Miguel Nava '17
On February 7, 2024 Captain Miguel Nava, USMC '17 was killed in a helicopter crash. Please consider a donation to his family to honor his service, and the incredible sacrifice of his wife and five-month-old son.

RAYMOND L. MAYO, CDR, USN

From USNA Virtual Memorial Hall
Raymond Mayo '30

Date of birth: November 8, 1906

Date of death: February 26, 1944

Age: 37

Lucky Bag

From the 1930 Lucky Bag:

1930 Mayo LB.jpg

RAYMOND LEON MAYO

Richardson, Texas

"Hoot" "Hep" Ray"

DISTINGUISHED by his curly blonde hair and his abundant good nature, Ray came to the Naval Academy because he felt the discipline would be good for him. Hoot likes to celebrate and his readiness to make "whoopee" on the slightest provocation led him to an early entanglement with the Executive Department, which has acted as a slight—very slight—curb on his exuberance.

Never have the academic departments taken a telling hold on "Hep" long enough to gain even a slight time advantage. "Hoot's" marks, while not starring, have been good enough to warrant his taking time off to talk about the sport in season with you. And few there are who can treat on Ray after the end of any given season. Though an ardent advocate of the "Radiator Club," he spends his winter afternoons in the Armory with the basketeers. And in the springtime he betakes himself to the Rifle Range to fire away at the old bullseye.

"Hoot" likes the Navy, and the Navy likes him, a reciprocation which bodes well for our future relations with him.

Assistant Manager Basketball 4, 3, 2, Manager Basketball 1, "N" 1; Rifle 4, 3; Small 30 4; 2 P.O.

1930 Mayo LB.jpg

RAYMOND LEON MAYO

Richardson, Texas

"Hoot" "Hep" Ray"

DISTINGUISHED by his curly blonde hair and his abundant good nature, Ray came to the Naval Academy because he felt the discipline would be good for him. Hoot likes to celebrate and his readiness to make "whoopee" on the slightest provocation led him to an early entanglement with the Executive Department, which has acted as a slight—very slight—curb on his exuberance.

Never have the academic departments taken a telling hold on "Hep" long enough to gain even a slight time advantage. "Hoot's" marks, while not starring, have been good enough to warrant his taking time off to talk about the sport in season with you. And few there are who can treat on Ray after the end of any given season. Though an ardent advocate of the "Radiator Club," he spends his winter afternoons in the Armory with the basketeers. And in the springtime he betakes himself to the Rifle Range to fire away at the old bullseye.

"Hoot" likes the Navy, and the Navy likes him, a reciprocation which bodes well for our future relations with him.

Assistant Manager Basketball 4, 3, 2, Manager Basketball 1, "N" 1; Rifle 4, 3; Small 30 4; 2 P.O.

Loss

Raymond was lost when USS Grayback (SS 208) was sunk by Japanese aircraft on February 26, 1944 south of Okinawa.

Though he was senior to the boat's commanding officer, John Moore '32, Raymond was apparently aboard as the prospective commanding officer.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Raymond was born in Oklahoma, and his father Edward was a farmer. His mother was Annie, and his brothers were Clement, Earl, Cyril, Carl, and DeWitt. In 1920 the family lived in Liberty, Oklahoma. In 1935 his parents and brother DeWitt lived in Richardson, Texas, in 1935. That year Raymond and his wife Janet were in Honolulu and were at several social gatherings there.

His wife was listed as next of kin. Raymond is listed at the Courts of the Missing in Hawaii.

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 New York


Others at or embarked at this command:
LTjg Henry Dozier '27 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 3B)
ENS Leonard Southerland '27 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 3B)
January 1931
Ensign, USS New York


Others at or embarked at this command:
LTjg Henry Dozier '27 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 3B)
LTjg Leonard Southerland '27 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 3B)
April 1931
Ensign, USS New York


Others at or embarked at this command:
LTjg Henry Dozier '27 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 3B)
LTjg Leonard Southerland '27 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 3B)
July 1931
Ensign, USS New York

October 1931
Ensign, USS New York

January 1932
Ensign, USS New York

April 1932
Ensign, USS New York

October 1932
Ensign, USS New York

January 1933
Ensign, under instruction, Submarine Base New London, Connecticut
April 1933
Ensign, under instruction, Submarine Base New London, Connecticut

Others at this command:
July 1933
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS S-31
October 1933
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS S-31
April 1934
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS S-31

Others at this command:
July 1934
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS S-31

Others at this command:
October 1934
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS S-31

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at this command:
LT Rogers Elliott '22 (Submarine Division 9)
January 1935
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS S-31

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at this command:
LT Rogers Elliott '22 (Submarine Division 9)
April 1935
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS S-31

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at this command:
LT Rogers Elliott '22 (Submarine Division 9)
October 1935
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS S-31

Others at this command:
January 1936
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS S-31

Others at this command:
April 1936
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS S-31

Others at this command:
July 1936
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS S-31
January 1937
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS S-31
April 1937
Lieutenant (j.g.), engineering officer, USS S-31
October 1939
Lieutenant, USS Marblehead

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at this command:
LT William Sisko '31 (Cruiser Scouting Squadron (VCS) 2)
June 1940
Lieutenant, engineering officer, USS Pecos

Others at this command:
November 1940
Lieutenant, engineering officer, USS Pecos

April 1941
Lieutenant, engineering officer, USS Pecos

Discovery of Grayback

In 2019 USS Grayback was found near Okinawa. Previous expeditions to locate her final resting place had been unsuccessful because of a mistake in translating the attacking aircraft's report.


Class of 1930

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

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