PAUL H. TOBELMAN, CDR, USN
Paul Tobelman '26
Lucky Bag
From the 1926 Lucky Bag:
Paul Henry Tobelman
Ajo, Arizona
"Tobey"
ALL the world loves a fighter and that is what we know Tobey to be from seeing him emerge unscathed from his battles royal with the Academics, athletics, and woe-men. Although the Acs gave him occasional hard fights, at the final count the "scorekeeper" always announced him winner with a "little to spare."
As a kid out in Ajo he used to kill time running down jack rabbits in the hills of his back yard. So the nice smooth cinder track on Farragut Field was fruit. And a joust with our friends on the Hudson never lacks thrills for anyone. But for the real conquests wherein Tobey always stars we must turn to the so-so sex. He admits that he can scarcely remember the time since he was sixteen when he did not have a soul rending pact with some one of the descendents of Adam's rib. However, his affaires-d'amour reached a climax down in Cuba Youngster Sep leave. "Boy, those were the happiest eight days of my existence." Two months and a half later he began to come out of the clouds to find himself unsat "worse" in several subjects and becoming "worst." Since that he has descended to earth nobly.
"If I ever get out of this place I'll pass out."
Expert Rifleman; Track Squad (4, 3, 2, 1), N (4), Varsity Numerals (2, 3).
Paul Henry Tobelman
Ajo, Arizona
"Tobey"
ALL the world loves a fighter and that is what we know Tobey to be from seeing him emerge unscathed from his battles royal with the Academics, athletics, and woe-men. Although the Acs gave him occasional hard fights, at the final count the "scorekeeper" always announced him winner with a "little to spare."
As a kid out in Ajo he used to kill time running down jack rabbits in the hills of his back yard. So the nice smooth cinder track on Farragut Field was fruit. And a joust with our friends on the Hudson never lacks thrills for anyone. But for the real conquests wherein Tobey always stars we must turn to the so-so sex. He admits that he can scarcely remember the time since he was sixteen when he did not have a soul rending pact with some one of the descendents of Adam's rib. However, his affaires-d'amour reached a climax down in Cuba Youngster Sep leave. "Boy, those were the happiest eight days of my existence." Two months and a half later he began to come out of the clouds to find himself unsat "worse" in several subjects and becoming "worst." Since that he has descended to earth nobly.
"If I ever get out of this place I'll pass out."
Expert Rifleman; Track Squad (4, 3, 2, 1), N (4), Varsity Numerals (2, 3).
Loss
Paul was lost when the transport plane he was aboard crashed near Kodiak, Alaska, on August 16, 1942.
From a now-broken link, this undated passage:
Plane With 14 Missing in Alaska - A U.S. Navy plane with a crew of four and ten passengers enroute from Kodiak to Whitehorse, Alaska was reported overdue by the Navy Department, which notified next of kin of those aboard that the crew and passengers were missing. The flight was a routine one from Kodiak to Seattle, Wash. Three planes started on the trip and were forced to fly by instrument soon after taking off. Two made their way through the bad weather to Whitehorse. Naval aircraft have been making searches for the missing plane and other agencies were asked to assist in the search.
Those aboard the missing plane were Commander Joyce A. Ralph, USN; Lieut. Comdrs. Burton Lee Doggett, USN, Jerome H. Sparbo. USNR and Paul H. Tobelman, USN; Captain Arthur Barrows. USMC; Lieuts. Joseph A. Crook, USN and Thomas E. Johnson. Jr. (ChC), USN; Lieuts. (j.g.) Thomas G. Cherikos, USNR. Charles E. Deterding, USN and Jay A. Noble, Jr.. USN: Ensign Charles L. Mixon, USNR; Charles E. Barber. ACRM. USN; H. A. Scott, ACRM, USN, and C O. Walton, AMM2c. USN.
The aircraft was never located, and all 14 passengers and crew were declared dead a year and a day following their disappearance. The aircraft was a part of Transport Squadron (VR) 2.
Paul was commanding officer of USS Dent (DD–116) in July; unclear if he had been relieved of command prior to the crash.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Born in Globe, Arizona, Paul attended Harvard Military school in Los Angeles.
He married Esther Hall Megear in the chapel at Annapolis on July 3, 1926. Their daughters were Nancy and Ann 9.
His father Henry A. was a metallurgist for the New Cornelia Copper company, mother Stella, sister Eloise. Henry and his family left Arizona in 1921 and traveled through Africa and Europe.
His wife was listed as next of kin. He has a memory marker in Arlington National Cemetery.
Photographs
From The Los Angeles Times on August 26, 1942
Related Articles
Joyce Ralph '23, Burton Doggett '24, Joseph Crook '36, Charles Deterding, Jr. '40, and Jay Noble, Jr. '40 were also passengers aboard this aircraft.
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.
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