JOHN H. GOTJEN, JR., ENS, USN

John Gotjen, Jr. '26

Date of birth: February 9, 1904

Date of death: October 30, 1928

Age: 24

Lucky Bag

From the 1926 Lucky Bag:

John Hermann Gotjen, Jr.

Charleston, South Carolina

"Speed" "Chain"

"AW—gawaan!" That's just what you'll hear when you try to approach this specimen of a late ambitious race. He doesn't want anyone to bother him. He is perpetually in a hop (not a social function); but he always discovers things at the last minute, and in a mad burst of speed makes hay under the fastly waning sun. "Gee! I'd like to collect a nickel for every hour he has rested in the arms of Morpheus."

Hermann, the methodical, the believer in routine, the vivid proof of Dr. Swift's theory on habit, is an automaton. At the same time each day he does the same things again. Renowned for his idiosyncrasies? You bet he is. Three toothbrushes, all named, keep for his dents the whiteness of ivory. Remarkable smiles display these, as well as his good nature.

Chain is most original. He is especially classical. His example of a thrilling novel is Plutarch's Lives, and his music must be that of Beethoven, Wagner, or Mozart. His own music, however, is that of a 'cello, upon which he has created some wailing whines entirely peculiar to himself.

No, he hasn't a weakness for the stronger sex; but he has dragged some delicious bits of femininity.

We didn't say he was a gourmand, but he does love his "ba--ans." "Ma--an, those ba--ans were gr--ate!"

Orchestra (4); Class Boxing (2, 1).

John Hermann Gotjen, Jr.

Charleston, South Carolina

"Speed" "Chain"

"AW—gawaan!" That's just what you'll hear when you try to approach this specimen of a late ambitious race. He doesn't want anyone to bother him. He is perpetually in a hop (not a social function); but he always discovers things at the last minute, and in a mad burst of speed makes hay under the fastly waning sun. "Gee! I'd like to collect a nickel for every hour he has rested in the arms of Morpheus."

Hermann, the methodical, the believer in routine, the vivid proof of Dr. Swift's theory on habit, is an automaton. At the same time each day he does the same things again. Renowned for his idiosyncrasies? You bet he is. Three toothbrushes, all named, keep for his dents the whiteness of ivory. Remarkable smiles display these, as well as his good nature.

Chain is most original. He is especially classical. His example of a thrilling novel is Plutarch's Lives, and his music must be that of Beethoven, Wagner, or Mozart. His own music, however, is that of a 'cello, upon which he has created some wailing whines entirely peculiar to himself.

No, he hasn't a weakness for the stronger sex; but he has dragged some delicious bits of femininity.

We didn't say he was a gourmand, but he does love his "ba--ans." "Ma--an, those ba--ans were gr--ate!"

Orchestra (4); Class Boxing (2, 1).

Loss

John was lost on October 30, 1928 when he was struck by an aircraft propeller near Pensacola, Florida.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

John had landed in an abandoned field, and apparently walked around his plane when he was struck by the propeller. Another pilot landed and brought him to the hospital where he died an hour later.
His father was a public accountant and broker. His brother was Oswald, and his sisters were Margaret, a violin teacher, and Ruth.

He is buried in South Carolina; his headstone bears the inscription:

In Loving Memory of Ensign John H. Gotjen, Jr., USN Feb 9, 1904 - Oct 30, 1928
Fatally Wounded on Old Corry Field Pensacola, Florida
Under the wide and starry sky,
Happy he lived and brave did he die.
Home is the sailor home from the sea,
Home where he ever loved to be.

He was survived by his parents.

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.