EDWARD C. METCALFE, LCDR, USN

From USNA Virtual Memorial Hall
Edward Metcalfe '22

Date of birth: March 15, 1898

Date of death: August 9, 1942

Age: 44

Lucky Bag

From the 1922 Lucky Bag:

1922 Metcalfe LB.jpg

EDWARD CONRAD METCALFE

Natchez, Mississippi

"Red"

"CHASE me, Oi'm a Yiddish butterfly," cooed a gay young thing at Coney Island the minute she cast her "ojos" on this he-vamp. Yes, we repeat, he-vamp, for he shakes a mean calf—but he's a much meaner slinger of the bull. His line would make Captain Billy sound like Emerson. It holds in any clime, too. If you want to make the color of his face rival those scarlet locks just ask about a certain Western cabaret or mention the "hoosgow" in Panama. Still, one must remember, "the blush is the symbol of innocence."

Early Second Class Year "Red" stubbed his toe, as it were, on a Plebe's cap, and was only saved from emulating Balaam's departure from Jerusalem by the grace of God and the old reliable line.

We can't do justice to this man in print, and besides, that look of reform on his childish face leaves us without the heart we can't even use his own favorite expression, "It's a shame he drinks."

Log Staff (4, 3, 2, 1); Lucky Bag; Black N******; Probation (2).

1922 Metcalfe LB.jpg

EDWARD CONRAD METCALFE

Natchez, Mississippi

"Red"

"CHASE me, Oi'm a Yiddish butterfly," cooed a gay young thing at Coney Island the minute she cast her "ojos" on this he-vamp. Yes, we repeat, he-vamp, for he shakes a mean calf—but he's a much meaner slinger of the bull. His line would make Captain Billy sound like Emerson. It holds in any clime, too. If you want to make the color of his face rival those scarlet locks just ask about a certain Western cabaret or mention the "hoosgow" in Panama. Still, one must remember, "the blush is the symbol of innocence."

Early Second Class Year "Red" stubbed his toe, as it were, on a Plebe's cap, and was only saved from emulating Balaam's departure from Jerusalem by the grace of God and the old reliable line.

We can't do justice to this man in print, and besides, that look of reform on his childish face leaves us without the heart we can't even use his own favorite expression, "It's a shame he drinks."

Log Staff (4, 3, 2, 1); Lucky Bag; Black N******; Probation (2).

Loss

Edward was lost when USS Quincy (CA 39) was sunk early in the morning of August 9, 1942 by Japanese surface forces at the Battle of Savo Island. He was the ship's navigator.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Edward preferred to go by his middle name, Conrad. He graduated from the Natchez Institute High School in May 1916.

At his high school commencement, Edward gave the oration speech, “The Advantages of Living in Mississippi.” The Natchez Democrat printed his speech on May 28, 1916. In part, it began: “Mississippi State, the pearl of the Mississippi Valley, is of peculiar importance today. Surging ahead as leader of the New South, she is causing the whole nation to pause and wonder.” It ended: “As she stands upright, full-statured and equal among the peoples of the earth, she realizes that much of her strength and prosperity has been acquired by the unceasing efforts and progressive activities of Mississippi’s patriots and statesmen, and filled with grateful pride lays her laurels before the state of undeveloped resources, the state of spiritual and intellectual progress, the state of love and freedom. – the state of Mississippi.” E. Conrad Metcalfe.

In December, 1916, he came from Poughkeepsie, New York, to Natchez for Christmas.

To prepare for the Naval Academy, Edward went to Washington, D. C., in the summer of 1918.

In January 1923, the newspaper reported that his name along with over 500 other white WWI ex-service persons would be engraved on the Adams County Memorial Hall tablets, now part of the federal courthouse. In 2011, more than 100 white veterans and 581 black veterans were added to the bronze plaques.

Edward married Mrs. Agnes (Ashford) Robert on September 1, 1930, at the Church of the Covenant in Washington, D. C. His best man was Lt. Vaughan Michaux (’22.) In attendance was Daisy Reed, granddaughter of Col. Walter Reed.

Agnes’ father was Snowden Ashford known as the “Architect of the Everyday.” He was the first municipal architect Washington, D. C., and he had many structures to his credit between 1895 and 1921. In June 1924, Agnes married Ensign Robert P. Robert (’23,) but they later divorced.

Edward’s father James Montrose was a retail merchant for coal. His mother was Agnes, brothers James and Orrick, and sister Agnes. They lived at 305 S. Broadway, Natchez. This is a parsonage built in 1852 that is now on the National Historic Register.

Edward has a memory marker in Mississippi.

His wife was listed as next of kin; he was also survived by a son, Jim (USNA '63).

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.

May 1923
Ensign, USS Tennessee

July 1923
Ensign, USS Tennessee

September 1923
Ensign, USS Tennessee

Others at this command:
November 1923
Ensign, USS Tennessee

January 1924
Ensign, USS Tennessee

March 1924
Ensign, USS Tennessee

Others at this command:
May 1924
Ensign, USS Tennessee

Others at this command:
July 1924
Ensign, USS Tennessee

Others at this command:
September 1924
Ensign, USS Tennessee
November 1924
Ensign, USS Tennessee

Others at this command:
January 1925
Ensign, USS Tennessee

Others at this command:
March 1925
Ensign, USS Tennessee

Others at this command:
May 1925
Ensign, USS Ramapo

Others at this command:
July 1925
Ensign, USS Ramapo

Others at this command:
October 1925
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Ramapo

Others at this command:
January 1926
Lieutenant (j.g.), under instruction, USS Chewink
October 1926
Lieutenant (j.g.), for assignment, 16th Naval District
January 1927
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS S-39
April 1927
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS S-39
October 1927
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS S-39
January 1928
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS S-39
April 1928
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS S-39
July 1928
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS S-39
October 1928
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS S-39
January 1929
Lieutenant, USS S-39
April 1929
Lieutenant, USS Trenton

Others at this command:
April 1930
Lieutenant, under instruction, Naval Academy


Others at or embarked at this command:
1LT Charles Kail '23 (Marine Barracks, Naval Academy)
July 1931
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS S-11
October 1931
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS S-11
January 1932
Lieutenant, USS S-11

Others at this command:
April 1932
Lieutenant, commanding officer, USS S-11

Others at this command:
October 1932
Lieutenant, commanding officer, USS S-11

Others at this command:
January 1933
Lieutenant, commanding officer, USS S-11

Others at this command:
April 1933
Lieutenant, commanding officer, USS S-11

Others at this command:
July 1933
Lieutenant, commanding officer, USS S-11

Others at this command:
October 1933
Lieutenant, commanding officer, USS S-11

Others at this command:
April 1934
Lieutenant, commanding officer, USS S-11

Others at this command:
July 1936
Lieutenant, under instruction, Edgewood Arsenal, Edgewood, Maryland
January 1937
Lieutenant, executive officer, USS Conyngham
April 1937
Lieutenant, executive officer, USS Conyngham
September 1937
Lieutenant, executive officer, USS Conyngham
January 1938
Lieutenant Commander, executive officer, USS Conyngham
July 1938
Lieutenant Commander, commanding officer, USS Reuben James

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at this command:
CDR Samuel Moore '13 (Destroyer Division 21)
January 1939
Lieutenant Commander, commanding officer, USS Reuben James

Others at this command:
October 1939
Lieutenant Commander, Bureau of Navigation, Washington, D.C.

June 1940
Lieutenant Commander, Bureau of Navigation, Washington, D.C.

Others at this command:
November 1940
Lieutenant Commander, Bureau of Navigation, Washington, D.C.


Class of 1922

Edward is one of 27 members of the Class of 1922 on Virtual Memorial Hall.

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