JOHN A. HOLLOWELL, JR., CDR, USN
John Hollowell, Jr. '22
Lucky Bag
From the 1922 Lucky Bag:
Loss
John was lost when USS Houston (CA 30) was sunk on March 1, 1942 during the Battle of Sunda Strait. He was the ship's navigator.
His wife was listed as next of kin.
Remembrances
In "Ship of Ghosts", he is quoted responding to a sailor where they were going: "In a fatherly way, he draped his arm around my shoulder and, as though talking to himself, said, 'Son, we're going to hell, we're going to hell.'"


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.
May 1923
Ensign, USS Osborne
July 1923
Ensign, USS Osborne
September 1923
Ensign, USS Osborne
November 1923
Ensign, USS Osborne
January 1924
Ensign, course instrn, Naval Torpedo Station, Newport, Rhode Island
Others at this command:
March 1924
Ensign, course instrn, Naval Torpedo Station, Newport, Rhode Island
Others at this command:
May 1924
Ensign, course instrn, Naval Torpedo Station, Newport, Rhode Island
Others at this command:
July 1924
Ensign, USS Osborne
September 1924
Ensign, USS Osborne
November 1924
Ensign, USS Osborne
January 1925
Ensign, USS Osborne
March 1925
Ensign, USS Osborne
May 1925
Ensign, USS Osborne
July 1925
Ensign, USS Osborne
October 1925
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Osborne
January 1926
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Osborne
October 1926
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Osborne
January 1927
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Osborne
April 1927
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Osborne
October 1927
Lieutenant (j.g.), under instruction, Submarine Base New London, Connecticut
Others at this command:
January 1928
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS V-4
April 1928
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS V-4
July 1928
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS V-4
October 1928
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS V-4
January 1929
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS V-4
April 1929
Lieutenant, USS V-4
July 1929
Lieutenant, USS V-4
October 1929
Lieutenant, USS V-4
January 1930
Lieutenant, USS V-4
April 1930
Lieutenant, USS V-4
October 1930
Lieutenant, Naval Air Station, Naval Operating Base Hampton Roads, Virginia
January 1931
Lieutenant, Naval Air Station, Naval Operating Base Hampton Roads, Virginia
April 1931
Lieutenant, Naval Air Station, Naval Operating Base Hampton Roads, Virginia
July 1931
Lieutenant, Naval Air Station, Naval Operating Base Hampton Roads, Virginia
October 1931
Lieutenant, Naval Air Station, Naval Operating Base Hampton Roads, Virginia
Others at this command:
January 1932
Lieutenant, Naval Air Station, Naval Operating Base Hampton Roads, Virginia
April 1932
Lieutenant, under instruction, Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.:
October 1932
Lieutenant, commanding officer, USS Pigeon
January 1933
Lieutenant, commanding officer, USS Pigeon
April 1933
Lieutenant, commanding officer, USS Pigeon
July 1933
Lieutenant, commanding officer, USS Pigeon
October 1933
Lieutenant, commanding officer, USS Pigeon
April 1934
Lieutenant, commanding officer, USS Pigeon
July 1934
Lieutenant, commanding officer, USS Pigeon
October 1934
Lieutenant, commanding officer, USS Pigeon
January 1935
Lieutenant, Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.:
April 1935
Lieutenant, Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.:
October 1935
Lieutenant, Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.:
January 1936
Lieutenant, Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.:
April 1936
Lieutenant, Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.:
July 1936
Lieutenant, Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.:
January 1937
Lieutenant, officer in charge, Experimental Diving Unit, Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.
Others at or embarked at Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.:
LT Henry Batterton '23 (Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.)
LT William France '24 (Naval Gun Factory)
April 1937
Lieutenant, officer in charge, Experimental Diving Unit, Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.
Others at or embarked at Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.:
LT Henry Batterton '23 (Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.)
LT William France '24 (Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.)
September 1937
Lieutenant, officer in charge, Experimental Diving Unit, Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.
Others at or embarked at Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.:
July 1938
Lieutenant Commander, gunnery officer, USS Arkansas
Others at this command:
January 1939
Lieutenant Commander, gunnery officer, USS Arkansas
October 1939
Lieutenant Commander, gunnery officer, USS Arkansas
June 1940
Lieutenant Commander, Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia
Others at this command:
November 1940
Lieutenant Commander, Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia
April 1941
Lieutenant Commander, Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia
Class of 1922
John is one of 27 members of the Class of 1922 on Virtual Memorial Hall.