PAUL J. REGISTER, LCDR, USN
Paul Register '21
Lucky Bag
From the 1921 Lucky Bag:
Paul James Register
Bismarck, North Dakota
"Cash"
CASH won the original gold plated oil stove when he put the coal bunkers in the cross section view of a subchaser over at Steam. The void, which showed on his board, had to be covered in some way, so who can blame him for this last act of sheer desperation after waiting for a brain throb on interior decoration of subchasers. Paul had probably been reading poetry or Hypatia or some other book unappreciated by the common herd who indulge in the Red Book and Cosmo.
By consistent work in the gym he early developed one of those Venus-like forms, and form surely does show to the best advantage in one of the Annette Kellerman gym suits.
Cash never quite got used to city customs. After coming straight from the simple country life of Bismarck, North Dakota, he found the devious ways of suspenders too much for his unsophisticated mind to cope with and he used to leave them hanging down behind on the background of his service—in times of stress when late blast was nigh.
But, if you want somebody to do something for you, just go around to Cash and he will do it, even if it's dragging the same brick twice in succession. Verily, "Greater love hath no man than this."
Gym Squad (3, 1); Buzzard.
The Class of 1921 was the last of the wartime-accelerated classes. "1921A" was graduated on June 3, 1920; the second half, "1921B", was graduated on June 2, 1921. Paul was graduated with 1921A.
Paul James Register
Bismarck, North Dakota
"Cash"
CASH won the original gold plated oil stove when he put the coal bunkers in the cross section view of a subchaser over at Steam. The void, which showed on his board, had to be covered in some way, so who can blame him for this last act of sheer desperation after waiting for a brain throb on interior decoration of subchasers. Paul had probably been reading poetry or Hypatia or some other book unappreciated by the common herd who indulge in the Red Book and Cosmo.
By consistent work in the gym he early developed one of those Venus-like forms, and form surely does show to the best advantage in one of the Annette Kellerman gym suits.
Cash never quite got used to city customs. After coming straight from the simple country life of Bismarck, North Dakota, he found the devious ways of suspenders too much for his unsophisticated mind to cope with and he used to leave them hanging down behind on the background of his service—in times of stress when late blast was nigh.
But, if you want somebody to do something for you, just go around to Cash and he will do it, even if it's dragging the same brick twice in succession. Verily, "Greater love hath no man than this."
Gym Squad (3, 1); Buzzard.
The Class of 1921 was the last of the wartime-accelerated classes. "1921A" was graduated on June 3, 1920; the second half, "1921B", was graduated on June 2, 1921. Paul was graduated with 1921A.
Loss
Paul was lost on December 7, 1941 when USS Arizona (BB 39) was destroyed during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He was the ship's communications officer; he had reported aboard in May 1941.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
In March, 1915, Paul participated in a debate of the high school’s Websterian debating club. The debate was “Resolved: That a scheme of transporting the negro to Africa is practicable.” At their meeting in April, Paul was in charge of the music, and George Smith sang, “It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary.”
In May, Paul was elected treasurer of the club.
An aspiring thespian, Paul was in the chorus for the play “Pauline” in May, 1915. The next May, Paul played Jack Demond in the class play “Esmeralda;” and in May, 1917, he played Henry Steele in the class play “Green Stockings.”
In September, 1915, Paul was elected vice president of the junior class. In November, he won third place ($1) for his essay on “Why North Dakota Is Great.”
In March, 1916, Paul was one of the 40 founding members of the Bismarck Junior Chamber of Commerce. That month, he also was on the entertainment committee for the junior-senior high school banquet. In April, the group participated in the city’s Clean-up and Paint-up Week.
Paul was on the high school’s inaugural track team in May, 1916, and was also its manager. He took second in the mile race in the May 30 Valley City Normal track meet.
In July, 1916, Paul participated in the First Baptist Church tennis tournament. He was also a Boy Scout.
Per The Bismarck Tribune, May 19, 1917: “Members of the Dr. W. J. Hutcheson’s Bible class of the McCabe church went on a hike to Sibley Island today. The hike was given in honor of Paul Register, son of Mr. and Mrs. F. H. Register of Fifth street, who leaves shortly to enter the naval academy in Annapolis. Mr. Register received word the first of the week announcing his admission to the school.”
At his high school graduation in June, Paul’s class poem “afforded much merriment.”
In September, 1918, Paul was on furlough, and he attended an informal high class reunion luncheon of the “Naughty Seventeens” which was held on Apple creek, south of Fort Lincoln.
In March 1925, Paul answered questions about the sea and the navy at the Presbyterian Boy Scouts meeting. He showed pictures taken at different points on board ship and in the Philippines.
His wife was the former Mary Ethel Lohman.
A memorial service was held in May, 1942, on the capitol steps in Bismarck. Flowers were presented to Paul’s mother and the mother of Clair Brier who was also killed on December 7 at Pearl Harbor.
His father Francis was an attorney who also served for a time as mayor and both city and county attorney. His mother was Helen, brothers Francis, Richard and Dill B., and sister Helen (Mrs. L. P. Warren.) Paul’s nephew Francis R., a navy Ensign, was a fighter pilot who downed two Japanese aircraft over the Solomon Islands in September 1942.
Son Paul, Jr., was born on October 6, 1930.
His wife, Ethel, was listed as next of kin; he was also survived by his daughter, Nancy, and mother. (Pictures of his widow, daughter, and son are available here.)
Paul has a memory marker in North Dakota.
Career
From Wikipedia:
Paul James Register was born in Bismarck, North Dakota on 5 November 1899. He graduated from Bismarck High School in 1917 and from the United States Naval Academy in 1920 and was simultaneously commissioned as an ensign.
Register was assigned to the battleship USS Florida (BB-30) until 14 June 1921, when he was reassigned for engineering instruction aboard the destroyers USS Truxton (DE-229), USS Shaw (DD-68), and USS George E. Badger (DD-196). In August 1922 he was reassigned to the Commander of Destroyer Squadrons aboard the armored cruiser USS Rochester (CA-2) as assistant to the squadron engineer officer until April 1923.
In 1923, Register reported to Submarine Base New London at New London, Connecticut, for instruction at the Submarine School. Promoted to the rank of lieutenant, junior grade, on 5 June 1923, he received orders to the transport USS Argonne (AP-4) at Cavite Naval Station in the Philippine Islands for temporary duty. In December 1923 he was assigned the submarine USS S-6 (SS-111) and served aboard her until 30 June 1927.
Register was promoted to lieutenant on 2 June 1927 just before transferring to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, for post-graduate studies and in May 1928 attended the Naval War College at Newport, Rhode Island. Lieutenant Register was assigned as gunnery officer aboard the battleship USS Maryland (BB-46) in June 1929 until he was ordered to report to the U.S. Naval Academy as an instructor in 1932. From 1932 to 1934 he served as a gunnery instructor at the Naval Academy and continued his post graduate-work in law.
In May 1935, Register received orders to report to Rear Admiral Clark H. Woodward, Commander Destroyers, Battle Force Pacific, for duty as aide and flag lieutenant on his staff and continued to serve aboard destroyer tender USS Melville (AD-2) after Rear Admiral Woodward was relieved.
In May 1938 Register was assigned to the Navy Recruiting Bureau in New York City as a United States Naval Reserve instructor. During this assignment he continued to study law at Fordham University during evenings. He was promoted to lieutenant commander on 1 July 1939 and was assigned various postings as a Naval Reserve instructor in the State of New York.
On 20 March 1941, Register received notification for change of duty for assignment to the battleship USS Arizona (BB-39) as her communication officer. He reported for duty aboard Arizona in May 1941. He was killed in action when Arizona was sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 at the beginning of World War II.
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.
January 1922
May 1923
July 1923
September 1923
November 1923
January 1924
March 1924
May 1924
July 1924
September 1924
November 1924
January 1926
October 1926
January 1927
April 1927
October 1927
January 1928
April 1928
July 1928
October 1928
January 1929
April 1929
July 1929
April 1930
October 1930
January 1931
April 1931
July 1931
October 1931
January 1932
April 1932
October 1932
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT Robert Smith '20
LT Francis Bridget '21
LT George Brooke '21
LT William Hobby, Jr. '23
LTjg Neville McDowell '24
LTjg Hubert Hayter '24
January 1933
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT Robert Smith '20
LT Francis Bridget '21
LT George Brooke '21
LT William Hobby, Jr. '23
LTjg Neville McDowell '24
LTjg Hubert Hayter '24
April 1933
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT Robert Smith '20
LT Francis Bridget '21
LT George Brooke '21
LT William Hobby, Jr. '23
LTjg Neville McDowell '24
LTjg Hubert Hayter '24
LTjg Lawrence McPeake '24
July 1933
LCDR Lyman Swenson '16
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT Robert Smith '20
LT George Brooke '21
LT Howard Healy '22
1LT Charles Kail '23
LT Hallsted Hopping '24
LTjg Lawrence McPeake '24
LTjg James Smith, Jr. '25
LTjg Knowlton Williams '25
October 1933
LCDR Lyman Swenson '16
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT Robert Smith '20
LT George Brooke '21
LT Howard Healy '22
1LT Charles Kail '23
LT Hallsted Hopping '24
LTjg Lawrence McPeake '24
LTjg William Graham, Jr. '25
LTjg Andrew Harris '25
LTjg James Smith, Jr. '25
April 1934
LCDR Lyman Swenson '16
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT Robert Smith '20
LT William Gray '21
LT George Brooke '21
LT Howard Healy '22
1LT Charles Kail '23
LT Hallsted Hopping '24
LT Lawrence McPeake '24
LTjg William Graham, Jr. '25
LTjg Andrew Harris '25
July 1934
LCDR Albert Rooks '14
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT William Gray '21
LT George Brooke '21
LT Howard Healy '22
LT Edward Metcalfe '22
LT Eugene Elmore '22
1LT Charles Kail '23
LTjg William Graham, Jr. '25
LTjg John Graff '26
October 1934
LCDR Albert Rooks '14
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT William Gray '21
LT George Brooke '21
LT John French '22
LT Howard Healy '22
LT Edward Metcalfe '22
LT Eugene Elmore '22
1LT Charles Kail '23
January 1935
LCDR Albert Rooks '14
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT William Gray '21
LT George Brooke '21
LT John French '22
LT Howard Healy '22
LT Edward Metcalfe '22
LT Eugene Elmore '22
1LT Charles Kail '23
April 1935
LCDR Albert Rooks '14
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT William Gray '21
LT George Brooke '21
LT John French '22
LT Howard Healy '22
LT Edward Metcalfe '22
LT Eugene Elmore '22
LTjg Heywood Edwards '26
LTjg John Reybold '26
October 1935
January 1936
April 1936
July 1936
January 1937
LT Renwick Calderhead '27 (USS Detroit)
LTjg Ralph Elden '31 (USS Detroit)
April 1937
LT Renwick Calderhead '27 (USS Detroit)
LTjg Ralph Elden '31 (USS Detroit)
July 1938
January 1939
October 1939
June 1940
November 1940
April 1941
Namesake
USS Register (APD 92) was named for Paul; the ship was sponsored by his widow.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
