JULIAN D. GREER, CAPT, USN

Julian Greer '27

Date of birth: February 19, 1905

Date of death: January 28, 1953

Age: 47

Lucky Bag

From the 1927 Lucky Bag:

Julian David Greer

Marion, Kansas

"June" "Judy"

JUNE came to Annapolis from Marion High, after three years of football and two years of track at that institution. Since then, he has continually been trying to put us into a fear and reverence of his native state, and one may gain much valuable knowledge of that Paradise by listening to his lengthy discussion of its good points.

From the beginning of Plebe year, June has had tendencies toward being a ladies' man, and could be found at every hop. Since Second Class cruise, he has written consistently to a certain West Coast city, and says that the West Coast is the only place to go to on graduation.

Early Plebe year he had visions of bilging, but after much worrying and boning he found out that it was easier to let Nature have her way, and from then on spent his study hours in the task of writing letters.

Although a star athlete in his home state, June, after trying lacrosse for a year, decided to take part in the Radiator Club meetings, and any day after drill he could be heard saying, "How about a little game tonight?"

June is always ready to help anyone less savvy, and would do anything for a friend. His winning smile and hearty friendship will make a place for him in the Service.

Lacrosse: Class (4, 3) Class Numerals (4).

Julian David Greer

Marion, Kansas

"June" "Judy"

JUNE came to Annapolis from Marion High, after three years of football and two years of track at that institution. Since then, he has continually been trying to put us into a fear and reverence of his native state, and one may gain much valuable knowledge of that Paradise by listening to his lengthy discussion of its good points.

From the beginning of Plebe year, June has had tendencies toward being a ladies' man, and could be found at every hop. Since Second Class cruise, he has written consistently to a certain West Coast city, and says that the West Coast is the only place to go to on graduation.

Early Plebe year he had visions of bilging, but after much worrying and boning he found out that it was easier to let Nature have her way, and from then on spent his study hours in the task of writing letters.

Although a star athlete in his home state, June, after trying lacrosse for a year, decided to take part in the Radiator Club meetings, and any day after drill he could be heard saying, "How about a little game tonight?"

June is always ready to help anyone less savvy, and would do anything for a friend. His winning smile and hearty friendship will make a place for him in the Service.

Lacrosse: Class (4, 3) Class Numerals (4).

Loss

Julian was lost when the aircraft he was aboard crashed in a blizzard in Washington on January 28, 1953. He was aboard a PB4Y patrol plane enroute from Alameda, California to Whidbey Island, Washington. He was commanding officer of Fleet Air Wing 6, based at Alameda.

Julian was survived by his wife, mother, two sisters, and a brother. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery; he also has a memory marker in Kansas.

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.

January 1928

Ensign, USS Pennsylvania

Others at this command: LT Francis Bridget '21, ENS Carlton Hutchins '26, ENS John Eldridge, Jr. '27, ENS Loren Morris '27, and ENS Oddle Anderson '27.

Others at or embarked at this command: LT Paul Thompson '19 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 1B).

April 1928

Ensign, USS Pennsylvania

Others at this command: LT Francis Bridget '21, ENS John Eldridge, Jr. '27, ENS Loren Morris '27, and ENS Oddle Anderson '27.

Others at or embarked at this command: LT Paul Thompson '19 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 1B).

July 1928

Ensign, USS Pennsylvania

Others at this command: LT Robert Fleming '17, ENS John Eldridge, Jr. '27, and ENS Oddle Anderson '27.

Others at or embarked at this command: LT Paul Thompson '19 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 1B).

October 1928

Ensign, USS Pennsylvania

Others at this command: LT Robert Fleming '17, ENS John Eldridge, Jr. '27, and ENS Oddle Anderson '27.

Others at or embarked at this command: LT Paul Thompson '19 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 1B).

January 1929

Ensign, USS Melville

April 1929

Ensign, under instruction, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida

Others at this command: LT Edwin Conway '20, LT LaRue Lawbaugh '20, LT Francis Bridget '21, LT James Carney '21, LT John Jones '21, LT James Craig '22, LTjg William Davis '22, LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24, LTjg Creighton Lankford '25, LTjg Hubert Waters '25, ENS Charles Signer '26, ENS Claude Haman '26, ENS Francis Black '26, ENS Henry G'Sell '26, ENS John Graff '26, 2LT Joseph Wolfe '26, 2LT Lofton Henderson '26, ENS William Watson '26, ENS Arthur Loeser '27, ENS Charles Hill, Jr. '27, ENS Eugene Lindsey '27, 2LT Guy Chappell '27, ENS John Eldridge, Jr. '27, ENS Leonard Southerland '27, ENS Loren Morris '27, ENS Oddle Anderson '27, 2LT Raymond Rutledge '27, and ENS Robert Winters '27.

October 1929

Ensign, under instruction, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida

Others at this command: LT James Carney '21, LT John Jones '21, LT James Craig '22, LTjg William Davis '22, LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23, LTjg Hubert Hayter '24, LTjg John Waldron '24, LTjg Walter Dey '24, LTjg Hubert Waters '25, LTjg Claude Haman '26, ENS Henry G'Sell '26, ENS Charles Skelly '27, ENS Charles Hill, Jr. '27, ENS Dick Downer '27, ENS Eugene Davis '27, ENS Eugene Lindsey '27, ENS Gerald Dyson '27, ENS Henry Dozier '27, ENS James McRoberts '27, ENS John Eldridge, Jr. '27, ENS Leonard Southerland '27, ENS Loren Morris '27, ENS Oddle Anderson '27, ENS Oscar Pate, Jr. '27, 2LT Raymond Rutledge '27, ENS Renwick Calderhead '27, ENS Robert Winters '27, ENS Robert Symes '27, and ENS Seymour Johnson '27.

January 1930

Ensign, for assignment, Aircraft Squadrons, Battle Fleet, USS Saratoga

Others at this command: LTjg Hubert Waters '25, ENS Eugene Lindsey '27, ENS John Eldridge, Jr. '27, ENS Loren Morris '27, and ENS Robert Winters '27.

Others at or embarked at USS Saratoga: LCDR Henry Mullinnix '16 (Light Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 2B), LT Thomas Fisher '18 (Light Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 2B), LTjg Charles McDonald '24 (USS Saratoga), LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24 (Light Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 2B), LTjg Creighton Lankford '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B), LTjg Charles Signer '26 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B), LTjg Claude Haman '26 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B), and ENS Henry Twohy '29 (USS Saratoga).

April 1930

Ensign, Light Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 2B, USS Saratoga

Others at this command: LT Thomas Fisher '18, LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24, and LTjg Carlton Hutchins '26.

Others at or embarked at USS Saratoga: LTjg Charles McDonald '24 (USS Saratoga), LTjg Creighton Lankford '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B), LTjg Charles Signer '26 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B), LTjg Claude Haman '26 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B), ENS John Eldridge, Jr. '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B), ENS Henry Twohy '29 (USS Saratoga), and ENS Jacob Britt '29 (USS Saratoga).