NEVILLE L. MCDOWELL, LCDR, USN

From USNA Virtual Memorial Hall
Neville McDowell '24

Date of birth: October 17, 1900

Date of death: September 11, 1939

Age: 38

Lucky Bag

From the 1924 Lucky Bag:

1924 McDowell LB.jpg

NEVILLE LIVINGSTON McDOWELL

Columbia, South Carolina

"Dowgal"

YES, it was a slight fixness with him—in fact he has been "gitting" it ever since South C. turned him loose Plebe year. Hubhel and the boys used to say, "'Doogh,' pull out your chair," quite often but infinity never bothered him—he got used to it.

While at the Academy "Dowgal" made a multitude of friends. Making friends wasn't all he did, for he played left end on '24's football team in first string fashion—and in his Second Class year was a big factor in winning the championship.

On the cruise he never worked, but at places like the Hotel de Paris and at Kelly's, "Doogh" would report at any minute that he was the most fixed man in the service.

Ask him about the time Plebe year that he said, "Who-o-o-o-w, Skag. I'm glad that's over."

1924 McDowell LB.jpg

NEVILLE LIVINGSTON McDOWELL

Columbia, South Carolina

"Dowgal"

YES, it was a slight fixness with him—in fact he has been "gitting" it ever since South C. turned him loose Plebe year. Hubhel and the boys used to say, "'Doogh,' pull out your chair," quite often but infinity never bothered him—he got used to it.

While at the Academy "Dowgal" made a multitude of friends. Making friends wasn't all he did, for he played left end on '24's football team in first string fashion—and in his Second Class year was a big factor in winning the championship.

On the cruise he never worked, but at places like the Hotel de Paris and at Kelly's, "Doogh" would report at any minute that he was the most fixed man in the service.

Ask him about the time Plebe year that he said, "Who-o-o-o-w, Skag. I'm glad that's over."

Loss

Neville died on September 11, 1939 at 3:45 pm of a "pistol wound" to his heart, sustained in the engine room of the battleship USS Idaho (BB 42). The ship was in San Pedro, California at the time. On the death certificate (found by researcher Kathy Franz) the "accident, suicide, or homicide" section gives "undetermined."

Other Information

Neville entered the Naval Academy with the class of 1923 on July 3, 1919. On October 4, 1920 he was "deficient in studies" and rolled into the Class of 1924.

From researcher Kathy Franz:

In May 1931 he was at the Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland.

He married Harriet Wyatt Washington on July 2, 1932, in Washington, D. C. They along with his sister Jane and her new husband Dr. Theodore Hopkins attended the Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia in December.

Neville’s brother Robert was a colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps.

He was survived by his wife, Harriett. They were married in 1932.

He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

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.

July 1924
Ensign, USS Richmond

Others at this command:
September 1924
Ensign, USS Richmond

Others at this command:
November 1924
Ensign, USS Richmond

January 1925
Ensign, USS Richmond

March 1925
Ensign, USS Richmond

Others at this command:
May 1925
Ensign, USS Richmond

Others at this command:
July 1925
Ensign, USS Richmond

October 1925
Ensign, USS Richmond

January 1926
Ensign, USS Richmond

Others at this command:
October 1926
Ensign, USS Richmond

Others at this command:
January 1927
Ensign, USS Richmond

Others at this command:
April 1927
Ensign, USS Richmond

Others at this command:
October 1927
Ensign, USS Richmond

Others at this command:
January 1928
Ensign, USS Richmond

April 1928
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Richmond

Others at this command:
July 1928
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Richmond

Others at this command:
October 1928
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Richmond

Others at this command:
January 1929
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Richmond

Others at this command:
April 1929
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Richmond

Others at this command:
July 1929
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Richmond

Others at this command:
October 1929
Lieutenant (j.g.), engineer officer, USS Sacramento
January 1930
Lieutenant (j.g.), engineer officer, USS Sacramento
April 1930
Lieutenant (j.g.), engineer officer, USS Sacramento
October 1930
Lieutenant (j.g.), engineer officer, USS Sacramento
January 1931
Lieutenant (j.g.), engineer officer, USS Sacramento
April 1931
Lieutenant (j.g.), under instruction, Edgewood Arsenal, Edgewood, Maryland

Others at this command:
July 1933
Lieutenant (j.g.), engineering officer, USS Hamilton
October 1933
Lieutenant (j.g.), engineering officer, USS Hamilton
April 1934
Lieutenant (j.g.), engineering officer, USS Hamilton
July 1934
Lieutenant (j.g.), engineering officer, USS Hamilton
October 1934
Lieutenant (j.g.), engineering officer, USS Hamilton
January 1935
Lieutenant (j.g.), engineering officer, USS Hamilton
April 1935
Lieutenant (j.g.), engineering officer, USS Hamilton
October 1935
Lieutenant, engineering officer, USS Hamilton
January 1936
Lieutenant, executive officer, USS Hamilton
April 1936
Lieutenant, executive officer, USS Hamilton
July 1936
Lieutenant, Navy Yard, Boston, Massachusetts
January 1937
Lieutenant, Navy Yard, Boston, Massachusetts
April 1937
Lieutenant, Navy Yard, Boston, Massachusetts
September 1937
Lieutenant, Navy Yard, Boston, Massachusetts

Others at this command:
January 1938
Lieutenant, Navy Yard, Boston, Massachusetts

Others at this command:
July 1938
Lieutenant, USS Idaho


Others at or embarked at this command:
LTjg James Murphy '31 (Observation Squadron (VO) 3)
January 1939
Lieutenant, USS Idaho


Others at or embarked at this command:
LTjg Ralph Beacham '35 (Observation Squadron (VO) 3)

Memorial Hall Error

Neville's death was due to suicide, or perhaps murder. Neither case is a criteria for inclusion in Memorial Hall.


Class of 1924

Neville is one of 42 members of the Class of 1924 on Virtual Memorial Hall.

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