GEORGE W. LEHMAN, LT, USN
George Lehman '23
Lucky Bag
From the 1923 Lucky Bag:
George Watson Lehman
Warsaw, Indiana
"Bull" "Torro" "Knight"
EITHER an inherent desire for water which can't be used for bathing purposes, or a local pogrom in "Moscow", caused this noble youth to migrate from the old homestead and affiliate himself with the disciples of J. P. Jones. At any rate, here he is; much and many, as was admitted by his omnipotent contemporaries, who sacrificed many brooms and much energy to impress him with their doctrine of R. H. I. P.
This gentle treatment led our "Torro" to believe that, "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," had no bearing on the existence of "Plebes". Result—he and the Executive Department tangled, and the latter, being victorious, shanghaied him for three months of sea duty on the good ship Reina.
Women, especially the peroxide type, prove fatal to our hero. He is powerless to resist them, even to the extent of swimming the Severn in mid-winter.
But, despite the knocks, "Torro's" career has been an enviable success and the best wishes of his friends, a multitude of them, will always go with him.
Football Squad (4, 3, 2); Class Lacrosse (4, 3, 2); Black N****.
George Watson Lehman
Warsaw, Indiana
"Bull" "Torro" "Knight"
EITHER an inherent desire for water which can't be used for bathing purposes, or a local pogrom in "Moscow", caused this noble youth to migrate from the old homestead and affiliate himself with the disciples of J. P. Jones. At any rate, here he is; much and many, as was admitted by his omnipotent contemporaries, who sacrificed many brooms and much energy to impress him with their doctrine of R. H. I. P.
This gentle treatment led our "Torro" to believe that, "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," had no bearing on the existence of "Plebes". Result—he and the Executive Department tangled, and the latter, being victorious, shanghaied him for three months of sea duty on the good ship Reina.
Women, especially the peroxide type, prove fatal to our hero. He is powerless to resist them, even to the extent of swimming the Severn in mid-winter.
But, despite the knocks, "Torro's" career has been an enviable success and the best wishes of his friends, a multitude of them, will always go with him.
Football Squad (4, 3, 2); Class Lacrosse (4, 3, 2); Black N****.
Loss
George was lost on April 29, 1927 when the aircraft he was co-piloting crashed in a storm while en route from Philadelphia to NAS Hampton Roads.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Although George and his brother Harold were about two years separated in age, they both graduated from Warsaw High School in 1919. Harold was the shy one, but for the senior picnic, he and another classmate obtained a cottage with a large porch for dancing. For music, they rented a Victrola and five records from C. C. Dukes, the funeral director, who also stocked Victrolas and records.
In January, 1927, George completed his air training. He was then with a battleship fleet off Cuba. He expected soon to return to the Naval Academy as an instructor.
George’s plane was one of four flying from Philadelphia to Hampton Roads. One of the other pilots saw George’s plane hit by lightning before it went into its fatal spin and dive into the Chesapeake Bay.
George’s wife Margaret was born in 1904 in Iowa. Their daughter Arta was born April 19, 1926, in Pensacola. In 1930, Margaret and Arta lived in Norfolk.
George’s yearbook printed his speech as president of the senior class. After stating the events of the four school years, he concluded with:
Ambition is essential to success, for without ambition your life will be blank, and you will live without the world ever knowing that you existed. A man’s ambition is what makes his career. It should be your ambition to make the most of yourselves; and when the end comes, you can say with joy in your heart, that your life has not been a failure. Although you may never be known outside of the community in which you live, strive to make yourself a bright light of joy and happiness; and that after you are gone, people can say, that “He was a man.”
Set a goal for your ambition, and then set out to reach that goal. No matter what it costs or what sacrifices you have to make, grit your teeth and go on with the grim determination to overcome any and all obstacles that may confront you; and when you come to the end of your journey you may hear the voice of your Creator say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”
Patriotism is something that every Senior should have. We are now living in an age of revolution. Great things happen every day, and we watch with eager eyes for what next may happen. The very existence of civilization has been threatened, and is threatened. The forces of barbarism have been overcome, and we as patriotic citizens have a great part to play in the reconstruction period. Also the forces of Anarchy gaze with longing eyes upon our Government, and they will endeavor to overthrow it if at all possible. We must hold fast and resolve that our great Nation shall not crumble to dust, before the terrible onslaught of a revolutionary age. Our Nation is one of the few places if not the only place on earth, where a man enjoys such liberties. This Nation is the hope of the world in restoring peace and order among its people. Now we as the men and women of tomorrow must help to preserve the most unselfish, the strongest, the richest, and most democratic nation in the world. Patriotism must spring from the very heart and mind of the person; and it is our firm belief that every one of us is blessed with the unconquerable spirit of American Patriotism. I am sure that in the years to come, when the very existence of our Nation is threatened that among the ranks of those fighting to save it, will be the true and loyal members of the class of ’19.
As your class president, I wish to say that I am proud of you all. It is a great honor to be the president of such an illustrious class, and I hope, that I may live, that I shall not detract from the honor of this class. I wish to thank you all for your hearty cooperation, and fine spirit during our four years in High School; and I hope that sometime in future years that the classes of ’19 and 20 may meet upon the banks of the Great Stream of Life and give nine mighty Rahs! For the “Green and the Gold,” and the “purple and the White.”
He is buried in Indiana; he was survived by his parents.
Photographs
From his 1917 high school yearbook. George (right) with his brother Harold
From his 1919 high school yearbook
From the Illustrated Daily News on October 6, 1924
From The Fort Wayne Sentinel on August 4, 1923
From Virginian Pilot and the Norfolk Landmark on April 30, 1927
From Virginian Pilot and the Norfolk Landmark on January 23, 1927
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.
July 1923
September 1923
November 1923
January 1924
March 1924
July 1924
September 1924
November 1924
January 1925
March 1925
May 1925
July 1925
October 1925
January 1926
October 1926
January 1927
April 1927
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