Lester Kern '23
Date of birth: November 26, 1901
Date of death: November 24, 1943
Age: 41
Lucky Bag
From the 1923 Lucky Bag:
Lester Herman Kern
Bayonne, New Jersey
"Goop" "Alliwishus" "Thug" "Gunboat"
FOUR years ago Alliwishus on starting for New York hopped on the wrong train and finally landed in Crabtown. Being a sea-going chap, he has remained with us through four never-to-be-forgotten years.
Goop shows promise as a skipper because he has passed the Academic Rocks and Shoals with but little effort. Nothing worries the old boy—not even getting bucked ruffles his temper. As a snake, he has no equal. When he is dragging, which is every week-end, a mere trifle like extra duty never bothers him. Being naturally non-reg, he just forgets about E. D., and shouts "On with the dance!"
On Youngster cruise, our New Jersey representative showed promise as a boxer, but he preferred to be a member of the Radiator Club, in which he is a gay luminary as a bridge shark. Once a year, he forsakes the Club in order to play on the class water-polo team and incidentally, to show the boys how Daniel Boone did it.
Class Water-Polo (3, 2), Numerals (2).
Loss
Lester was lost on November 24, 1943 when USS Liscome Bay (CVE 56) was torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine.
He survived the sinking and was rescued by USS Morris (DD 417), but died shortly afterwards and was buried at sea.
Lester was a LCDR in the Navy Reserve, DVE-V(S), which was applied to "Officers of the Volunteer Reserve to the line for special service in deck and engineering duties." It's not clear what his duty aboard Liscome Bay was.
His wife was listed as next of kin; the following year she was residing in Baltimore.
Related Articles
Henry Mullinnix '16, Irving Wiltsie '21, Finley Hall '29, Charles Ostrom '30, and George Williams '40 were also lost in Liscome Bay.
Class of 1923
Lester is one of 25 members of the Class of 1923 in Memorial Hall.
