JOHN T. BLODGETT, LT, USN

John Blodgett '40

Date of birth: May 11, 1918

Date of death: November 13, 1942

Age: 24

Lucky Bag

From the 1940 Lucky Bag:

JOHN TAYLOR BLODGETT

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Blodge

First seen Plebe Summer doing a Floradora number with some of the boys, John has been dancing more and better every year. Passionately fond of swing, he is otherwise indolent — not lazy, of course — just resting. His other interests are more numerous than keen: one afternoon a movie, the next tennis or squash, and the next quietly loafing. He uses his leisure time as he wishes, and does not look for worries. His troubles have been, mostly, the appearance of Bull trees and the continual disappearance of his hair. A good roommate and a swell friend, capable but not overzealous, Blodge will get along anywhere.

2 Stripes.

JOHN TAYLOR BLODGETT

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Blodge

First seen Plebe Summer doing a Floradora number with some of the boys, John has been dancing more and better every year. Passionately fond of swing, he is otherwise indolent — not lazy, of course — just resting. His other interests are more numerous than keen: one afternoon a movie, the next tennis or squash, and the next quietly loafing. He uses his leisure time as he wishes, and does not look for worries. His troubles have been, mostly, the appearance of Bull trees and the continual disappearance of his hair. A good roommate and a swell friend, capable but not overzealous, Blodge will get along anywhere.

2 Stripes.

Loss

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

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

John graduated from Central High School in Tulsa in 1935. “He’ll be a man when he grows up.”
In 1930, his father Laurence worked for an oil royalties company, mother Louise, brother Laurence, and sister Dorothy.

His wife was listed as next of kin.

Photographs

From the Lucky Bag

Remembrances

From History of Class of 1940:

As I remember it, John was assigned to USS MARYLAND at graduation and we spent a lot of time together on liberty, as well as aboard ship. He was serious at work and good fun and compatible when at play. He was responsible and attended to his duties well. John was involved in an automobile accident in late '40 or early '41 and had a series of difficult operations on his left arm. During this period he did his best with shipboard assignments. Art Varnum

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.