MERRITT J. FLANDERS, ENS, USN

Merritt Flanders '22

Date of birth: March 30, 1900

Date of death: October 16, 1924

Age: 24

Lucky Bag

From the 1922 Lucky Bag:

MERRIT JORDAN FLANDERS

Ocilla, Georgia

"Mike" "Flan," "Fuzzy."

TO GET the straight dope on this man it's only necessary to ask any one who was a Plebe with '22. His picture still looks like the dear innocent boy who came to us straight from a long engagement as clarinet soloist in the village choir, but 'tis not so. "Mike" is one of the saltiest specimens that ever broke into a pair of Welcome Homes. As proof of this, you should make an inspection of his collection of white caps.

The name "Mike" was not derived from Naval Academy slang—far from it. In fact, no mention can be made of this worthy without the occurrence of the thought of girls. It is a hard matter to single out any particular one, and so, in order to avoid hurting anyone's feelings, any mention of names is "Beyond the scope of this work."

"I'd love to go to sleep and W A K E up tra la la la."

Sub Squad (4, 3, 2).

MERRIT JORDAN FLANDERS

Ocilla, Georgia

"Mike" "Flan," "Fuzzy."

TO GET the straight dope on this man it's only necessary to ask any one who was a Plebe with '22. His picture still looks like the dear innocent boy who came to us straight from a long engagement as clarinet soloist in the village choir, but 'tis not so. "Mike" is one of the saltiest specimens that ever broke into a pair of Welcome Homes. As proof of this, you should make an inspection of his collection of white caps.

The name "Mike" was not derived from Naval Academy slang—far from it. In fact, no mention can be made of this worthy without the occurrence of the thought of girls. It is a hard matter to single out any particular one, and so, in order to avoid hurting anyone's feelings, any mention of names is "Beyond the scope of this work."

"I'd love to go to sleep and W A K E up tra la la la."

Sub Squad (4, 3, 2).

Loss

Merritt was lost on October 16, 1924 when the plane he was aboard collided with another over Coronado, California. He was stationed aboard USS Vega (AK 17); he was not a qualified naval aviator.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

In June, 1918, Merritt and his sister Harriett attended the Methodist church’s South Georgia Epworth League Conference in Macon. The conference brought 350 young men and women who gave their time and energy to promote Christian living among young people.
Merritt was attached to the transport Vega which sailed the day after Merritt died. Merritt had obtained permission to make a flight preparatory to applying for air duty and was a passenger in Robert Kerr’s plane.
Merritt was born in Arkansas. His father was J. J., publisher and editor of the Ocilla Star.

He is buried in Georgia.

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.