DANIEL S. GOTHIE, LT, USN
Daniel Gothie '32
Lucky Bag
From the 1932 Lucky Bag:
DANIEL SHINTON GOTHIE
Tamaqua, Pennsylvania
"Dan" "LaGoth"
We have with us above, in this Rogue's Gallery, number 1654, commonly known among his little playmates as "the Goth." As men of the Navy, as well as of the Legion, do not ask questions, we are in ignorance of the reasons for his departure from "somewhere in Pennsylvania." Enough.
His seduction, by old college chums, to our most excellent club, the Radiator, took place at an early age, although it is true he manages to elude their clutching fingers long enough each spring to keep up in his rifle and pistol shooting.
As water off a tin roof, so his affairs of the heart. Yet have we to see him pale at the sight of a telegram, or a feminine epistle, though behind him at Carvel Hall and other dens of our fair city are left multitudinous bills, broken hearts, and what not.
In the future we may expect anything from Dan. He may not follow the sea with the rest of us, but what e'er betide, whether Admiral or not, he will always be to us boys all there, and one of the boys.
Plebe Track; Class Football; Rifle; 2 P. O.
DANIEL SHINTON GOTHIE
Tamaqua, Pennsylvania
"Dan" "LaGoth"
We have with us above, in this Rogue's Gallery, number 1654, commonly known among his little playmates as "the Goth." As men of the Navy, as well as of the Legion, do not ask questions, we are in ignorance of the reasons for his departure from "somewhere in Pennsylvania." Enough.
His seduction, by old college chums, to our most excellent club, the Radiator, took place at an early age, although it is true he manages to elude their clutching fingers long enough each spring to keep up in his rifle and pistol shooting.
As water off a tin roof, so his affairs of the heart. Yet have we to see him pale at the sight of a telegram, or a feminine epistle, though behind him at Carvel Hall and other dens of our fair city are left multitudinous bills, broken hearts, and what not.
In the future we may expect anything from Dan. He may not follow the sea with the rest of us, but what e'er betide, whether Admiral or not, he will always be to us boys all there, and one of the boys.
Plebe Track; Class Football; Rifle; 2 P. O.
Loss
Dan was lost when the Japanese "Hell Ship" he was aboard, Arisan Maru, was sunk by an American submarine on October 24, 1944.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Daniel graduated from Tamaqua High School (Pennsylvania) in 1928. From his yearbook:
""I want to be a sailor-r-r-r-"
Ah! That handsome face; that well-combed hair! What girl, ask you, would not fall for our editor, "Dan." During his High School years, he has worked and prepared for the editorship of our annual and the class has rewarded him by his election.
Dan intends to go to Annapolis, to learn to sail the ocean blue, and we sincerely hope that some day he will have "Commodore" in front of his name.
General Course.
Varsity Football, 2, 3.
Varsity Track, 3, 4.
Class Track, 3, 4.
Class Basketball, 4.
Editor-in-Chief Sphinx, 4.
Class Reporter Sphinx, 2.
Hi-Y, 2, 3, 4.
Biology Club, 2.
High School News, 1, 2, 3.
Get-Together Party Committee, 4
Student Member Rotary, 4Daniel was a stationed at the submarine base at Cavite when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. At the time the Philippines were surrendered, he was at Manila in charge of the Marines who were to have been evacuated, but arrived too late to be taken off the Island by the American transports. After aiding in the demolition of Bataan and Corregidor, they were taken prisoners.
From Shamokin News-Dispatch, Pennsylvania, March 17, 1942:
[Daniel’s letter to his wife was smuggled from the besieged Philippine Islands.]
Lieutenant Gothie said Corregidor has been subjected to many and vicious bombings and added, “But we can take it.” He said there is ample food and plenty of military supplies.
… he was ordered to join Admiral Thomas C. Hart at Java, but was unable to get away from the Philippines and has been attached to the staff at Corregidor since the onset of the attacks by the Japs.
In his letter Gothie describes the gallant stand of General MacArthur and the United States and Filipino forces on Bataan Peninsula, only a short distance away from Corregidor, and declares that if the peninsula falls, General MacArthur and staff will find refuge at Corregidor.
Lieutenant Gothie’s letter is full of confidence that the American and Filipino forces will ultimately win their long fight and advised his wife there is no occasion for her to worry about him.
From the Shamokin News-Dispatch, March, 18 1944:
Major Michael Dobervich, United States Marine Corps, one of the American officers and non-commissioned men who escaped from a Japanese prison camp in the Philippines, and who returned some time ago to the United States, has advised Mrs. Helen Nardini, San Diego, Cal., that her husband Lieutenant Jack Nardini, United States Navy, also a prisoner of the Japs in the Philippines, was in good health when he left. …
Major Dobervich, recently permitted to contact relatives of Americans he knew in the Philippines wrote about two weeks ago to Mrs. Earl Lewis, Allentown, to inform her that her nephew, Lieutenant Daniel Gothie, also of the Navy was alive and well when the major left the Philippines. [October 1942]
… Lieutenants Nardini and Gothie were close personal friends, probably due to the fact both were descendants of two Shamokin families. … He was reared, following the death of his parents, in the home of his uncle and aunt, Dr. and Mrs. Earl G. Lewis, Allentown. … his wife is the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Gothie.
From the Lewisburg Journal, Pennsylvania, January 18, 1945:
Lieut. Daniel Gothie Writes From Prison Camp
Mrs. Daniel S. Gothie received two postal cards Monday from her husband, Lieut. Daniel S. Gothie, a prisoner of war of the Japanese government since the fall of Corregidor. The cards were postmarked Jay (sic) 6, 1944 and July 15, 1944 and were signed by her husband.
Lieut. Gothie wrote that he was receiving letters from his wife, family and friends and appreciated the photograph sent to him. Mrs. Gothie received answers to some of her questions which proved he was receiving mail and he reported that he was in good health. He gave his address as Philippine Prison Camp No. 1 in each of the two cards received here. The cards were each limited to 50 words.
From the Morning Call, Allentown, Pennsylvania, June 23, 1945:
Records maintained by the Japanese authorities which have come into possession of the U. S. Navy have the following to say:
“On Oct. 1, 1944,” writes Commander H. B. Atkinson, USNR, officer in charge of casualty section, to ‘Pappy’ Gothie, “your grandson who had been held captive by the Japanese in the Bilibid Prison of War Camp, Philippine Islands, was placed on board a Japanese freighter, apparently enroute to Japan.
“The ship anchored in the cove of an island about 200 to 300 miles from Manila for about six days before it returned to Manila on Oct. 20, and from there in a general northward direction. On Oct. 24, this ship which bore no mark to indicate it was carrying prisoners of war, was torpedoed and sunk off Shoonan, Eastern coast of China.”
Shamokin News-Dispatch, February 11, 1947:
Secretary of Navy James Forrestal has announced posthumous award of a bronze star medal for Lieutenant Daniel S. Gothie, Lewisburg …
The citation for the late officer is for service rendered at Cavite Navy Yard, Luzon, Philippine Islands, where he was on duty at the time of the Jap invasion, during which he was taken prisoner.
Daniel’s widow, the former Mary Beck, married Dr. Kenneth Leiby on June 30, 1949.
His son Daniel, born in 1936, graduated from Princeton, served in the Navy, and became the school librarian at the University of Virginia. He died in May, 2016.
Born in 1939, his son Michael (’61) did active and reserve duty in the Submarine Services for 16 years. He worked as an investment banker and had his own CPA firm. He died in October, 2020.
Daniel’s father Israel (known as Rel) died in June, 1937. He was a well-known football player and was employed at a steel works in Norristown. Daniel’s mother was Blanche Shinton who died in 1912. Daniel was their only child. His father married Jennie Miller in 1916, and later Anna Williams. Daniel’s siblings were Margaret (Mrs. Kenneth D. Kostenbader,) Anna, Rell, Reese and James.
His grandfather Daniel died in May, 1942. The Shamokin News-Dispatch reported that his death was “attributed directly to worry over the safety of his grandson. … The young naval officer was reared in the Gothie home, and from the time word was received of his plight in the Philippines, the grandfather grieved constantly and during the past three weeks declined rapidly in strength.”
He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star for "meritorious service as officer in charge of Torpedo Repair at Cavite Navy Yard, Philippines." He was "captured at the fall of the Philippines and held in various prison camps." (Unable to determine what his unit was; the Navy Directory of April 1, 1941 lists him on shore duty at NAS Pensacola, Florida. He was there until June 5, 1941, when he was granted a month's furlough before transferring to foreign service. Suspect it was 16th Naval District.)
His wife was listed as next of kin; he was also survived by his two sons, Daniel and Michael (USNA '61).
He is listed at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial.
Photographs
From his high school yearbook
From his high school yearbook
From The Morning Call on June 23, 1945. Note he was a Lieutenant in the Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps of 1944 and 1945.
Prisoner of War Medal
From Hall of Valor:
Lieutenant Daniel S. Gothie (NSN: 0-71671), United States Navy, was captured by the Japanese after the fall of Corregidor, Philippine Islands, on 6 May 1942, and was held as a Prisoner of War until his death while still in captivity.
General Orders: NARA Database: Records of World War II Prisoners of War, created, 1942 - 1947
Action Date: May 6, 1942 - Died in Captivity
Service: Navy
Rank: Lieutenant
Division: Prisoner of War (Philippine Islands)
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.
October 1932
LT William Sample '19 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LT John Jones '21 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LT William Ault '22 (Torpedo and Bombing Squadron (VT) 1S)
ENS John Yoho '29 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3S)
ENS Edwin Kelly '30 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 1B)
ENS Lance Massey '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3S)
January 1933
LT William Sample '19 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LT John Jones '21 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LT William Ault '22 (Torpedo and Bombing Squadron (VT) 1S)
LTjg Henry Twohy '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5S)
ENS Edwin Kelly '30 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 1B)
ENS Victor Gaulin '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3S)
ENS Lance Massey '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3S)
April 1933
LTjg Arthur Farrell '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg Henry Twohy '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
ENS John Yoho '29 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS Victor Gaulin '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS Lance Massey '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
July 1933
LTjg Arthur Farrell '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg Henry Twohy '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
ENS John Yoho '29 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS Victor Gaulin '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS Lance Massey '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg Charles Ostrom '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
October 1933
LTjg Arthur Farrell '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg Henry Twohy '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg John Yoho '29 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS Victor Gaulin '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS Lance Massey '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg Charles Ostrom '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
April 1934
LTjg Arthur Farrell '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg Henry Twohy '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg John Yoho '29 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg Victor Gaulin '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS Lance Massey '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
July 1934
LTjg Walter Dey '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg James McDonough '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg Edwin Kelly '30 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
LTjg Victor Gaulin '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
October 1934
LTjg Walter Dey '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg James McDonough '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg Arthur Farrell '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg Edwin Kelly '30 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
LTjg Baylies Clark '30 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
ENS Philip Ashworth '31 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg Eugene Lytle, Jr. '31 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
January 1935
LTjg Walter Dey '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg James McDonough '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg Arthur Farrell '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg Edwin Kelly '30 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
LTjg Baylies Clark '30 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
ENS Philip Ashworth '31 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg Eugene Lytle, Jr. '31 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
April 1935
LTjg Walter Dey '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LT James McDonough '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg Arthur Farrell '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg Baylies Clark '30 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
LTjg Philip Ashworth '31 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg Eugene Lytle, Jr. '31 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
October 1935
January 1936
April 1936
July 1936
January 1937
April 1937
September 1937
January 1938
October 1939
LT Finley Hall '29
LT John Huntley '31
LTjg George Bellinger '32
LTjg Martin Koivisto '32
LTjg Albert Major, Jr. '32
LTjg John McCormack, Jr. '33
LTjg Archibald Stone, Jr. '34
LTjg Wendell Froling '34
1LT James Crowther '35
LT John Yoho '29 (Training Squadron (VN) 5D8)
CAPT Paul Moret '30 (Training Squadron (VN) 3D8)
LTjg Robert Strickler '32 (Training Squadron (VN) 5D8)
LTjg George Ottinger '32 (Training Squadron (VN) 5D8)
LTjg Dewitt Shumway '32 (Training Squadron (VN) 1D8)
LTjg William Widhelm '32 (Training Squadron (VN) 5D8)
June 1940
LT Finley Hall '29
LT Lance Massey '30
LT Charles Ostrom '30
LTjg George Bellinger '32
LTjg Martin Koivisto '32
1LT Floyd Parks '34
LTjg Charles Ware '34
LTjg Jack Ferguson '35
LTjg Joel Davis, Jr. '35
LTjg Francis Maher, Jr. '35
LTjg John Powers '35
LTjg Frank Robinson '36
LTjg Robert Strickler '32 (Training Squadron (VN) 5D8)
LT William Townsend '32 (Training Squadron (VN) 5D8)
LTjg Dewitt Shumway '32 (Training Squadron (VN) 1D8)
LTjg William Widhelm '32 (Training Squadron (VN) 5D8)
November 1940
CDR William Sample '19
LT William Pennewill '29
LT Finley Hall '29
LT John Yoho '29
LT Lance Massey '30
LT George Bellinger '32
LT Martin Koivisto '32
LT John Spiers '32
LT Dewitt Shumway '32
LT Albert Major, Jr. '32
LTjg John Phillips, Jr. '33
ENS Frank Peterson '33
LTjg Charles Brewer '34
LTjg Walker Ethridge '34
CAPT Floyd Parks '34
LTjg Charles Ware '34
LTjg Frank Whitaker '34
LTjg Philip Torrey, Jr. '34
LTjg George Nicol '34
LTjg Victor Gadrow '35
LTjg John Powers '35
LTjg Allan Edmands '35
LTjg Roy Krogh '36
LTjg Porter Maxwell '36
LTjg Richard Hughes '37
LTjg Frank Henderson, Jr. '37
LTjg John Thomas '37
LTjg John Boal '37
ENS Harry Howell '38
ENS Eric Allen, Jr. '38
ENS James Ginn '38
ENS Oswald Zink '38
ENS Frank Case, Jr. '38
ENS Howard Fischer '38
ENS Edmundo Gandia '38
ENS Charles Reimann '38
ENS Howard Clark '38
ENS Roy Hale, Jr. '38
ENS Leonard Thornhill '38
ENS Osborne Wiseman '38
ENS John Eversole '38
ENS Jep Jonson '38
ENS Roy Green, Jr. '38
ENS Marion Dufilho '38
2LT James Owens '38
ENS William Brady '38
ENS Charles Anderson '38
ENS Carl Holmstrom '38
ENS Charles King '38
2LT John Maclaughlin, Jr. '38
ENS William Tate, Jr. '38
2LT Douglas Keeler '38
ENS Harry Bass '38
ENS John Kelley '38
ENS John Erickson '38
ENS William Lamberson '38
ENS Donald Smith '38
ENS Frank Quady '38
ENS Richard Crommelin '38
ENS Robert Seibels, Jr. '38
ENS Alphonse Minvielle '38
April 1941
LT William Pennewill '29
LT Finley Hall '29
LT John Yoho '29
LT William Sisko '31
LT George Bellinger '32
LT Martin Koivisto '32
LT John Spiers '32
LT Archibald Greenlee '32
LT Albert Major, Jr. '32
LTjg John McCormack, Jr. '33
LTjg John Phillips, Jr. '33
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.