CHARLES A. ANDERSON, LT, USN
Charles Anderson '38
Lucky Bag
From the 1938 Lucky Bag:
Loss
Charles was lost when his SOC-3A Seagull was shot down near Gela, Italy, on July 10, 1943 during the invasion of Sicily. He was flying from USS Savannah (CL 42) while that cruiser conducted shore bombardment.
His wife was listed as next of kin. He is buried in Illinois.
Career
From naval aviation historian Richard Leonard via email on February 9, 2018:
- NAS Pensacola designated NA # 7402, 4/3/1941
- Date of rank LTJG from 1 Jul 1941 USN Register, 6/2/1941
- Date of rank LT from 1 Jul 1942 USN Register, 6/15/1942
- VCS-8 USS Savannah (CL-42) DFC PH KIA, 7/10/1943
Distinguished Flying Cross
From Hall of Valor:
The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross (Posthumously) to Lieutenant Charles Alden Anderson (NSN: 81237), United States Navy, for heroism and extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight during the invasion of the Island of Sicily in July 1943, while attached to the U.S.S. SAVANNAH (CL-42). Lieutenant Anderson, as Pilot of a cruiser scouting plane, performed spotting and reconnaissance missions with great efficiency in the face of heavy enemy anti-aircraft fire and air opposition. His spotting, performed under extremely hazardous conditions, contributed greatly to the success of the bombardment of enemy positions. His reconnaissance flights, which carried him deep into the enemy territory, were of great value to the assaulting forces. The courageous service of Lieutenant Anderson in which he gave his life was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
Action Date: July 1943
Service: Navy
Rank: Lieutenant
Division: U.S.S. Savannah (CL-42)
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 1938
Ensign, USS Memphis
Others at this command: ENS Francis Maher, Jr. '35, ENS John Boal '37, ENS Howard Clark '38, and ENS John Kelley '38.
January 1939
Ensign, USS Memphis
Others at this command: LTjg Francis Maher, Jr. '35, ENS John Boal '37, ENS Howard Clark '38, and ENS John Kelley '38.
June 1940
Ensign, USS Worden
November 1940
Ensign, under instruction, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida
Others at this command: LCDR George Grove '15, CDR William Sample '19, LT Finley Hall '29, LT John Yoho '29, LT William Pennewill '29, LT Lance Massey '30, LT Albert Major, Jr. '32, LT Daniel Gothie '32, LT Dewitt Shumway '32, LT George Bellinger '32, LT John Spiers '32, LT Martin Koivisto '32, ENS Frank Peterson '33, LTjg John Phillips, Jr. '33, LTjg Charles Ware '34, LTjg Charles Brewer '34, CAPT Floyd Parks '34, LTjg Frank Whitaker '34, LTjg George Nicol '34, LTjg Philip Torrey, Jr. '34, LTjg Walker Ethridge '34, LTjg Allan Edmands '35, LTjg John Powers '35, LTjg Richard Stephenson '35, LTjg Victor Gadrow '35, LTjg Porter Maxwell '36, LTjg Roy Krogh '36, LTjg Frank Henderson, Jr. '37, LTjg John Thomas '37, LTjg John Boal '37, LTjg Richard Hughes '37, ENS Alphonse Minvielle '38, ENS Carl Holmstrom '38, ENS Charles King '38, ENS Charles Reimann '38, ENS Curtis Howard '38, ENS Donald Smith '38, 2LT Douglas Keeler '38, ENS Edmundo Gandia '38, ENS Eric Allen, Jr. '38, ENS Frank Quady '38, ENS Frank Case, Jr. '38, ENS Harry Bass '38, ENS Harry Howell '38, ENS Howard Clark '38, ENS Howard Fischer '38, ENS James Ginn '38, 2LT James Owens '38, ENS Jep Jonson '38, ENS John Kelley '38, ENS John Erickson '38, 2LT John Maclaughlin, Jr. '38, ENS John Eversole '38, ENS Leonard Thornhill '38, ENS Marion Dufilho '38, ENS Osborne Wiseman '38, ENS Oswald Zink '38, ENS Richard Crommelin '38, ENS Robert Seibels, Jr. '38, ENS Roy Green, Jr. '38, ENS Roy Hale, Jr. '38, ENS William Brady '38, ENS William Tate, Jr. '38, and ENS William Lamberson '38.
April 1941
Ensign, under instruction, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida
Others at this command: CDR William Sample '19, LT Finley Hall '29, LT John Yoho '29, LT William Pennewill '29, LT William Sisko '31, LT Albert Major, Jr. '32, LT Archibald Greenlee '32, LT Daniel Gothie '32, LT George Bellinger '32, LT John Spiers '32, LT Martin Koivisto '32, ENS Frank Peterson '33, LTjg John McCormack, Jr. '33, LTjg John Phillips, Jr. '33, LTjg Robert Isely '33, LTjg Charles Brewer '34, CAPT Floyd Parks '34, LTjg Frank Whitaker '34, LTjg George Nicol '34, LTjg Philip Torrey, Jr. '34, LTjg Walker Ethridge '34, LTjg Wendell Froling '34, LTjg Clyde McCroskey, Jr. '35, LTjg Edward Denney '35, LTjg John Ennis '35, LTjg Richard Stephenson '35, LTjg Harlan Dickson '36, LTjg Raymond Vogel, Jr. '36, 2LT Douglas Keeler '38, 2LT James Owens '38, ENS Oswald Zink '38, ENS Robert Seibels, Jr. '38, ENS Charles Stapler '39, ENS Dudley Adams '39, ENS John Dunn '39, and ENS Robert Whitman, Jr. '39.
Others at or embarked at this command: 2LT Alfred Gordon '39 (Marine Barracks, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida).
Class of 1938
Charles is one of 71 members of the Class of 1938 on Virtual Memorial Hall.
