JOHN R. PIERCE, LCDR, USN
John Pierce '28
Lucky Bag
From the 1928 Lucky Bag:
JOHN REEVES PIERCE
At Large
"Jack" "Chub"
HOW can any of us ever forget Chub strutting in as leader of the Gymkhana band Second Class Year? Pompous and awe inspiring in his regal costume, he was fully aware of the fact that ten thousand people and one girl were looking at him; but our boy didn't show the slightest sign of nervousness and did his part admirably. In other activities, Jack is fully as dependable. After three years of efficient work on the Log staff, he was unanimously chosen as business manager and has handled the job in his characteristic manner.
Jack doesn't believe in too much work but he does his share. The pants hangers gave him a hard tussle and our little heavyweight spent many a weary afternoon over in the gym, wondering why midshipmen had to emulate kangaroos and jump at least 7 feet. With that old Navy fight he finally won out and now can tell his grandchildren all about "Now when I was a Midshipman . . ."
Everyone loves a fat man and Jack is no exception to that adage. His rosy cheeks and black glossy hair have caused many a feminine heart to flutter and the cruises gave him many opportunities to charm the fair damsels on both the East and West coasts.
Class Crew (4); Class Water Polo (2); Log Staff (4, 3, 2), Business Manager (1); Gymkhana Cast (4, 3, 2); Juice Gang (4, 3); Company Representative (3, 2); Sub and Weak Squad (4, 3), Captain (2).
JOHN REEVES PIERCE
At Large
"Jack" "Chub"
HOW can any of us ever forget Chub strutting in as leader of the Gymkhana band Second Class Year? Pompous and awe inspiring in his regal costume, he was fully aware of the fact that ten thousand people and one girl were looking at him; but our boy didn't show the slightest sign of nervousness and did his part admirably. In other activities, Jack is fully as dependable. After three years of efficient work on the Log staff, he was unanimously chosen as business manager and has handled the job in his characteristic manner.
Jack doesn't believe in too much work but he does his share. The pants hangers gave him a hard tussle and our little heavyweight spent many a weary afternoon over in the gym, wondering why midshipmen had to emulate kangaroos and jump at least 7 feet. With that old Navy fight he finally won out and now can tell his grandchildren all about "Now when I was a Midshipman . . ."
Everyone loves a fat man and Jack is no exception to that adage. His rosy cheeks and black glossy hair have caused many a feminine heart to flutter and the cruises gave him many opportunities to charm the fair damsels on both the East and West coasts.
Class Crew (4); Class Water Polo (2); Log Staff (4, 3, 2), Business Manager (1); Gymkhana Cast (4, 3, 2); Juice Gang (4, 3); Company Representative (3, 2); Sub and Weak Squad (4, 3), Captain (2).
Loss
John was lost when USS Argonaut (APS 1) was sunk by a Japanese surface forces near Rabaul on January 10, 1943.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
John married Mary Taylor on May 2, 1930, in Manhattan. Their son John, born in Hawaii, graduated from the Naval Academy in 1955. In 1940 Honolulu, the family included their four-month-old daughter Margaret, also born in Hawaii.
John’s father Claude was a physician, mother Shirley. His brothers were George who became a Lieutenant Commander and Claude, Jr., who became a Lieutenant Colonel. In 1920, the family lived in Washington, D. C. His father retired as assistant surgeon general in the Public Health Service in Washington. He died in March, 1944.
From Wikipedia:
Born in Cristobal, Panama Canal Zone, Pierce graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1928. Following flight training and submarine instruction, he served in submarine USS S-29 and studied marine engineering at the University of California. After serving in USS Nautilus (SS-168) and USS Narwhal (SS-167), he assumed command of USS S-23 (SS-128) 15 February 1941. Appointed Lieutenant Commander 2 January 1942, Pierce on 22 June took command of USS Argonaut (SM-1), a transport submarine, which participated with Nautilus in carrying out the famed, diversionary Makin Raid from 17 to 19 August.
On her third war patrol in the Southwest Pacific, Argonaut sighted an enemy convoy protected by planes and destroyers. Built as our first large minelaying submarine, she lacked proper submerged maneuverability during combat operations. When detected, she came under a vicious enemy attack. The gallant Argonaut surfaced and pressed home an aggressive counterattack, severely damaging a Japanese destroyer before succumbing to heavy enemy fire 10 January 1943. For his demonstration of courageous leadership and unyielding devotion to duty Lt. Comdr. Pierce was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.
From the now-broken link http://www.fleetorganization.com/subcommandersclassyear2.html:
- Duty USS Nautilus (SS-168) 1 Jan 1939 - 1 Oct 1939
- Executive Officer USS Narwhal (SS-167) 1 Jul 1940 - 4 Jan 1941
- Captain USS S-23 (SS-128) 28 Feb 1941 - 1 Apr 1942
- Captain USS Argonaut (SS-166) 1 Jul 1942 - 10 Jan 1943
- Lieutenant 1 Jul 1936
- Lieutenant Commander (T) 1 Jan 1942
- Lieutenant Commander 1 Mar 1942
His wife was listed as next of kin. He has a memory marker in Maryland.
Photographs
From Hall of Valor:
The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Lieutenant Commander John Reeves Pierce (NSN: 0-6209), United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service in the line of his profession as Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. ARGONAUT (SS-166), on 10 January 1943, during the THIRD War Patrol of that vessel. Upon sighting a hostile convoy escorted by destroyers and aircraft, Lieutenant Commander Pierce, while maneuvering his ship to a favorable striking position, discovered that the ARGONAUT her self had been detected and had fallen prey to vigorous antisubmarine measures on the part of the enemy. Fighting desperately to extricate his ship and her crew from a critical encounter, he pressed home an aggressive counter attack on the surface, severely damaging a Japanese destroyer before his own vessel, her guns still blazing defiantly, eventually went down under a deadly concentration of enemy fire. His courageous leadership and unyielding devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
Service: Navy
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Division: U.S.S. Argonaut (SS-166)
Namesake
USS John R. Pierce was named for John; the ship was sponsored by his widow.
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.
July 1928
LCDR Norman Scott '11
LCDR Albert Rooks '14
LCDR Cassin Young '16
LT John Gillon '20
LT John Burrow '21
LT Joseph Hubbard '21
LT Edwin Crouch '21
LTjg Howard Healy '22
October 1928
January 1929
April 1929
July 1929
October 1929
January 1930
April 1930
October 1930
January 1931
April 1931
July 1931
October 1931
January 1932
April 1932
October 1932
January 1933
April 1933
July 1933
October 1933
April 1934
July 1934
October 1934
January 1935
April 1935
LCDR Albert Rooks '14
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT Paul Register '21
LT William Gray '21
LT George Brooke '21
LT John French '22
LT Howard Healy '22
LT Edward Metcalfe '22
LT Eugene Elmore '22
LTjg Heywood Edwards '26
October 1935
CDR Samuel Moore '13
LT William Gray '21
LT John French '22
LT Howard Healy '22
LT Edward Metcalfe '22
LT Eugene Elmore '22
LT Richard Gingras '25
LTjg Ralph Hickox '27
January 1936
CDR Samuel Moore '13
LT William Gray '21
LT John French '22
LT Howard Healy '22
LT Edward Metcalfe '22
LT Eugene Elmore '22
LT Richard Gingras '25
LTjg Ralph Hickox '27
April 1936
CDR Samuel Moore '13
LT William Gray '21
LT John French '22
LT Howard Healy '22
LT Edward Metcalfe '22
LT Eugene Elmore '22
LT Richard Gingras '25
LTjg Ralph Hickox '27
July 1936
January 1937
April 1937
LTjg Victor Gaulin '30 (Training Plane Squadron (VN) 8D5, Naval Academy)
September 1937
January 1938
July 1938
January 1939
October 1939
November 1940
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
