DAVID K. CLAUDE, LTCOL, USMC
David Claude '24
David Kerr Claude was admitted to the Naval Academy from Illinois on August 4, 1920 at age 17 years 5 months.
He resigned on February 16, 1923.
Lucky Bag
On the "Parted Links" page:
D. K. CLAUDE, Maryland
Dave likes the "Gyrene" life he is leading in San Domingo, but he's a damn good fellow for the Navy to send into the Marine Corps.
Photographs
Claude, from the November 1957 issue of Shipmate.
Loss
David was killed in action against the Japanese on November 22, 1943 during the Battle of Tarawa.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
In November, 1917, David was a Boy Scout who participated in the house-to-house Red Cross Day canvas of Annapolis. The money collected for the Red Cross Seals was donated to the Annapolis Health and Social Welfare Association.
David enlisted in the Marine Corps on July 25, 1923, and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant on February 19, 1925.
From January 1 to January 5, 1929, David was commanding the 18th CO 2nd BN 5th Regiment 2nd Brigade at Masaya, Nicaragua. The company disbanded on January 5. Later that month, he returned to the USS West Virginia moored at Puget Sound, Washington. It was noted that he was a Junior Marine Officer, 5 inch battery officer, Asst. Rifle.
In May, 1931, David was detached from the Naval Academy to report to Camp Rapidan, Criglersville, Virginia.
He married Emma Cullen Browning on October 27, 1931, in Orange, Virginia, where she lived.
In March 1933, they sailed from Hampton Roads to San Diego. In November 1934, David was a first lieutenant and legal officer on the USS Idaho in Cristobal, Canal Zone.
In 1935 he was promoted to captain and stationed at Quantico, Virginia. It was noted on the post log that on March 29, jdfr MD USS Idaho at NNYd Portsmouth, Virginia. He then became the assistant post exchange officer.
Their son David, Jr., was born in 1937. In 1940, the family lived in San Diego.
David saw duty in Haiti and California, and he had also been stationed in New River, North Carolina.
In 1920, David’s father Gordon was a dental surgeon at the Naval Academy.
He had been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on May 17, 1942.
On Tarawa, he was temporarily attached to the 2nd Marine Division as a Senior Observer; he was the commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, 23rd Marines, which was training in California at the time. He took command of the Battalion in January 1943 and was referenced as "everyone's favorite Battalion commander" in this history.
His wife was listed as next of kin. He was also survived by his son, David Kerr Claude, Jr.; his mother, Mrs. Gordon H. Claude; his brother William Tell Claude; and six sisters, Mr.s Finley France, Mrs. George Cobb, Mrs. James H. Lovell, Mrs. Leonard Doughty, Mrs. Ross A. Dierdorff, and Mrs. Douglas H. Gordon.
David is buried in the Naval Academy Cemetery.
Silver Star
From Hall of Valor:
The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Silver Star (Posthumously) to Lieutenant Colonel David Kerr Claude (MCSN: 0-3963), United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action as military observer attached to the SECOND Marine Division during action against enemy Japanese forces on Tarawa, Gilbert Islands, November 20-22, 1943. Constantly subjected to a devastating barrage of enemy rifle and machine gun fire while proceeding to the beach in a landing boat, Lieutenant Colonel Claude sighted a number of seriously wounded men in danger of drowning. Unhesitatingly exposing himself to the direct line of hostile fire, he valiantly plunged into the treacherous waters, repeatedly swimming distances of from 30 to 75 yards in order to bring the man back to his own boat from which they were transferred to other craft for medical attention. Finally gaining the beachhead after successfully completing his perilous act, Lieutenant Colonel Claude gathered information vital to subsequent operations before he was killed by enemy fire while proceeding on an important mission to a forward command post. His splendid initiative, great personal valor and unrelenting devotion to duty in the face of grave peril directly contributed to the saving of many lives and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
General Orders: CITATION:
Service: Marine Corps
Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
Division: 2d Marine Division
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.
March 1925
May 1925
July 1925
October 1925
January 1926
October 1926
January 1927
April 1927
October 1927
January 1928
April 1928
July 1928
October 1928
January 1929
April 1929
July 1929
October 1929
January 1930
April 1930
October 1930
January 1931
April 1931
July 1931
October 1931
January 1932
April 1932
October 1932
January 1933
July 1933
October 1933
April 1934
July 1934
October 1934
January 1935
April 1935
CAPT Ronald Boone '20 (Marine Corps Schools, Marine Barracks, Quantico, Virginia)
CAPT Ralph Forsyth '22 (Fleet Marine Force, Marine Barracks, Quantico, Virginia)
1LT John Heil '28 (Fleet Marine Force, Marine Barracks, Quantico, Virginia)
October 1935
January 1936
April 1936
July 1936
January 1937
ENS Graham Bright '35 (Naval Finance & Supply School)
April 1937
LTjg Dudley Morton '30 (Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
ENS George Fuller '35 (Naval Finance & Supply School)
September 1937
January 1938
July 1938
January 1939
October 1939
June 1940
November 1940
April 1941
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.