JOSHUA J. NIX, LCDR, USN

Joshua Nix '30

Date of birth: May 20, 1908

Date of death: March 1, 1942

Age: 33

Lucky Bag

From the 1930 Lucky Bag:

JOSHUA JAMES NIX

Memphis, Tennessee

"Nickth" "J.J." "Josh"

J.J.'s first claim to fame came in Plebe year when he starred on the Sixth Company swimming team. Spring and the cruise were fine rest periods and he came back after leave to aid in making '30 the class football champions. He played a regular guard. Class lacrosse next claimed his attention and though that was not won by '30 in Youngster year, it was not J. J.'s fault. He held down a defense position in fine style. A trick knee prevented him from performing in class football second class year but did not keep him off the varsity water polo squad.

Academics were not so easy on J.J. It was a hard struggle for him at times, owing to his desire to mix more than enough pleasure with his work. His passion for Cosmo and Saturday Evening Post during the first three months of each term generally caused him trouble in the later stages. To him the word "literature" meant "mystery stories" and he read all on which he could lay hands.

Women have gone wild over J. J.'s lisp but it was the bane of a Plebe's existence to hear someone say, "Whath the dethert, mithter?"

Class Football 3, Class Numerals; Water Polo 2, Varsity Numerals; 2 P.O.

JOSHUA JAMES NIX

Memphis, Tennessee

"Nickth" "J.J." "Josh"

J.J.'s first claim to fame came in Plebe year when he starred on the Sixth Company swimming team. Spring and the cruise were fine rest periods and he came back after leave to aid in making '30 the class football champions. He played a regular guard. Class lacrosse next claimed his attention and though that was not won by '30 in Youngster year, it was not J. J.'s fault. He held down a defense position in fine style. A trick knee prevented him from performing in class football second class year but did not keep him off the varsity water polo squad.

Academics were not so easy on J.J. It was a hard struggle for him at times, owing to his desire to mix more than enough pleasure with his work. His passion for Cosmo and Saturday Evening Post during the first three months of each term generally caused him trouble in the later stages. To him the word "literature" meant "mystery stories" and he read all on which he could lay hands.

Women have gone wild over J. J.'s lisp but it was the bane of a Plebe's existence to hear someone say, "Whath the dethert, mithter?"

Class Football 3, Class Numerals; Water Polo 2, Varsity Numerals; 2 P.O.

Loss

Joshua was lost when USS Edsall (DD 219) was sunk on on March 1, 1942 by Japanese surface and air forces. He was the ship's commanding officer (since October 1941).

Loss of USS Langley (AV 3)

USS Langley (AV 3) was attacked and sunk on February 27; Joshua was mentioned by name by the commanding officer of Langley in his post-sinking report:

The Commander of Destroyer Division FIFTY-SEVEN, Commander E.M. Crouch, USN; the Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. WHIPPLE, Lieut-Commander E.S. Karpe, USN, and the Commanding officer of the U.S.S. EDSALL, Lieutenant J.J, Nix, USN, deserve great credit for their skill and daring in maneuvering their vessels, prior to, during and after the action, in screening and in effecting the rescue of the LANGLEY survivors. The remarkable high percentage of effectiveness in rescuing the wounded is due to the preparedness and to the effective ship handling on the part of the destroyer captains. A careful check of survivors at this time showed a maximum of six (6) killed and five (5) missing.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

In January, 1926, Joshua graduated from Central High School in Memphis. He was a member of R.O.T.C. and the Hi-Y Club.
His wife and children returned from Shanghai in January 1941. In December, he was aboard a destroyer in waters around Manila.
His father Edward, a conductor on the M&O railroad, died in 1925. His mother Irene died in December, 1930.

From The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tennessee, June 21, 1930, via Kathy Franz:

The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tennessee, June 21, 1930
Annapolis Rule Waved For Wedding of Memphians
Miss Ella V. Washington, Admiral’s Niece, Becomes Bride of Midshipman Nix in Academy Chapel. Gets Commission Later.
The only midshipman ever allowed to marry in the Naval Academy chapel at Annapolis, before actually becoming an officer, Joshua J. Nix of Memphis, is soon to receive his ensign’s commission.
Just six weeks before “June Week,” the culmination of all the dreams of the young men who hope some day to be admirals, Midshipman Nix, the son of Mrs. Irene Nix, well known for her cheery smile at the offices of the Memphis Power & Light Company, hurt his knee in a LaCrosse game.
The injury did not prevent him from passing his examinations and from getting about the academy, but when June Week came he was not qualified, under strict interpretation of the rules for his commission, because of the injured knee.
Sweethearts Eight Years.
Meanwhile preparations for his marriage to Miss Ella V. Washington, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. A. Washington, 157 North Belvedere, had been made. Sweethearts for eight years, they had planned the wedding in the academy chapel – the chapel with such romantic history.
Miss Washington, her parents and family and her cousin, Miss Eleanor Washington of Memphis, went to Annapolis for June Week and the wedding. And then the blow fell. The wedding couldn’t be held in the chapel, because Midshipman Nix’s knee had not completely healed and his commission was being held up.
“Only a commissioned officer can be married in the chapel,” was the stern word of the superintendent.
They could be married elsewhere, if they wished, for Midshipman Nix was a graduate of the academy if not yet an officer.
But the young couple wanted to be married in the chapel. They appealed to Senator McKellar. He appealed to Charles Francis Adams, secretary of the navy. There was some pondering over regulations.
When the naval department learned that the bride-elect was the niece of an admiral – the late Rear Admiral Ben Tappan was Mrs. Washington’s brother – there was more pondering.
Secretary Adams informed the superintendent that since Midshipman Nix was sure to be an ensign in a few weeks anyway, and was a graduate of the Naval Academy, the ceremony could be held in the chapel.
So on June 5, Miss Washington walked up the aisle of the chapel on her father’s arm and met her midshipman, attended by his classmate, Ensign Richard Stuart Cass, at the altar. Chaplain Frank H. Lash married them.
Now Midshipman Nix’s knee is almost well. Soon his delayed commission will be given him and he’ll be assigned to duty.
Mrs. Nix is at Annapolis waiting for her husband’s treatment at the Naval Hospital to be completed. When he has been commissioned, they will probably go to Long Beach, Cal., where Ensign Nix will be on duty this summer.

From The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, June 6, 1952, via Kathy Franz:

Film Seals Fate of Memphian 10 Years After His Ship Sank
Joshua James Nix Was Youngest Combat Vessel Commander in Asiatic Fleet – Went Down With Edsall in 1942 – Began As Newsboy, Rose To Be Skipper
By Henry Mitchell
Through sheer accident the Navy has finally sealed the strange and high career of a Memphis Naval officer who began selling newspapers on downtown streets and died a hero 10 years ago in the Java Sea.
Joshua James Nix, 33, winner of the Legion of Merit and the Purple Heart, youngest combat vessel skipper in the Asiatic Fleet, went down March 1, 1942, on the destroyer Edsall. Until a recent Navy screening of captured films, nobody knew the Edsall’s doom. None lived to tell her story.
Since the Navy account has been made known, Mrs. Ella Washington Nix of 964 North Avalon again faces memories of the man to whom she was married 22 years ago yesterday.
Sank Within Seconds
Six major caliber salvos were fired at the Edsall, the Navy’s official report says, one of them causing an explosion of the forecastle, followed seconds later by sinking stern first.
The film showing an American warship doomed by enemy fire “was evidently taken by an officer aboard the Ashigara (a Japanese cruiser) probably with a cheap 8 millimeter camera,” the Navy recounts.
Before her fate, the Edsall had been escorting the U.S.S. Langley, that ill-starred queen reduced to carrying gasoline. When the Langley fell prey to enemy fire, the Edsall picked up her survivors.
Ordered to take these men to the tanker Pecos, Lieutenant Nix did so on Feb. 27. That day an air attack prevented boarding the Pecos. The Langley survivors reached the Pecos Feb. 28. That day the Pecos was splintered by a second air attack.
The Langley survivors, the Pecos survivors and the Edsall’s crew were jammed on the Edsall’s 23 by 300-foot frame when, on March 1, the Edsall went down.
Appointed at 17
As a child left fatherless, the officer-to-be sold newspapers to help his mother meet expenses. He was interested in scouting by members of Calvary Episcopal Church, and joined Troop 34 in the historic structure at Second and Adams. Before he was done, he’d become an Eagle Scout and a leader in the troop.
He received an appointment to the Naval Academy at Annapolis when he was 17 and a senior at Central High. There he had been commanding major of the Second ROTC Battalion.
During his plebe year at Annapolis he wished to arrange some business matters but was prevented since he was under 21 and his signature was not legally binding.
A judge declared him of age and volunteered this prediction:
“Some day I expect you to become at least an admiral.”
His mother, Mrs. Irene Nix who died in 1932, [sic] made a happy journey to see her son marry at the far-famed Naval Academy Chapel upon his graduation in 1930.
This marriage caused deep pondering among Navy chiefs. Because of a small temporary injury, Nix’s commission was not immediately granted at graduation. Naval rules permit only officers to marry in the Academy Chapel. The rule was relaxed in his favor, however, and he became the first midshipman in history to marry there.
Was Expected Home
Later, the young officer was stationed in the Philippines. His family – evacuated to America a year before Pearl Harbor – expected him to join them on the West Coast on Dec. 9, 1941. As he was preparing to leave, Pearl Harbor happened, and he never returned. At a time when all other commanding officers of combat ships in the Asiatic Fleet were lieutenant commanders or higher, Lieutenant Nix was conspicuous for his absence of stripes.
His papers promoting him to lieutenant commander awaited him, but he never signed them, his wife said.
The January after Pearl Harbor his ship escorted a tanker through treacherous water under attack. He received the Legion of Merit for “exceptionally meritorious service in performance of outstanding services.”
Leaves Two Sons
Even now, the skipper’s story is not fully written, though the mystery of his death has been explained.
He leaves two sons. Walter Collier Nix, 21, is a second classman at the Naval Academy, and like his father, a crack lacrosse player. He won admission through presidential appointment.
The other son, Robert T. Nix, 16, is a student at Columbia Military Academy and is thinking of becoming an architect.
The judge who declared Lieutenant Nix of age when he was still a boy is dead now. But his prediction, you will remember, was that Nix would become “at least” an admiral.

His wife was listed as next of kin; he was also survived by two sons, Walter (USNA '54) and Robert.

Photographs

From The Commercial Appeal on June 6, 1952
From The Commercial Appeal on May 4, 1930
A group photo of his 1925 NROTC unit, spring 1925.
A group photo of his 1925 NROTC unit, fall 1925.

Legion of Merit

From Hall of Valor:

SYNOPSIS: Lieutenant Joshua J. Nix (NSN: 0-63211), United States Navy, was awarded the Legion of Merit (Posthumously) for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the Government of the United States during World War II.
General Orders: American Battle Monuments Commission
Service: Navy
Rank: Lieutenant

Note

Joshua is listed on the Class of 1930 panel based on the date he was declared dead (November 25, 1945) rather than when Edsall was sunk.

It also appears that he was promoted while in a missing status. All other contemporary references have him as a Lieutenant, including the Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps of 1945. (Been unable to locate the 1946 edition of this document.)

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.