HOWARD M. LAMMERS, CAPT, USN (RET.)
Howard Lammers '08
Lucky Bag
From the 1908 Lucky Bag:
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.
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 1910
Midshipman, Dixie
January 1911
Ensign, Dixie
January 1912
Ensign, Dixie
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:
January 1919
Lieutenant Commander, staff, Pacific Fleet
January 1920
Lieutenant Commander, Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island
Others at this command:
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:
May 1925
Lieutenant Commander, navigator, USS Colorado
Others at this command:
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
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
April 1930
Commander, commanding officer, USS Bushnell
October 1930
Commander, Navy Department, Washington, D.C.
Others at this command:
January 1931
Commander, Navy Department, Washington, D.C.
Others at this command:
April 1931
Commander, Navy Department, Washington, D.C.
Others at this command:
July 1931
Commander, Navy Department, Washington, D.C.
Others at this command:
October 1931
Commander, Navy Department, Washington, D.C.
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at this command:
January 1932
Commander, Navy Department, Washington, D.C.
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at this command:
April 1932
Commander, Navy Department, Washington, D.C.
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at this command:
October 1932
Commander, Navy Department, Washington, D.C.
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at this command:
January 1933
Commander, Navy Department, Washington, D.C.
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at this command:
April 1933
Commander, Navy Department, Washington, D.C.
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at this command:
July 1933
Commander, executive officer, USS California
Others at this command:
October 1933
Commander, executive officer, USS California
Others at this command:
April 1934
Commander, executive officer, USS California
Others at this command:
July 1934
Commander, executive officer, USS California
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at this command:
October 1934
Commander, executive officer, USS California
Others at this command:
January 1935
Commander, executive officer, USS California
Others at this command:
April 1935
Commander, executive officer, USS California
Others at this command:
October 1935
Commander, 15th Naval District
January 1936
Commander, 15th Naval District
April 1936
Commander, home without orders
July 1936
Commander, home without orders
January 1937
Commander, retired, living in Newport, Rhode Island
April 1937
Commander, retired, living in Newport, Rhode Island
September 1937
Commander, retired, living in Newport, Rhode Island
January 1938
Commander, retired, living in Newport, Rhode Island
July 1938
Commander, retired, living in Newport, Rhode Island
January 1939
Commander, retired, living in New York City
October 1939
Commander, retired, living in New York City
June 1940
Commander, retired, living in New York City
November 1940
Commander, retired, living in New York City
April 1941
Commander, retired on active list, Navy Department, Washington, D.C.
Others at this command:
Class of 1908
Howard is one of 7 members of the Class of 1908 on Virtual Memorial Hall.
