JAMES V. REILLY, LCDR, USN

From USNA Virtual Memorial Hall
James Reilly '32

Date of birth: March 15, 1909

Date of death: May 23, 1943

Age: 34

Lucky Bag

From the 1932 Lucky Bag:

1932 Reilly LB.jpg

JAMES VINCENT REILLY

Richmond Hill, New York

"Red" "Indian"

An honest, hard working chap who sprang from the wilds of New York City, Red delights in argument, but never waxes angry. Always good natured, he can't hold a grudge longer than a few minutes at most.

"How many days, Mister." Red spends a lot of his spare time thinking of leave when he can strut his stuff and give his version of the Navy Line.

He has little trouble with Academics, and doesn't need to grind. The Steam Department got in a few good blows in the early part of his career here, but he has had the situation well in hand ever since. This leaves him time to devote to the various activities which go to make this school more than a mere institution of learning.

Much water has passed over the dam since we first gazed at that flowing red hair, and heard that distinctive New York drawl, yet time has served only to confirm that first good impression. He will have little trouble if he only continues to follow the good example he has set himself.

Log Staff; Feature Editor; Stage Gang Manager; Cross Country; Track; 1 P. O.


James was Feature Editor of the Log and Stage Director of the Stage Gang.

1932 Reilly LB.jpg

JAMES VINCENT REILLY

Richmond Hill, New York

"Red" "Indian"

An honest, hard working chap who sprang from the wilds of New York City, Red delights in argument, but never waxes angry. Always good natured, he can't hold a grudge longer than a few minutes at most.

"How many days, Mister." Red spends a lot of his spare time thinking of leave when he can strut his stuff and give his version of the Navy Line.

He has little trouble with Academics, and doesn't need to grind. The Steam Department got in a few good blows in the early part of his career here, but he has had the situation well in hand ever since. This leaves him time to devote to the various activities which go to make this school more than a mere institution of learning.

Much water has passed over the dam since we first gazed at that flowing red hair, and heard that distinctive New York drawl, yet time has served only to confirm that first good impression. He will have little trouble if he only continues to follow the good example he has set himself.

Log Staff; Feature Editor; Stage Gang Manager; Cross Country; Track; 1 P. O.


James was Feature Editor of the Log and Stage Director of the Stage Gang.

Loss

James was the co-pilot of a two engine bomber that crashed during a test flight, killing six men, about six miles northeast of Moss Landing, California.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

From the Times Union, Brooklyn, June 11, 1932:

James Reilly … received his commission as an ensign in the navy …

Ensign Reilly is to be congratulated for his determination, which eventually gained him admission to the academy. After failing to get the designation from his Congressional district, an opportunity to take the entrance examination he enlisted in the Navy.

After months of service [he] took the test and was one of the hundred that are annually enrolled from the service. He passed a creditable entrance examination and maintained a high standing during his four years at the academy.

James married Mary Enright on June 23, 1932, in Manhattan. In 1940, they lived on the Coco Solo Naval Reservation, Cristobal, Panama Canal Zone. Their son Jerauld, who was born in Florida, was 4 years old.

His father was Christopher, a police officer in the Lost Property Bureau, mother Jane, brother Gerard, and sister Margaret born in 1919.

James is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. He was survived by his sister, Helen E. Reilly, but his brother Gerard, serving in the Merchant Marines, had been reported missing the previous month.

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.

October 1932
Ensign, USS Salt Lake City


Others at or embarked at this command:
LTjg James McRoberts '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 10S)
January 1933
Ensign, USS Salt Lake City


Others at or embarked at this command:
LTjg James McRoberts '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 10S)
April 1933
Ensign, USS Salt Lake City

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at this command:
LTjg James McRoberts '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 10S)
July 1933
Ensign, USS Salt Lake City

October 1933
Ensign, USS Salt Lake City

April 1934
Ensign, USS Salt Lake City

July 1934
Ensign, USS Salt Lake City


Others at or embarked at this command:
ENS Albert Gray '31 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 9S)
October 1934
Ensign, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 9S, USS Salt Lake City

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at USS Salt Lake City:
LTjg Ward Bronson '31 (USS Salt Lake City)
ENS Millener Thomas '33 (USS Salt Lake City)
January 1935
Ensign, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 9S, USS Salt Lake City

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at USS Salt Lake City:
LTjg Ward Bronson '31 (USS Salt Lake City)
ENS Millener Thomas '33 (USS Salt Lake City)
July 1936
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Detroit


Others at or embarked at this command:
LT Paul Register '21 (Destroyers, Battle Force)
January 1937
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Detroit


Others at or embarked at this command:
LT Paul Register '21 (Destroyers, Battle Force)
April 1937
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Detroit


Others at or embarked at this command:
LT Paul Register '21 (Destroyers, Battle Force)
September 1937
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Detroit

January 1938
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Detroit

July 1938
Lieutenant (j.g.), Bombing Squadron (VB) 3, USS Saratoga


Others at or embarked at USS Saratoga:
LT John Waldron '24 (USS Saratoga)
LT Gerald Dyson '27 (USS Saratoga)
LT William Pye, Jr. '28 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 3)
LTjg John Spiers '32 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 3)
LTjg Albert Major, Jr. '32 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 3)
LTjg George Nicol '34 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 3)
ENS William Hulson '36 (Aircraft, Battle Force)
ENS Paul Riley '37 (USS Saratoga)
ENS William Mason, Jr. '37 (USS Saratoga)
ENS John Black '38 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Osborne Wiseman '38 (USS Saratoga)
ENS John Smith '38 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Keene Hammond '38 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Vincent Sim '38 (USS Saratoga)
January 1939
Lieutenant (j.g.), Bombing Squadron (VB) 3, USS Saratoga


Others at or embarked at USS Saratoga:
LT John Waldron '24 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 3)
LT Gerald Dyson '27 (USS Saratoga)
LTjg John Spiers '32 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 3)
LTjg George Nicol '34 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 3)
ENS William Hulson '36 (Aircraft, Battle Force)
ENS Paul Riley '37 (USS Saratoga)
ENS William Mason, Jr. '37 (USS Saratoga)
ENS John Black '38 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Osborne Wiseman '38 (USS Saratoga)
ENS John Smith '38 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Keene Hammond '38 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Vincent Sim '38 (USS Saratoga)
October 1939
Lieutenant (j.g.), communications officer, Patrol Wing 3, Coco Solo, Canal Zone
June 1940
Lieutenant, communications officer, Patrol Wing 3, Coco Solo, Canal Zone
November 1940
Lieutenant, communications officer, Patrol Wing 3, Coco Solo, Canal Zone
April 1941
Lieutenant, communications officer, Patrol Wing 3, Coco Solo, Canal Zone


Class of 1932

James is one of 53 members of the Class of 1932 on Virtual Memorial Hall.

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