CREIGHTON L. WHEELER, LT, USNR

Creighton Wheeler '34

Date of birth: May 23, 1910

Date of death: November 13, 1942

Age: 32

Lucky Bag

From the 1934 Lucky Bag:

CREIGHTON LAMBERT WHEELER

Falls Church, Virginia

"Put-Put" "Creighton"

From the State of Presidents comes this man of profound reasoning and logic. Just a short distance from our nation's Capital we find the home-town — not very large but — well, just ask him about it. This one man informed debating society will argue with you on anything from the deepest psychological subjects to why the grass grows green. His nickname being given because of the rapidity with which he fires away words when in a heated discussion.

Put-Put came down to the great Annapolis and told the first class a few things they didn't know about our Navy, his knowledge coming from previous experience in that line. Put's fame soon spread, when '34 became Youngsters, as a happy-go-lucky type. The usual academic worries could not phase him. If he found anything not to his liking it was immediately vetoed with the expression "I'm tired, guess I'll turn in." Although not a star athlete Put has won his numerals in wrestling and is a constant visitor to the gym and tennis courts. Our Creighton also has a taste for the better things. He has a passion for good music and literature which, combined with the hops, tends to place him in the Red Mike class. One would never find Put anything but a desirable roommate, always ready to help a friend, maybe a little dogmatic at times, but never in anyone's way.

Wrestling 3. 2 P.O.

CREIGHTON LAMBERT WHEELER

Falls Church, Virginia

"Put-Put" "Creighton"

From the State of Presidents comes this man of profound reasoning and logic. Just a short distance from our nation's Capital we find the home-town — not very large but — well, just ask him about it. This one man informed debating society will argue with you on anything from the deepest psychological subjects to why the grass grows green. His nickname being given because of the rapidity with which he fires away words when in a heated discussion.

Put-Put came down to the great Annapolis and told the first class a few things they didn't know about our Navy, his knowledge coming from previous experience in that line. Put's fame soon spread, when '34 became Youngsters, as a happy-go-lucky type. The usual academic worries could not phase him. If he found anything not to his liking it was immediately vetoed with the expression "I'm tired, guess I'll turn in." Although not a star athlete Put has won his numerals in wrestling and is a constant visitor to the gym and tennis courts. Our Creighton also has a taste for the better things. He has a passion for good music and literature which, combined with the hops, tends to place him in the Red Mike class. One would never find Put anything but a desirable roommate, always ready to help a friend, maybe a little dogmatic at times, but never in anyone's way.

Wrestling 3. 2 P.O.

Loss

Creighton was lost when USS Juneau (CL 52) was sunk at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on November 13, 1942.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

In June 1935, Creighton was selected with other officers of the District of Columbia Naval Reserve for duty with the Civilian Conservation Corps in the area. He reported to the commanding general of the 3d Army Corps Area at Baltimore, Maryland.
He married Evelyn Medora Winkler in 1936. Their premature daughter was born on March 22, 1942, but she only lived one day.
On September 28, 1941, Creighton graduated from the Navy’s submarine school at New London, Connecticut.
He was reported missing since December 31, 1942, and he was listed as dead in September 1943.

His wife was listed as next of kin. He is included at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial.

Career

Creighton graduated from the Naval Academy but resigned immediately. Fifty-eight of his classmates did so because of physical disqualification; another 43 did so voluntarily due to depression-era drawdowns in the Navy.

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.