HAMMOND J. DUGAN, LTJG, USN
Hammond Dugan '24
Lucky Bag
From the 1924 Lucky Bag:
HAMMOND JAMES DUGAN
Baltimore, Maryland
"Red"
MAN overboard!—and not in the Mess Hall either—who? Why none other than "Red"—with half the subchasers, speed boats, and motor sailers of Uncle Henry's flotilla rushing to his rescue. It is shameful, but nevertheless true, that "Red" went to the crew races Second Class year in a canoe, and gave the crowd quite a thrill by effectively demonstrating the unstability of such craft under adverse conditions—just his humble contribution to science.
The thing we haven't been able to dope out is how "Red" broke away from Baltimore with its abundance of flappers and heart-breakers, and confined himself to more distant attractions. Judging from the percentage of his study periods which he devotes to writing reams and reams of sweet nothings to some lucky girl, he must be savvy, or else in love.
"Red" doesn't spend all of his time penning his thoughts, however, for quite often he is to be found indulging in peaceful slumbers from which he always awakes with, "Gee! This is a strenuous life."
Class Lacrosse (3, 2); Numerals Lacrosse (2, 3); Class Gym (3, 2); Probation (4).
HAMMOND JAMES DUGAN
Baltimore, Maryland
"Red"
MAN overboard!—and not in the Mess Hall either—who? Why none other than "Red"—with half the subchasers, speed boats, and motor sailers of Uncle Henry's flotilla rushing to his rescue. It is shameful, but nevertheless true, that "Red" went to the crew races Second Class year in a canoe, and gave the crowd quite a thrill by effectively demonstrating the unstability of such craft under adverse conditions—just his humble contribution to science.
The thing we haven't been able to dope out is how "Red" broke away from Baltimore with its abundance of flappers and heart-breakers, and confined himself to more distant attractions. Judging from the percentage of his study periods which he devotes to writing reams and reams of sweet nothings to some lucky girl, he must be savvy, or else in love.
"Red" doesn't spend all of his time penning his thoughts, however, for quite often he is to be found indulging in peaceful slumbers from which he always awakes with, "Gee! This is a strenuous life."
Class Lacrosse (3, 2); Numerals Lacrosse (2, 3); Class Gym (3, 2); Probation (4).
Loss
Hammond was lost when the airship USS Akron (ZRS 4) crashed off the coast of New Jersey on April 4, 1933.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Hammond married Frances Lathrop Smith on June 14, 1930, at Christ Church Cathedral in Lexington, Kentucky. In October, she wrote a series of articles for “The Blood Horse” on the various stock farms and race tracks of Maryland. In the 1950s, she was an associate in the Archives and Special Collections at the University of Kentucky and was on the Lexington School Board of Education. She wrote a number of books and articles including “Rainfall Harvest,” the chronicle of Lexington’s Early Struggle to establish a Water Works in the 1871-1885 era. She married Hill Shine in 1962 and died in November 1977.
Hammond’s son was born April 2, 1931, in Baltimore. His daughter Darnall was born June 11, 1933, in Philadelphia, two months after his death.
In 1910, his father Ferdinand was a lawyer; mother Melanie; brothers Caroll, Ferdinand, Jr., and Daniel; and sisters Harriett, Melinia, Helen and Emily. The family had two live-in children nurses, a cook, and two male laborers. In 1920, the family now included sister Eleanor and brothers Daniel, Cumberland, Pierre and John. The family had a live-in coachman. His sister Harriet married John Brady Twohy in June, 1930. His cousin was Henry Twohy (’29.)
Hammond’s uncle was General Thomas Buchanan Dugan, and his cousins were Cumberland (Class of ’21 non-grad) and Thomas (‘22.)
Photographs
From the Daily News on April 5, 1933
Front-Door-Direct-Air-Mail Delivery
From The Baltimore Sun, Maryland, January 21, 1930, via researcher Kathy Franz:
Lieut. Hammond J. Dugan Makes Only Front-Door-Direct-Air-Mail Delivery on Record by Dropping Message in Cathedral Street
Lieut. Hammond J. Dugan brought the navy’s “tin bubble” airship down from Lakehurst yesterday to show it to his mother.
He had often told her he’d drop in some day to see her at her home, 1015 Cathedral street, and came about as close to keeping his promise yesterday as a congested residential section will permit.
Landing the airship in Cathedral street or in the Dugan back yard was out of the question, but Lieutenant Dugan did the next best thing. A few minutes after noon he staged the only front-door-direct-air-mail delivery on record.
While hundreds of citizens were watching the stubby tin cigar weave about the Belvedere Hotel, church spires and other tall buildings, trying to fathom the why of it, persons within several blocks saw a mite of a package whip through the air with a streaming tail behind.
It landed not ten feet from the front door of Mrs. Ferdinand C. Dugan’s home and was picked up by Dr. Joseph D. Fusco, a dentist, who had visions of an airship in distress and calls for aid.
Opening the flap of the little rubberoid case, weighted with shot, he found in it the name and address of Mrs. Dugan. Looking up he saw he was standing in front of the house and also saw Mrs. Dugan waving a fond good-by as the tin bubble headed northeastward.
Text of Message
The especially special delivery note to Mrs. Dugan read:
Dear Mother:
How do you like my new machine?
Hammond.
Lieutenant Dugan, who was in command of the tin bubble, which officially is known as the ZMC-2, left Lakehurst early yesterday morning for a training cruise. He returned the ship to the New Jersey station last night.
Notified By Telephone
Mrs. Dugan was notified by telephone of her son’s intended visit by a friend of the family, who noticed the ship cruising toward the Dugan home. Four times Lieutenant Dugan made a circle of the neighborhood to assure his mother of a perfect view.
On the last trip around he dropped the message, written on a hurriedly recruited scrap of paper, and then headed the ZMC-2 toward Lakehurst, while Mrs. Dugan waved a white cloth from an upper window to let him know she had seen his new machine.
Brother is on Destroyer
Lieutenant Dugan is one of two sons of Mrs. Dugan in the navy. His brother, Lieut. Ferdinand C. Dugan, Jr., stationed on the destroyer Putnam, was graduated from the Naval Academy in 1922.
The aviator, who is 27, finished at the academy in 1924.
He was stationed at Lakehurst and when the ZMC-2 was completed last year and delivered to the naval station by the army was instructed in its navigation by Capt. William E. Kepner, chief airship pilot of the United States Army, who commanded the ship until its final acceptance by the Navy Survey Board.
It was said at Lakehurst last night that the ZMC-2’s cruise was along routine lines and the ship had no special destination.
From The Baltimore Sun on January 21, 1930
From The Baltimore Sun on January 21, 1930
From The Baltimore Sun on January 21, 1930
Video
Akron's executive officer, LCDR Herbert V. Wiley '15, one of only three survivors, was filmed shortly after the crash:
Related Articles
William Moffett '90, Fred Berry '08, Henry Cecil '10, Frank McCord '11, Harold Maclellan '18, Joseph Severyns '20, George Calnan '20, Richard Cross, Jr. '21, Herbert Wescoat '23, Robert Sayre '24, Charles Callaway '24, Charles Miller '25, Charles Redfield '26, Wilfred Bushnell '26, and Cyrus Clendening '27 were also lost aboard Akron.
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
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October 1925
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October 1927
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July 1928
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April 1929
July 1929
October 1929
January 1930
April 1930
October 1930
1LT David Claude '24 (Marine Barracks, Naval Academy)
January 1931
April 1931
July 1931
October 1931
January 1932
April 1932
October 1932
January 1933
April 1933
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