" crashed near Sanford, Florida on June 19, 1943. From Find a Grave, "Died in a plane crash with George H. Brockway, Fred Lewis Spriser & Melvin T. Hess. Information obtained from Erickson Funeral Home Book 18, Pg 4."

Two other officers and four enlisted men were also lost.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Alan married Betty Jane Wunder at St. Clement’s church on April 23, 1942, in Honolulu. His parents were Mr. and Mrs. C. N. Schirmer of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Best man was Ensign Ben Ward Blee, and ushers were Ensigns Ellsworth Sutphin and Paul M. Paul.

Photographs

From the Lucky Bag

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.