Miguel Nava '17
On February 7, 2024 Captain Miguel Nava, USMC '17 was killed in a helicopter crash. Please consider a donation to his family to honor his service, and the incredible sacrifice of his wife and five-month-old son.

JOHN S. BLUE, LCDR, USN

From USNA Virtual Memorial Hall
John Blue '25

Date of birth: August 29, 1902

Date of death: November 13, 1942

Age: 40

Lucky Bag

From the 1925 Lucky Bag:

1925 Blue LB.jpg

John Stuart Blue

Marion, South Carolina

"Vic" "Stuart" "Monte"

LOOK here, now, you don't know your stuff." It's this way," and Stuart proceeds to expound the theory of relativity or to extoll the virtues of a well-known patent medicine, the product of none other than the Standard Oil Corporation.

Stuart dotes on long words which he collects assiduously and pronounces atrociously. As yet, he has not words to sufficiently describe the last night in Gibraltar, Youngster cruise. It was stupendous, even astounding. His other little pastime is "making up" to cats. On one occasion in Trinidad, it almost led to disastrous results when he attempted to entice a Maltese kitten from its owner.

Stuart is our little sunshine, the most optimistic and hard-working man in the regiment, to whom the Sunday night good word never applies.

An earnest exponent of the old Navy, Stuart is sea-going through and through, and is destined to bring honor and distinction to a name already famous in Naval circles.

Here's to you, Stuart, and may you always set that example of happiness and optimism.

1925 Blue LB.jpg

John Stuart Blue

Marion, South Carolina

"Vic" "Stuart" "Monte"

LOOK here, now, you don't know your stuff." It's this way," and Stuart proceeds to expound the theory of relativity or to extoll the virtues of a well-known patent medicine, the product of none other than the Standard Oil Corporation.

Stuart dotes on long words which he collects assiduously and pronounces atrociously. As yet, he has not words to sufficiently describe the last night in Gibraltar, Youngster cruise. It was stupendous, even astounding. His other little pastime is "making up" to cats. On one occasion in Trinidad, it almost led to disastrous results when he attempted to entice a Maltese kitten from its owner.

Stuart is our little sunshine, the most optimistic and hard-working man in the regiment, to whom the Sunday night good word never applies.

An earnest exponent of the old Navy, Stuart is sea-going through and through, and is destined to bring honor and distinction to a name already famous in Naval circles.

Here's to you, Stuart, and may you always set that example of happiness and optimism.

Loss

John was lost when USS Juneau (CL 52) was sunk at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on November 13, 1942.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

John was born in Manhattan. He was listed in both the Marion, South Carolina, and the Fort George Island, Florida, census of 1920.

On May 2, 1939, in Fort Myer, Virginia, John married Alice (Torrey) Griffith.

His father was Victor (Naval Academy, Class of 1887) who died in January 1928. His mother was Eleanor, brother Victor.

From Wikipedia:

John Stuart Blue was born in New York City on 29 August 1902, and graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1925. During 1933 he commanded the Presidential yacht USS Sequoia (AG-23) and served as Aide to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Between August 1940 and January 1942 he commanded the destroyer USS Palmer (DD-161) and then reported to the light cruiser USS Juneau (CL-52) as navigator.

His wife, Alice, was listed as next of kin; he was also survived by his mother, daughter, and brother (who was also a naval officer).

Photographs

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.

July 1925
Ensign, USS Memphis

Others at this command:
October 1925
Ensign, USS Memphis

Others at this command:
January 1926
Ensign, USS Memphis

Others at this command:
October 1926
Ensign, USS Memphis

Others at this command:
January 1927
Ensign, USS Memphis

Others at this command:
April 1927
Ensign, USS Memphis

Others at this command:
October 1927
Ensign, USS Nokomis

Others at this command:
January 1928
Ensign, USS Nokomis

Others at this command:
April 1928
Ensign, USS Nokomis

Others at this command:
July 1928
Ensign, USS Nokomis

Others at this command:
October 1928
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Nokomis
January 1929
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Nokomis
April 1929
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Nokomis
July 1929
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Nokomis
October 1929
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Salt Lake City

January 1930
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Salt Lake City

April 1930
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Salt Lake City

Others at or embarked at this command:
LT LaRue Lawbaugh '20 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 9S)
October 1930
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Salt Lake City

Others at or embarked at this command:
LT LaRue Lawbaugh '20 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 9S)
LTjg James McRoberts '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 9S)
January 1931
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Salt Lake City

Others at or embarked at this command:
LT LaRue Lawbaugh '20 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 9S)
LTjg James McRoberts '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 9S)
April 1931
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Salt Lake City

Others at or embarked at this command:
LT LaRue Lawbaugh '20 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 9S)
LTjg James McRoberts '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 9S)
July 1931
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Salt Lake City

Others at or embarked at this command:
LT LaRue Lawbaugh '20 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 9S)
LTjg James McRoberts '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 9S)
October 1931
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Salt Lake City

Others at or embarked at this command:
LT LaRue Lawbaugh '20 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 10S)
LTjg James McRoberts '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 10S)
January 1932
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Salt Lake City

Others at or embarked at this command:
LT LaRue Lawbaugh '20 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 10S)
LTjg James McRoberts '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 10S)
April 1932
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Salt Lake City

Others at or embarked at this command:
LT LaRue Lawbaugh '20 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 10S)
LTjg James McRoberts '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 10S)
October 1932
Lieutenant (j.g.), White House Aide

Others at this command:
January 1933
Lieutenant (j.g.), White House Aide

Others at this command:
April 1933
Lieutenant (j.g.), commanding officer, USS Sequoia
July 1933
Lieutenant (j.g.), commanding officer, USS Sequoia
October 1933
Lieutenant (j.g.), commanding officer, USS Sequoia
April 1934
Lieutenant (j.g.), Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.:
LT Raymond Hansen '22 (Experimental Diving Unit)
July 1934
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Houston

October 1934
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Louisville

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at this command:
LT Irving Wiltsie '21 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 11S)
January 1935
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Louisville

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at this command:
LT Irving Wiltsie '21 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 11S)
April 1935
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Louisville

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at this command:
LT Irving Wiltsie '21 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 11S)
October 1935
Lieutenant, flag lieutenant, Cruiser Division 3, USS Concord

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at USS Concord:
LTjg Carlton Hutchins '26 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 6B)
January 1936
Lieutenant, flag lieutenant, Cruiser Division 3, USS Concord

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at USS Concord:
LTjg Carlton Hutchins '26 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 6B)
April 1936
Lieutenant, flag lieutenant, Cruiser Division 3, USS Concord

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at USS Concord:
LTjg Carlton Hutchins '26 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 6B)
July 1936
Lieutenant, flag lieutenant, Cruiser Division 3, USS Concord

Others at this command:
January 1937
Lieutenant, flag lieutenant, Cruiser Division 3, USS Concord

Others at this command:
April 1937
Lieutenant, flag lieutenant, Cruiser Division 3, USS Concord

Others at this command:
September 1937
Lieutenant, aide to chief, Bureau of Navigation, Washington, D.C.

January 1938
Lieutenant, aide to chief, Bureau of Navigation, Washington, D.C.

July 1938
Lieutenant, aide to chief, Bureau of Navigation, Washington, D.C.

January 1939
Lieutenant, aide to chief, Bureau of Navigation, Washington, D.C.

October 1939
Lieutenant, executive officer, USS Porter
June 1940
Lieutenant Commander, executive officer, USS Porter
November 1940
Lieutenant Commander, commanding officer, USS Palmer
April 1941
Lieutenant Commander, commanding officer, USS Palmer

Namesake

Blue (DD 744) was named for John; the ship was sponsored by his widow and daughter.


Class of 1925

John is one of 30 members of the Class of 1925 on Virtual Memorial Hall.

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