BURTON L. DOGGETT, LCDR, USN

Burton Doggett '24

Date of birth: January 24, 1900

Date of death: August 16, 1942

Age: 42

Lucky Bag

From the 1924 Lucky Bag:

BURTON LEE DOGGETT

Oklahoma

Bertie

"NOW then, all together!—Let's have the Ball Ohio and lots of volume!" is enough to introduce "B.L.," who hails from the wilds of Oklahoma. His singing classes are famous and always draw large audiences. Not having the price of a violin, he has turned to teaching, (here comes Mark Anthony!)

"B. L." is the Nav shark, par excellence—the originator of the catch-as-catch-can declination system. The only flaw lies in the fact that his efforts are as yet unappreciated, as are those of all true genius.

His other claims to fame consist of being a charter member on the extra duty squad and a politician of the first degree. Any time you can find one who parked in the hospital more times than our "Bertie", he must be a member of the "Lost Battalion". He even worked the graft so successfully as to miss Second Class cruise, enjoying instead four glorious month's leave while his classmates fought the bitter "battle of Culebra".

As for athletics, his characteristic workout consists of planting himself firmly in a chair, hoisting his feet upon the table and opening a current magazine. Surrounded by an oil-laden atmosphere, he holds sway as the "President of the Radiator Club".

"When you can't go down for an ice-cream cone without getting rammed there ain't no justice. I just can't keep off the pap."

BURTON LEE DOGGETT

Oklahoma

Bertie

"NOW then, all together!—Let's have the Ball Ohio and lots of volume!" is enough to introduce "B.L.," who hails from the wilds of Oklahoma. His singing classes are famous and always draw large audiences. Not having the price of a violin, he has turned to teaching, (here comes Mark Anthony!)

"B. L." is the Nav shark, par excellence—the originator of the catch-as-catch-can declination system. The only flaw lies in the fact that his efforts are as yet unappreciated, as are those of all true genius.

His other claims to fame consist of being a charter member on the extra duty squad and a politician of the first degree. Any time you can find one who parked in the hospital more times than our "Bertie", he must be a member of the "Lost Battalion". He even worked the graft so successfully as to miss Second Class cruise, enjoying instead four glorious month's leave while his classmates fought the bitter "battle of Culebra".

As for athletics, his characteristic workout consists of planting himself firmly in a chair, hoisting his feet upon the table and opening a current magazine. Surrounded by an oil-laden atmosphere, he holds sway as the "President of the Radiator Club".

"When you can't go down for an ice-cream cone without getting rammed there ain't no justice. I just can't keep off the pap."

Loss

Burton was lost when the transport plane he was aboard crashed near Kodiak, Alaska, on August 16, 1942.

From Wartime Press, this undated passage:

Plane With 14 Missing in Alaska - A U.S. Navy plane with a crew of four and ten passengers enroute from Kodiak to Whitehorse, Alaska was reported overdue by the Navy Department, which notified next of kin of those aboard that the crew and passengers were missing. The flight was a routine one from Kodiak to Seattle, Wash. Three planes started on the trip and were forced to fly by instrument soon after taking off. Two made their way through the bad weather to Whitehorse. Naval aircraft have been making searches for the missing plane and other agencies were asked to assist in the search.
Those aboard the missing plane were Commander Joyce A. Ralph, USN; Lieut. Comdrs. Burton Lee Doggett, USN, Jerome H. Sparbo. USNR and Paul H. Tobelman, USN; Captain Arthur Barrows. USMC; Lieuts. Joseph A. Crook, USN and Thomas E. Johnson. Jr. (ChC), USN; Lieuts. (j.g.) Thomas G. Cherikos, USNR. Charles E. Deterding, USN and Jay A. Noble, Jr.. USN: Ensign Charles L. Mixon, USNR; Charles E. Barber. ACRM. USN; H. A. Scott, ACRM, USN, and C O. Walton, AMM2c. USN.

The aircraft was never located, and all 14 passengers and crew were declared dead a year and a day following their disappearance. The aircraft was a part of Transport Squadron (VR) 2.

His wife was listed as next of kin; he was also survived by his son, Burton Jr., a member of the Naval Academy Class of 1951. (Burton Lee Doggett III died in 2017.)

Career

He had previously had command of USS Gilmre (DD 233), from July 1940 to August 1941.

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.

July 1924

Ensign, USS Florida

Others at this command: ENS Edward Frawley '22 and ENS Rogers Elliott '22.

September 1924

Ensign, USS California

Others at this command: LT Ryland Tisdale '15 and ENS Herbert Ballinger '24.

Others at or embarked at this command: CDR Fred Perkins '06 (Battle Fleet Staff) and ENS Edwin Crouch '21 (Battle Fleet Staff).

November 1924

Ensign, USS California

Others at this command: LT Ryland Tisdale '15 and ENS Herbert Ballinger '24.

Others at or embarked at this command: CDR Fred Perkins '06 (Battle Fleet Staff) and ENS Edwin Crouch '21 (Battle Fleet Staff).

January 1925

Ensign, USS California

Others at this command: LT Ryland Tisdale '15 and ENS Herbert Ballinger '24.

Others at or embarked at this command: ENS Edwin Crouch '21 (Battle Fleet Staff).

March 1925

Ensign, USS California

Others at this command: LT Ryland Tisdale '15, ENS Louis Drexler, Jr. '23, and ENS Herbert Ballinger '24.

Others at or embarked at this command: LTjg Edwin Crouch '21 (Battle Fleet Staff).

May 1925

Ensign, USS Parrott

July 1925

Ensign, USS Huron

Others at this command: ENS John French '22.

October 1925

Ensign, USS Huron

Others at this command: LCDR Donald Godwin '11 and LTjg John French '22.

January 1926

Ensign, USS Huron

Others at this command: LCDR Donald Godwin '11.

October 1926

Ensign, USS Peary

January 1927

Ensign, USS Peary

April 1927

Ensign, USS Peary

October 1927

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Peary

January 1928

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Peary

April 1928

Lieutenant (j.g.), ordered to U.S.

July 1928

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Mullany

October 1928

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Mullany

January 1929

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Mullany

April 1929

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Mullany

July 1929

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Mullany

October 1929

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Mullany

January 1930

Lieutenant (j.g.), gunnery officer, USS Mullany

April 1930

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Lea

October 1930

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Lexington

Others at this command: LT Edwin Crouch '21, LT Henry Brandenburger '21, LTjg Hilan Ebert '26, ENS William Potts '27, ENS Baylies Clark '30, and ENS Robert Haven '30.

Others at or embarked at this command: LT Francis Bridget '21 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B), LTjg Dick Downer '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B), and LTjg Eugene Lindsey '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B).

January 1931

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Lexington

Others at this command: LT Edwin Crouch '21, LT Henry Brandenburger '21, LTjg Hilan Ebert '26, ENS Baylies Clark '30, and ENS Robert Haven '30.

Others at or embarked at this command: LT Francis Bridget '21 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B), LTjg Dick Downer '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B), and LTjg Eugene Lindsey '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B).