HALLSTED L. HOPPING, LCDR, USN

From USNA Virtual Memorial Hall
Hallsted Hopping '24

Date of birth: September 25, 1902

Date of death: February 1, 1942

Age: 39

Lucky Bag

From the 1924 Lucky Bag:

1924 Hopping LB.jpg

HALLSTED LUBECK HOPPING

New York City, New York

"Spike"

AS most Lucky Bag write-ups consist of verbal camouflage with which to disguise some boneheaded roommate as an example of all that is best in young American manhood, the writer is straying from precedent in being truthful. However, it is really a relief to turn to a refreshing subject like "Spike," for originality is the spice of refreshment and that is his character portrayed in a word. If his "Theory of Everything" were accepted it would astound the world and dash all Newton's deductions upon the rocks. Then, if he needed salt in a chemistry experiment, all he used was radium chloride and a few grains of sodium from which reaction resulted the much sought for salt and a bit of worthless radium.

His simplicity gained for him the title of "Sagamore Flounder" in the far-famed Indian Club. A wonderful humorist whose jokes were rarely appreciated by anyone save himself.

Just a word to his hostess at any future dinner party: Hallsted became famous Plebe year by eating fourteen shredded wheat biscuits for breakfast and has since lost none of his ability.

Plebe Crew '24, Crossed Oar; Crew Squad (4, 3, 2,) NA; Wrestling Squad (2); Hustlers (4); Class Football (3); Class Boxing (3); Gymkhana (4); Buzzard (2).

1924 Hopping LB.jpg

HALLSTED LUBECK HOPPING

New York City, New York

"Spike"

AS most Lucky Bag write-ups consist of verbal camouflage with which to disguise some boneheaded roommate as an example of all that is best in young American manhood, the writer is straying from precedent in being truthful. However, it is really a relief to turn to a refreshing subject like "Spike," for originality is the spice of refreshment and that is his character portrayed in a word. If his "Theory of Everything" were accepted it would astound the world and dash all Newton's deductions upon the rocks. Then, if he needed salt in a chemistry experiment, all he used was radium chloride and a few grains of sodium from which reaction resulted the much sought for salt and a bit of worthless radium.

His simplicity gained for him the title of "Sagamore Flounder" in the far-famed Indian Club. A wonderful humorist whose jokes were rarely appreciated by anyone save himself.

Just a word to his hostess at any future dinner party: Hallsted became famous Plebe year by eating fourteen shredded wheat biscuits for breakfast and has since lost none of his ability.

Plebe Crew '24, Crossed Oar; Crew Squad (4, 3, 2,) NA; Wrestling Squad (2); Hustlers (4); Class Football (3); Class Boxing (3); Gymkhana (4); Buzzard (2).

Loss

From Find A Grave:

On February 1, 1942, LCDR Hopping led a flight of US Navy Douglas Dive Bombers from the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise on an attack of the island Roi-Mamur in the Marshall Island chain.

Silhouetted against the rising sun, Hoppings dive bomber made an easy target for the Japanese defenders of the island. During his low altitude dive, Hopping's aircraft was immediately attacked by a Japanese Zero. His plane was shot to pieces, & he crashed into the Pacific. His remains were not recovered. Killed along with Hopping was his gunner Radioman First Class Harold Thomas.

He was commended by the Secretary of the Navy for displaying "excellent judgment, initiative, and leadership, outstanding factors in the attack which resulted in the enemy suffering serious damage." (Per the Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 303 (June 1942)).

Photographs

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Hallsted married Alice Gardner Bush in Grace Church on the Heights on December 1, 1926, in Brooklyn, New York. Two days earlier, he gave his bachelor dinner at the Columbia University Club. His best man was Harry Richter (’24.) Ushers were Lt. J. E. McWilliams, Neville McDowell ('24), A. W. Wheelock (‘25), F. J. Thomas (‘25), B. F. Field, and T. F. Keady, all from USS Richmond.

Hallsted’s wife drove an ambulance for the American Red Cross for several weeks in Honolulu before the attack on Pearl Harbor. After his death, she signed up to canvass Brooklyn in a house-to-house war bond campaign. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle on May 26, 1942, quoted her saying, “If the people of America could see those boys in the hospital, they would never hesitate in buying all the bonds they possibly could.” She pledged her widow’s compensation and pension toward the purchase of $3,000 in war bonds.

Their daughter Carolyn Jane was born on September 5, 1937, in Minnesota. Sadly, Carolyn’s twin died at birth.

Hallsted’s father Andrew Howard Hopping, who died in February 1926, was a manufacturer of worsted yarn; mother was Emma Louise.

His wife was listed as next of kin; she later remarried a classmate of his. (Information from December 1976 issue of Shipmate.) Hallsted's memory marker is in Arlington National Cemetery.

Raid on the Marshall Islands

On February 1, 1942, Task Force 17, led by VADM William Halsey, Jr. (USNA '04) struck Jaluit, Mili, and Makin (Butaritari) islands. The Task Force was centered on USS Yorktown (CV 5), with USS Louisville (CA 28) among her escorts.

George Bellinger '32, Francis Maher, Jr. '35, and Jack Moore '36 were all flying from Yorktown and were all lost that day. George Bellinger's plane simply "failed to return;" he had last been seen in the vicinity of Jaluit as the leader of a bombing section. Jack Moore's plane also "failed to return;" no other information was given in the after-action report. Francis Maher may have been the pilot of the plane observed in the water approximately 20 miles astern of the carrier, presumably having crashed due to a lack of fuel. The crew were seen getting into rubber rafts, but "a destroyer was immediately sent back but failed to make contact."

A fourth graduate, Edward Worthington '34, was lost when his float plane, launched from Louisville, went missing and was possibly shot down by a Japanese patrol bomber.

Separately, Task Force 8 was raiding other islands in the group. Hallsted Hopping '24, commanding officer of Scouting Squadron (VS) 6, flying from USS Enterprise (CV 6). His aircraft was shot down by a Japanese fighter and he and his gunner were both killed.

All three of the documents below are via Matt Robbins '04. Note times are in Greenwich mean time.


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.

July 1924
Ensign, USS Richmond

Others at this command:
September 1924
Ensign, USS Richmond

Others at this command:
November 1924
Ensign, USS Richmond

January 1925
Ensign, USS Richmond

March 1925
Ensign, USS Richmond

Others at this command:
May 1925
Ensign, USS Richmond

Others at this command:
July 1925
Ensign, USS Richmond

October 1925
Ensign, USS Richmond

January 1926
Ensign, USS Richmond

Others at this command:
January 1928
Lieutenant (j.g.), Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 9S

April 1928
Lieutenant (j.g.), Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 9S

July 1928
Lieutenant (j.g.), Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 9S

October 1928
Lieutenant (j.g.), Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 9S

January 1929
Lieutenant (j.g.), Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 9S

April 1929
Lieutenant (j.g.), Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 9S

July 1929
Lieutenant (j.g.), Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 9S

October 1929
Lieutenant (j.g.), Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 9S

Others at this command:
January 1930
Lieutenant (j.g.), Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 9S
April 1930
Lieutenant (j.g.), Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 9S

Others at this command:
October 1930
Lieutenant (j.g.), Naval Air Station Coco Solo, Canal Zone

Others at this command:
January 1931
Lieutenant (j.g.), Naval Air Station Coco Solo, Canal Zone

Others at this command:
April 1931
Lieutenant (j.g.), Naval Air Station Coco Solo, Canal Zone

Others at this command:
July 1931
Lieutenant (j.g.), Naval Air Station Coco Solo, Canal Zone

Others at this command:
October 1931
Lieutenant (j.g.), Naval Air Station Coco Solo, Canal Zone

Others at this command:
January 1932
Lieutenant (j.g.), Naval Air Station Coco Solo, Canal Zone

Others at this command:
April 1932
Lieutenant (j.g.), Naval Air Station Coco Solo, Canal Zone
October 1932
Lieutenant (j.g.), Patrol Plane Squadron (VP) 2S, Naval Air Station Coco Solo, Canal Zone
January 1933
Lieutenant, Patrol Plane Squadron (VP) 2S, Naval Air Station Coco Solo, Canal Zone
April 1933
Lieutenant, Patrol Plane Squadron (VP) 2S, Naval Air Station Coco Solo, Canal Zone
July 1934
Lieutenant, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 1B, USS Langley


Others at or embarked at USS Langley:
2LT Ernest Pollock '28 (Scouting Squadron 14-M)
October 1934
Lieutenant, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 1B, USS Langley


Others at or embarked at USS Langley:
LT LaRue Lawbaugh '20 (USS Langley)
2LT Ernest Pollock '28 (Scouting Squadron 14-M)
January 1935
Lieutenant, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 1B, USS Ranger


Others at or embarked at USS Ranger:
LCDR Francis Maile, Jr. '15 (USS Ranger)
LT Samuel Arthur '20 (USS Ranger)
LT Robert Bedilion '22 (USS Ranger)
LTjg William Pennewill '29 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg Clair Miller '29 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg Robert Haven '30 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 5B)
LTjg John Burgess '30 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg James Kyes '30 (USS Ranger)
LTjg Lorenz Forbes '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg William Freshour '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 5B)
LTjg Alden Irons '31 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
ENS William Sisko '31 (USS Ranger)
1LT Robert Brown '31 (USS Ranger)
ENS Earle Schneider '33 (USS Ranger)
April 1935
Lieutenant, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 1B, USS Ranger

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at USS Ranger:
LCDR Francis Maile, Jr. '15 (USS Ranger)
LT Samuel Arthur '20 (USS Ranger)
LT Robert Bedilion '22 (USS Ranger)
LTjg William Pennewill '29 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg Clair Miller '29 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg Lorenz Forbes '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg William Freshour '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 5B)
LTjg Alden Irons '31 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
ENS William Sisko '31 (USS Ranger)
ENS Earle Schneider '33 (USS Ranger)
October 1935
Lieutenant, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 1B, USS Ranger

Others at or embarked at USS Ranger:
LT Robert Bedilion '22 (USS Ranger)
LTjg Seymour Johnson '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg James McRoberts '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg Lorenz Forbes '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg William Freshour '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 5B)
LTjg Alden Irons '31 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg William Sisko '31 (USS Ranger)
ENS Earle Schneider '33 (USS Ranger)
ENS Milton Ricketts '35 (USS Ranger)
January 1936
Lieutenant, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 1B, USS Ranger

Others at or embarked at USS Ranger:
LT Robert Bedilion '22 (USS Ranger)
LT Walter Dey '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LT James McDonough '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg Ralph Smith '26 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
LTjg Seymour Johnson '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg James McRoberts '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg Baylies Clark '30 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
LTjg Lorenz Forbes '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg William Freshour '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 5B)
LTjg Alden Irons '31 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg William Sisko '31 (USS Ranger)
LTjg Alfred Tucker, III '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
ENS William Widhelm '32 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
ENS Earle Schneider '33 (USS Ranger)
ENS Milton Ricketts '35 (USS Ranger)
April 1936
Lieutenant, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 1B, USS Ranger

Others at or embarked at USS Ranger:
LT Robert Bedilion '22 (USS Ranger)
LT Walter Dey '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LT James McDonough '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg Ralph Smith '26 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
LTjg Seymour Johnson '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg James McRoberts '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg Baylies Clark '30 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
LTjg Lorenz Forbes '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg William Freshour '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 5B)
LTjg Alden Irons '31 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg Alfred Tucker, III '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
LTjg William Widhelm '32 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
ENS Earle Schneider '33 (USS Ranger)
ENS Milton Ricketts '35 (USS Ranger)
July 1936
Lieutenant, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 12S, USS New Orleans

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at USS New Orleans:
LTjg Lion Miles '31 (USS New Orleans)
ENS Johns Janney '36 (USS New Orleans)
January 1937
Lieutenant, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 12S, USS New Orleans

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at USS New Orleans:
LTjg Lion Miles '31 (USS New Orleans)
April 1937
Lieutenant, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 11S, USS New Orleans

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at USS New Orleans:
LTjg Lion Miles '31 (USS New Orleans)
September 1937
Lieutenant, commanding officer, Naval Reserve Air Base, Minneapolis, Minnesota
January 1938
Lieutenant, commanding officer, Naval Reserve Air Base, Minneapolis, Minnesota
July 1938
Lieutenant, commanding officer, Naval Reserve Air Base, Minneapolis, Minnesota
January 1939
Lieutenant, commanding officer, Naval Reserve Air Base, Minneapolis, Minnesota
October 1939
Lieutenant Commander, commanding officer, Cruiser Scouting Squadron (VCS) 3, USS Concord
June 1940
Lieutenant Commander, commanding officer, Cruiser Scouting Squadron (VCS) 3, USS Concord

Others at or embarked at USS Concord:
November 1940
Lieutenant Commander, commanding officer, Cruiser Scouting Squadron (VCS) 3, USS Concord

Others at or embarked at USS Concord:
April 1941
Lieutenant Commander, commanding officer, Cruiser Scouting Squadron (VCS) 3, USS Concord

Others at or embarked at USS Concord:

Namesake

USS Hopping (DE 155) was named for Hallsted; the ship was sponsored by his widow.


Class of 1924

Hallsted is one of 42 members of the Class of 1924 on Virtual Memorial Hall.

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