JOHN F. GILLON, LCDR, USN

John Gillon '20

Date of birth: September 21, 1896

Date of death: May 7, 1937

Age: 40

Lucky Bag

From the 1920 Lucky Bag:

John Francis Gillon

Taunton, Massachusetts

"Jack"

HERE'S the negatively rhino bird from Massachusetts, always cheerful, ready with a smile and a helping word for the rest of the gang (we poor unfortunates always seeing reflections of the U-boat in our mirrors, or else our names on the Ac Department's weekly effort) for he is both savvy and blessed with regness. He does have a habit of not being findable toward the end of a meal, but that only worries his three-striper; and on the cruise his habit of showing up at 12:30 a. m. is annoying, but he always is able to explain it away so that it doesn't make any difference anyway.

He is a follower (and often one of the followed) of the great American game, and spring always finds him out on the diamond at second base.

You can be sure that the squad will never get rhino, and that a division always will come through with him in it. So here's hoping we get in that division if we haven't made that squad.

Honors: Buzzard; Baseball Squad, 4, 3, 1.

The Class of 1920 was graduated in June 1919 due to World War I. The entirety of 2nd class (junior) year was removed from the curriculum.

John Francis Gillon

Taunton, Massachusetts

"Jack"

HERE'S the negatively rhino bird from Massachusetts, always cheerful, ready with a smile and a helping word for the rest of the gang (we poor unfortunates always seeing reflections of the U-boat in our mirrors, or else our names on the Ac Department's weekly effort) for he is both savvy and blessed with regness. He does have a habit of not being findable toward the end of a meal, but that only worries his three-striper; and on the cruise his habit of showing up at 12:30 a. m. is annoying, but he always is able to explain it away so that it doesn't make any difference anyway.

He is a follower (and often one of the followed) of the great American game, and spring always finds him out on the diamond at second base.

You can be sure that the squad will never get rhino, and that a division always will come through with him in it. So here's hoping we get in that division if we haven't made that squad.

Honors: Buzzard; Baseball Squad, 4, 3, 1.

The Class of 1920 was graduated in June 1919 due to World War I. The entirety of 2nd class (junior) year was removed from the curriculum.

Loss

John was lost on May 7, 1937, when his aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from USS Saratoga (CV 2). He was the commanding officer of Scouting Squadron (VS) 2B.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

John graduated from the grammar and high school department of St. Mary’s parochial school. He was valedictorian of the class of 1915. He next attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In November, 1915, Congressman William S. Greene received a report that John had scored the highest on the final examination for admission the Naval Academy and was therefore the principal candidate.
John married Eileen O’Neil in 1922. Their daughter Marie was born in February, 1923, in Connecticut.
On August 29, 1934, in Rome, Italy, Premier Benito Mussolini conferred high decorations on 99 Americans who aided General Italo Balbo’s 24-plane armada to Chicago in July 1933. John was listed among the 99 and was made an Officer of the Crown. [The day John died, Mussolini banned all but three English newspapers charging the English press with “conducting a campaign of lies” in regard to Italian defeats in Spain].
Per The Boston Globe, May 8, 1937: Lieut. Gillon was considered an authority on aviation. He had made several maps and written several books on aviation and Col. Lindbergh is said to have used both maps and books that were published by Lieut. Gillon. He prized a personal letter from Lindbergh complimenting him on his books on aviation.

He was survived by his wife, Eileen, and two daughters, Marie and Nancy.

From Marie's obituary:

Her father, John Francis Gillon, was a graduate of the US Naval Academy and had a distinguished military career as a pilot in the US Navy. Her mother Eileen, sister Nancy, and she moved often, mostly in the east and west coasts of the United States, to be where Lt. Commander Gillon was stationed.
In 1937, her father died when the airplane he was flying off the USS Saratoga crashed into the ocean during military maneuvers. Eileen, Nancy, and Marie then moved to the family home in Rhode Island, and after one year drove back across the country to reside in Point Loma, San Diego.

Marie was a member of the WAVES during WWII; she included it on her headstone sixty years later.

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 1920

Ensign, USS Rhode Island

Others at this command:

LT Oscar Erickson '16

LT Roger Armstrong '18

January 1921

Ensign, staff, Destroyer Force, Pacific Fleet

Others at this command:

LCDR Lewis Hancock, Jr. '10

January 1922

Ensign, USS LaVallette

May 1923

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS T-2

July 1923

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS R-15

Others at this command:

LT Jack Richardson '19

September 1923

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS R-15

November 1923

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS R-15

January 1924

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS R-15

March 1924

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS R-15

May 1924

Lieutenant (j.g.), commanding officer, USS R-15

July 1924

Lieutenant (j.g.), commanding officer, USS R-15

September 1924

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS R-15

November 1924

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS R-15

January 1925

Lieutenant (j.g.), commanding officer, USS R-15

March 1925

Lieutenant (j.g.), commanding officer, USS R-17

May 1925

Lieutenant (j.g.), commanding officer, USS R-17

July 1925

Lieutenant (j.g.), Receiving Ship, San Francisco

Others at this command:

LTjg Joseph Severyns, Jr. '20

October 1925

Lieutenant, under instruction, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida

Others at this command:

LT LaRue Lawbaugh '20
LTjg Addis Nelson '21
LTjg Harry Brandenburger '21
LTjg Irving Wiltsie '21
LTjg John Jones '21
LTjg Richard Waggener '22

LTjg George Covell '22
LTjg William Davis '22
ENS Luther Schmidt '23
ENS George Lehman '23
2LT John Harris '23

ENS Joseph Rooney '23
ENS William Reddington '23
ENS Herbert Wescoat '23
ENS Matthias Marple, Jr. '23
ENS William Hobby, Jr. '23

January 1926

Lieutenant, under instruction, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida

Others at this command:

LT Dixie Kiefer '19
LT William Sample '19
LTjg William Butler, Jr. '20
LT LaRue Lawbaugh '20
LTjg Rogers Ransehousen '21

LTjg Harry Brandenburger '21
LTjg Irving Wiltsie '21
LTjg Richard Waggener '22
LTjg George Covell '22
ENS Luther Schmidt '23

ENS George Lehman '23
2LT John Harris '23
ENS Joseph Rooney '23
ENS William Reddington '23
ENS Matthias Marple, Jr. '23

October 1926

Lieutenant, staff, Aircraft Squadrons, Scouting Fleet, USS Wright

Others at this command:

LTjg William Davis '22

January 1927

Lieutenant, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 1

Others at this command:

LT Oscar Erickson '16
LT LaRue Lawbaugh '20

LTjg James Carney '21
LTjg George Lehman '23

LTjg Joseph Rooney '23

April 1927

Lieutenant, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 1

Others at this command:

LT LaRue Lawbaugh '20

LTjg George Lehman '23

LTjg Joseph Rooney '23

October 1927

Lieutenant, Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 9S

Others at this command:

LTjg James McDonough '24

January 1928

Lieutenant, Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 9S

Others at this command:

LTjg James McDonough '24

LTjg Hallsted Hopping '24

LTjg John Waldron '24

April 1928

Lieutenant, Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 9S

Others at this command:

LTjg James McDonough '24

LTjg Hallsted Hopping '24

LTjg John Waldron '24

October 1928

Lieutenant, Naval Academy

Others at this command:

CDR Fred Berry '08
LCDR Norman Scott '11
LCDR Albert Rooks '14
LCDR Cassin Young '16
LT George Calnan '20

LT John Burrow '21
LT Joseph Hubbard '21
LT Edwin Crouch '21
LTjg William Ault '22
LTjg William Haynsworth, Jr. '23

ENS Carlton Hutchins '26
ENS Charles Signer '26
ENS Donald Lovelace '28
ENS William Millican '28

January 1929

Lieutenant, Naval Academy

Others at this command:

CDR Fred Berry '08
LCDR Norman Scott '11
LCDR Albert Rooks '14
LCDR Cassin Young '16
LT George Calnan '20

LT John Burrow '21
LT Joseph Hubbard '21
LT Edwin Crouch '21
LTjg William Ault '22

LTjg William Haynsworth, Jr. '23
ENS Carlton Hutchins '26
ENS Charles Signer '26
ENS William Millican '28

April 1929

Lieutenant, Naval Academy

Others at this command:

CDR Fred Berry '08
LCDR James Logan '10
LCDR Norman Scott '11
LCDR Albert Rooks '14

LCDR Cassin Young '16
LT George Calnan '20
LT John Burrow '21
LT Joseph Hubbard '21

LT Edwin Crouch '21
LTjg William Ault '22
LTjg William Haynsworth, Jr. '23
ENS William Millican '28

July 1929

Lieutenant, Naval Academy

Others at this command:

LCDR James Logan '10
LCDR Norman Scott '11
LCDR Robert English '11
LCDR Albert Rooks '14

LCDR Cassin Young '16
LT George Calnan '20
LT Joseph Hubbard '21
LTjg John French '22

LT Edward Metcalfe '22
LTjg William Ault '22
LTjg John Cromwell '24

October 1929

Lieutenant, Naval Academy

Others at this command:

LCDR James Logan '10
LCDR Norman Scott '11
LCDR Robert English '11
LCDR Albert Rooks '14

LCDR Cassin Young '16
LT George Calnan '20
LT Joseph Hubbard '21
LTjg John French '22

LT Edward Metcalfe '22
LT William Ault '22
LTjg John Cromwell '24

January 1930

Lieutenant, Naval Academy

Others at this command:

LCDR James Logan '10
LCDR Norman Scott '11
LCDR Robert English '11
LCDR Albert Rooks '14

LCDR Cassin Young '16
LT George Calnan '20
LT Joseph Hubbard '21
LTjg John French '22

LT Edward Metcalfe '22
LT William Ault '22
LTjg John Cromwell '24

April 1930

Lieutenant, Naval Academy

Others at this command:

LCDR James Logan '10
LCDR Norman Scott '11
LCDR Robert English '11

LCDR Cassin Young '16
LT Joseph Hubbard '21
LTjg John French '22

LT Edward Metcalfe '22
LT William Ault '22
LTjg John Cromwell '24

Others at or embarked at this command:

1LT Charles Kail '23 (Marine Barracks, Naval Academy)

October 1930

Lieutenant, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 5S, USS Marblehead

Others at or embarked at USS Marblehead:

ENS Victor Gaulin '30 (USS Marblehead)

January 1931

Lieutenant, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 5S, USS Marblehead

Others at or embarked at USS Marblehead:

ENS Victor Gaulin '30 (USS Marblehead)

April 1931

Lieutenant, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 5S, USS Marblehead

Others at or embarked at USS Marblehead:

ENS Victor Gaulin '30 (USS Marblehead)

July 1931

Lieutenant, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 5S, USS Marblehead

Others at or embarked at USS Marblehead:

LT Raymond Tuttle '22 (USS Marblehead)

ENS Victor Gaulin '30 (USS Marblehead)

October 1931

Lieutenant, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 5S, USS Marblehead

Others at or embarked at USS Marblehead:

LT Raymond Tuttle '22 (USS Marblehead)

ENS Thomas Marshall, Jr. '30 (USS Marblehead)

January 1932

Lieutenant, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 5S, USS Marblehead

Others at or embarked at USS Marblehead:

LT Raymond Tuttle '22 (USS Marblehead)

ENS Thomas Marshall, Jr. '30 (USS Marblehead)

April 1932

Lieutenant, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 5S, USS Marblehead

Others at or embarked at USS Marblehead:

LT Raymond Tuttle '22 (USS Marblehead)