HOWARD M. LAMMERS, CAPT, USN (RET.)

Howard Lammers '08

Date of birth: February 9, 1888

Date of death: July 24, 1942

Age: 54

Lucky Bag

From the 1908 Lucky Bag:

HOWARD MELVIN LAMMERS

Heron Lake, Minnesota

"Howard"

Possessor of a pleasing address and a winning smile, he is quite successful in the fussing line. His conscientious obedience to the regulations won him a buzzard in February of second class year. Disdaining the delays of the tailor shop, he stayed up all night to sew the bird on the sleeve of his dress jacket, in order to be ready for the next hop. His scrupulous neatness is his predominant characteristic, and many a Saturday afternoon the O. C. has taken visitors into his rooms to find even the lockers neatly stowed, much to the admiration of the "distinguished personages," who little knew that they were inspecting the rooms of a "Model Midshipman."

HOWARD MELVIN LAMMERS

Heron Lake, Minnesota

"Howard"

Possessor of a pleasing address and a winning smile, he is quite successful in the fussing line. His conscientious obedience to the regulations won him a buzzard in February of second class year. Disdaining the delays of the tailor shop, he stayed up all night to sew the bird on the sleeve of his dress jacket, in order to be ready for the next hop. His scrupulous neatness is his predominant characteristic, and many a Saturday afternoon the O. C. has taken visitors into his rooms to find even the lockers neatly stowed, much to the admiration of the "distinguished personages," who little knew that they were inspecting the rooms of a "Model Midshipman."

Loss

From Asbury Park Press (New Jersey) on July 25, 1942:

Naval Captain Killed
NEW DELHI. India. (Delayed) (UP) Capt. Howard M. Lammers, United States naval liaison officer at Colombo, Ceylon, was killed today in the crash of an R.A.F. plane [near Bangalore, India]. The United States commission here was informed the plane struck a hill upon flying out of a cloud formation. Captain Lammers was about 48 years old. He had served in Colombo 18 months.

Though retired on June 30, 1934 as a Commander, he had been on active duty (as a temporary Captain) for nearly 1 year and 5 months as of the July 1, 1942 Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps of 1942. He is not listed on the Navy overseas casualties of WWII.

Howard was survived by his wife and perhaps a daughter. He is buried in Hawaii.

Career

Howard was commanding officer of USS Brooks for a few months in mid-1922. He was mentioned as the "Naval observer" in this book. (He "was exceedingly helpful" and a "capable officer".)

Another book mentions him in Colombo, and also states that he was once executive officer of USS California (BB 44).

It appears that Howard was interviewed on a radio program in December 1939. He was "chief of the amusement committee" for the 1939 New York World's Fair.

Memorial Hall Error

Howard should be included in Memorial Hall with his classmates. (Another retired-on-active-duty officer, Joseph Murphy '09 is included with his classmates.)

He was identified through the diligent efforts of Leslie Poche, a volunteer who combed through Shipmate issues to find operational losses not accounted for in Memorial Hall.

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.

January 1909

Midshipman, Maine

Others at this command: MIDN Robert Cabaniss '06.

January 1910

Midshipman, Dixie

January 1911

Ensign, Dixie

January 1912

Ensign, Dixie

January 1913

Ensign, Arkansas

Others at this command: CDR William Moffett '90.

January 1914

Lieutenant (j.g.), Naval Proving Ground

January 1915

Lieutenant (j.g.), Naval Proving Ground, Indianhead, Maryland

January 1916

Lieutenant (j.g.), Naval Proving Ground, Indianhead, Maryland

January 1917

Lieutenant, USS San Diego

March 1918

Lieutenant Commander, staff, Pacific Fleet, USS Pittsburgh

Others at or embarked at USS Pittsburgh: ENS Fred Byers '18 (USS Pittsburgh).

January 1919

Lieutenant Commander, staff, Pacific Fleet

January 1920

Lieutenant Commander, Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island

Others at this command: CAPT Herbert Sparrow '99.

January 1921

Lieutenant Commander, Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island

January 1922

Lieutenant Commander, Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island

May 1923

Lieutenant Commander, commanding officer, USS Pope

July 1923

Lieutenant Commander, commanding officer, USS Pope

September 1923

Lieutenant Commander, unreadable

November 1923

Lieutenant Commander, navigator, USS Colorado

January 1924

Lieutenant Commander, navigator, USS Colorado

March 1924

Lieutenant Commander, navigator, USS Colorado

May 1924

Lieutenant Commander, navigator, USS Colorado

July 1924

Lieutenant Commander, navigator, USS Colorado

September 1924

Lieutenant Commander, navigator, USS Colorado

November 1924

Lieutenant Commander, navigator, USS Colorado

January 1925

Lieutenant Commander, navigator, USS Colorado

March 1925

Lieutenant Commander, navigator, USS Colorado

Others at this command: LT Theodore Chandler '15.

May 1925

Lieutenant Commander, navigator, USS Colorado

Others at this command: LCDR Daniel Callaghan '11, LT Theodore Chandler '15, and LTjg Frederick Kahn '21.

July 1925

Lieutenant Commander, Naval War College Staff

October 1925

Commander, Naval War College Staff

January 1926

Commander, Naval War College Staff

October 1926

Commander, Naval War College Staff

January 1927

Commander, staff, Naval War College Staff

April 1927

Commander, staff, Naval War College

October 1927

Commander, staff, Naval War College

Others at this command: LCDR Melville Brown '10.

January 1928

Commander, staff, Naval War College

Others at this command: LCDR Melville Brown '10.

April 1928

Commander, staff, Naval War College

Others at this command: LCDR Melville Brown '10.

July 1928

Commander, commanding officer, USS Reid

October 1928

Commander, commanding officer, USS Reid

January 1929

Commander, treatment, Naval Hospital Philadelphia

April 1929

Commander, commanding officer, USS Mercy

July 1929

Commander, commanding officer, USS Bushnell

October 1929

Commander, commanding officer, USS Bushnell

January 1930

Commander, commanding officer, USS Bushnell