OLIVER E. WHITE, LTJG, USN

From USNA Virtual Memorial Hall
Oliver White '30

Date of birth: December 12, 1908

Date of death: March 17, 1936

Age: 27

Lucky Bag

From the 1930 Lucky Bag:

1930 White LB.jpg

OLIVER EDWARD WHITE

Vincennes, Indiana

"Fuzzy Wuzzy" "Ollie"

OUT of the middle-west came a rangy young lad with a keen mind, a ready smile and the quick Hoosier wit of his forebears. He came, he saw, he was conquered. But nothing could down the ready satire and fun-loving nature—it broke through at the right moment. Ollie stayed to rise high in the hearts of his classmates. And he really is savvy.

Rising seems to mean much to Ollie. He worked hard and finally set a pole vault record that is something for coming Academy vaulters to shoot at. Modest and unassuming, ready and eager to learn, quick to appreciate or instigate a good hearty prank; thus will Ollie always be remembered.

How many trolley cars have they in Vincennes, Fuzzy Wuzzy?

"What, only two? And you told us you came from a city!" But just give the boy a chance and he will tell you all about George Rodgers Clark and Alice of Old Vincennes. The place is steeped in tradition and Ollee can entertain you by the hour.

Ollee doesn't live on past traditions but aids in making them. In his pole vaulting he leaves a tradition here. In leaving he will forever carry with him a spirit of unfailing good humor and an ability to see fun in anything.

1 P. O.; Track 4, 3, 2, 1, N 3, 2, 1.

1930 White LB.jpg

OLIVER EDWARD WHITE

Vincennes, Indiana

"Fuzzy Wuzzy" "Ollie"

OUT of the middle-west came a rangy young lad with a keen mind, a ready smile and the quick Hoosier wit of his forebears. He came, he saw, he was conquered. But nothing could down the ready satire and fun-loving nature—it broke through at the right moment. Ollie stayed to rise high in the hearts of his classmates. And he really is savvy.

Rising seems to mean much to Ollie. He worked hard and finally set a pole vault record that is something for coming Academy vaulters to shoot at. Modest and unassuming, ready and eager to learn, quick to appreciate or instigate a good hearty prank; thus will Ollie always be remembered.

How many trolley cars have they in Vincennes, Fuzzy Wuzzy?

"What, only two? And you told us you came from a city!" But just give the boy a chance and he will tell you all about George Rodgers Clark and Alice of Old Vincennes. The place is steeped in tradition and Ollee can entertain you by the hour.

Ollee doesn't live on past traditions but aids in making them. In his pole vaulting he leaves a tradition here. In leaving he will forever carry with him a spirit of unfailing good humor and an ability to see fun in anything.

1 P. O.; Track 4, 3, 2, 1, N 3, 2, 1.

Loss

From Naval History and Heritage Command:

SBU-1 dive bomber engine fire kills pilot Lt. Oliver E. White; Radioman 2 class James W. LeCompte parachute's to safety. 17 March 1936.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Oliver graduated from Vincennes Lincoln high school in 1925. “How he loves a tourneyment.” Prophecy: Oliver will be the master mechanic at the first big radio station in Vincennes.

On June 2, 1929, Oliver set a new Navy pole vault record at 12 feet 6 ¼ inches. The meet was against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Annapolis.

In 1920, his father Samuel was a house building contractor, and his sister Vera was a public school teacher.

He earned his wings as naval aviator #3953 on November 15, 1932.

Oliver is buried in Indiana.

Photographs

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.

October 1930
Ensign, USS Colorado


Others at or embarked at this command:
LTjg Walter Dey '24 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 5B)
January 1931
Ensign, USS Colorado


Others at or embarked at this command:
LTjg Walter Dey '24 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 5B)
April 1931
Ensign, USS Colorado


Others at or embarked at this command:
LTjg Walter Dey '24 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 5B)
July 1931
Ensign, USS Omaha
October 1931
Ensign, USS Omaha
January 1933
Ensign, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 10S, USS Chicago


Others at or embarked at USS Chicago:
April 1933
Ensign, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 10S, USS Chicago


Others at or embarked at USS Chicago:
July 1933
Lieutenant (j.g.), Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 10S, USS Chicago


Others at or embarked at USS Chicago:
October 1933
Lieutenant (j.g.), Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 10S, USS Chicago


Others at or embarked at USS Chicago:
April 1934
Lieutenant (j.g.), Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 10S, USS Chicago

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at USS Chicago:
ENS Augustus Alston, Jr. '31 (Cruiser Division 5)
July 1934
Lieutenant (j.g.), Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 10S, USS Chicago

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at USS Chicago:
ENS Lion Miles '31 (Cruiser Division 5)
ENS Augustus Alston, Jr. '31 (Cruiser Division 5)
October 1934
Lieutenant (j.g.), Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 10S, USS Chicago

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at USS Chicago:
LTjg Lion Miles '31 (Cruiser Division 5)
January 1935
Lieutenant (j.g.), Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 10S, USS Chicago

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at USS Chicago:
LTjg Lion Miles '31 (Cruiser Division 5)
April 1935
Lieutenant (j.g.), Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 10S, USS Chicago

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at USS Chicago:
LTjg Alfred Grove '30 (Cruiser Division 5)
LTjg Lion Miles '31 (Cruiser Division 5)
October 1935
Lieutenant (j.g.), Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B, USS Saratoga


Others at or embarked at USS Saratoga:
CDR Walter Webster '11 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LT Arnold Isbell '21 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LT Charles McDonald '24 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 2B)
LTjg Charles Signer '26 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Ralph Smith '26 (USS Saratoga)
LTjg Harold Richards '27 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LTjg Elmer Cooper '27 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 2B)
LTjg Leonard Southerland '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Ford Wallace '31 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg James Murphy '31 (Torpedo Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Thomas Ashworth, Jr. '31 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Alfred Tucker, III '31 (USS Saratoga)
LTjg Albert Gates, Jr. '32 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Paul Burton '33 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Wendell Froling '34 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Maurice Fitzgerald '35 (USS Saratoga)
January 1936
Lieutenant (j.g.), Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B, USS Saratoga


Others at or embarked at USS Saratoga:
CDR Walter Webster '11 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LT Arnold Isbell '21 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LT Charles McDonald '24 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 2B)
LT Richard Moss '24 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 2B)
LTjg Charles Signer '26 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Harold Richards '27 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LTjg Elmer Cooper '27 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 2B)
LTjg Leonard Southerland '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Ford Wallace '31 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg James Murphy '31 (Torpedo Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Thomas Ashworth, Jr. '31 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Albert Gates, Jr. '32 (USS Saratoga)
LTjg Edwin Hurst '32 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 2B)
ENS Wendell Froling '34 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Maurice Fitzgerald '35 (USS Saratoga)


Class of 1930

Oliver is one of 42 members of the Class of 1930 on Virtual Memorial Hall.

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