DONALD D. PATTERSON, LT, USN
Donald Patterson '37
Lucky Bag
From the 1937 Lucky Bag:
Loss
Donald was lost when his SB2U-2 Vindicator dive bomber crashed off the coast of Norfolk, Virginia on January 14, 1942. He was a member of Scouting Squadron (VS) 71, operating from USS Wasp (CV 7).
His wife was listed as next of kin. Donald has a memory marker in Iowa.
Career
Donald reported to NAS Pensacola for flight training on June 30, 1939 as an Ensign. He was promoted to LTJG on June 3, 1940; on June 20, 1940 he was designated naval aviator #6504. On January 3, 1942 he was promoted to LT. (Information from Richard Leonard, naval aviation historian.)
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.
September 1937
Ensign, USS Idaho
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at this command:
January 1938
Ensign, USS Idaho
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at this command:
July 1938
Ensign, USS Idaho
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at this command:
January 1939
Ensign, USS Idaho
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at this command:
October 1939
Ensign, under instruction, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida
Others at this command:
LT Finley Hall '29
LT John Huntley '31
LTjg George Bellinger '32
LTjg Martin Koivisto '32
LTjg Daniel Gothie '32
LTjg Albert Major, Jr. '32
LTjg John McCormack, Jr. '33
LTjg Archibald Stone, Jr. '34
LTjg Wendell Froling '34
Others at or embarked at this command:
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
Ensign, under instruction, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida
Others at this command:
LT Finley Hall '29
LT Lance Massey '30
LT Charles Ostrom '30
LTjg George Bellinger '32
LTjg Martin Koivisto '32
LTjg Daniel Gothie '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
Others at or embarked at this command:
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
Lieutenant (j.g.), Scouting Squadron (VS) 71, USS Wasp
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at USS Wasp:
LT John Burke '28 (USS Wasp)
LTjg James Fitzpatrick, Jr. '35 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 71)
LTjg Mark Eslick, Jr. '35 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 72)
ENS John Smith '38 (USS Wasp)
ENS William Cook '38 (USS Wasp)
ENS Lester Wall, Jr. '39 (USS Wasp)
April 1941
Lieutenant (j.g.), Scouting Squadron (VS) 71, USS Wasp
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at USS Wasp:
LT John Burke '28 (USS Wasp)
LTjg James Fitzpatrick, Jr. '35 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 72)
LTjg Mark Eslick, Jr. '35 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 72)
LTjg Webster Johnson '36 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 72)
ENS William Cook '38 (USS Wasp)
ENS Alphonse Minvielle '38 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 72)
ENS Lester Wall, Jr. '39 (USS Wasp)
ENS John Nichols, Jr. '41 (USS Wasp)
Class of 1937
Donald is one of 45 members of the Class of 1937 on Virtual Memorial Hall.