JOHN W. MAGEE, LCDR, USN

John Magee '39

Date of birth: March 9, 1917

Date of death: July 17, 1945

Age: 28

Lucky Bag

From the 1939 Lucky Bag:

JOHN WILLIAM MAGEE

Harrisville, Pennsylvania

Maggie, Jo

The name "Maggie" will always be associated with most pleasant memories of the Naval Academy. John got his start that way in Harrisville, Pennsylvania, where his popularity extended to all the maidens from both sides of the road. Having a clear conscience, however, his slumbers are not disturbed (either day or night). A contagious smile and a mischievous nature make him a genial associate and bespeak for him happy sailing whether he stays with the Fleet or sails on the "great outside." His agreeable manner has won for him a host of friends, not only in his own class, but each year, in the other three classes as well. Bon Voyage, John, on whichever of the "eight" seas you may choose to sail.

Battalion Football 3, 2, 1; Plebe Track, 4; Log Staff 3; Expert Pistol; 1 P.O.

JOHN WILLIAM MAGEE

Harrisville, Pennsylvania

Maggie, Jo

The name "Maggie" will always be associated with most pleasant memories of the Naval Academy. John got his start that way in Harrisville, Pennsylvania, where his popularity extended to all the maidens from both sides of the road. Having a clear conscience, however, his slumbers are not disturbed (either day or night). A contagious smile and a mischievous nature make him a genial associate and bespeak for him happy sailing whether he stays with the Fleet or sails on the "great outside." His agreeable manner has won for him a host of friends, not only in his own class, but each year, in the other three classes as well. Bon Voyage, John, on whichever of the "eight" seas you may choose to sail.

Battalion Football 3, 2, 1; Plebe Track, 4; Log Staff 3; Expert Pistol; 1 P.O.

Loss

John was lost on July 17, 1945 when his plane crashed near Panama City, Florida.

Other Information

From Find A Grave:

Lt. Cmdr. John W. Magee, son of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel A. Magee of Harrisville, was killed in an air crash at Panama City, Fla., July 17.
He was flying a jet plane when it collided with another. His parachute failed to open in time.
Commander of the Destroyer Shaw [note: this is not correct; he was stationed aboard but an Ensign] when its bow was blown off at Pearl Harbor, Cmdr. Magee transferred to the Naval Air Force after getting out of the hospital. He escaped again when the Block Island, a small carrier, was sunk in mid-Atlantic a year ago. He then served on another carrier until the war with Germany ended.
His body will be returned to Harrisville for burial. The Pittsburgh Press, July 21, 1945

From the News-Herald, Franklin, Pennsylvania, on July 21, 1945, via researcher Kathy Franz:

Lt Magee, an Annapolis graduate, bagged two Jap planes from the deck of the destroyer Shaw before the vessel went to the bottom in the sneak attack by the Japs on Dec. 7, 1941. Lt. Magee decided he wanted some more cracks at Jap pilots and, after his wounds healed, applied for a transfer to the Naval Air base at Pensacola, Fla.

From The Evening Sun, Hanover, Pennsylvania:

Lt. Com. John William Magee was reported killed in a plane crash, July 17, while engaged in experimental work in Florida. Commander Magee was graduated from the Naval Academy, Annapolis, in 1939. He was on the U.S.S. New Orleans when it was sunk at Pearl Harbor [note: New Orleans was undamaged at Pearl Harbor], served on the U.S.S. Card and was on the U.S.S. Block Island when it was sunk by enemy action in May, 1944. Surviving him are his wife Margaret Wilson Magee and infant son Edward Fremond Magee of Sykesville; his parents, Mr. and Mrs. S. A. Magee a sister and two brothers of Harrisville, Pa.

His brother was Lt. George Magee stationed at Camp Gordon Johnston, Florida.

Career and Wartime Experience

John was airborne from USS Block Island (CVE 21) when that ship was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat on May 23, 1944. He and another pilot were able to land their planes on an island; the other four pilots aloft at the time were lost at sea.

From aviation historian Richard Leonard:

John William Magee (082625)

2/19/1942 - ENS USN NAS Pensacola attach for HTA flight training

6/15/1942 - LT USN Date of rank from 1 Jul 1942 USN Register

6/15/1942 - LT USN Date of rank from 1 Jul 1943 USN Register

6/27/1942 - LT USN NAS Pensacola designated NA # 14613

10/24/1942 - LT USN ACTGPac NAS San Diego SNJ grnd loop

3/15/1944 - LCDR USN Date of rank from 1 Jul 1944 USN Register

3/15/1944 - LCDR USN Date of rank from 1 Jul 1945 USN Register

4/25/1944 - LCDR USN VC-55 (CO) USS Block Island (CVE-21)

6/1/1944 - LCDR USN VC-55 (CO) USS Block Island (CVE-21)

6/28/1944 - LCDR USN VC-55 (CO) as noted in 31 Dec 1944 AirLant CO listing

1/1/1945 - LCDR USN VC-55 (CO) as noted in 31 Dec 1945 AirLant CO listing

6/20/1945 - LCDR USN VC-55 detach as noted in 31 Dec 1945 AirLant CO listing

6/30/1945 - LCDR USN ASDevLant NAS Quonset Point RI (TacticalO)

7/17/45 - LCDR USN KIFA mid-air collision near Panama City FL

Photographs

From the Lucky Bag

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.