ROBERT F. COATES, LTJG, USN

Robert Coates '30

Date of birth: May 16, 1909

Date of death: October 23, 1935

Age: 26

Lucky Bag

From the 1930 Lucky Bag:

ROBERT FORESMAN COATES

Wausau, Wisconsin

"Bob" "Toots" "Rollo"

A PRODUCT of the big evergreen forests, Bob came to us in their deepest shade. It didn't take long, however, for old Dad Neptune to apply his lines and convert him into a non-reg, full-fledged sailor boy. A few close run-ins with the almighty academics and the trials of an "old-Navy" Plebe year molded the plastic potentialities into real manhood with all the determination and sincerity that have characterized Bob throughout his middy's career.

Coming here with an enviable prep school athletic and activity record, Bob found his weight too big a handicap for his beloved football and applied his brimming energy to class athletics and organization.

Girls and studies shared equally in Bob's boredom, and only on rare occasions did the "fair ones" have the pleasure of his tricky feet at the "Dahlgren Brawls." Ever a willing helper, Bob's quiet ways have found a permanent place in the hearts of his classmates, and of everyone else having the gift of his friendship.

As a gentleman and scholar, as well as a true pal, you'll live forever in the sacred memories of Academy days, Bob. May the best of everything be yours.

Class Football 3, 2, 1; Track 4, 3; Gymkhana 4, 2 P.O.

ROBERT FORESMAN COATES

Wausau, Wisconsin

"Bob" "Toots" "Rollo"

A PRODUCT of the big evergreen forests, Bob came to us in their deepest shade. It didn't take long, however, for old Dad Neptune to apply his lines and convert him into a non-reg, full-fledged sailor boy. A few close run-ins with the almighty academics and the trials of an "old-Navy" Plebe year molded the plastic potentialities into real manhood with all the determination and sincerity that have characterized Bob throughout his middy's career.

Coming here with an enviable prep school athletic and activity record, Bob found his weight too big a handicap for his beloved football and applied his brimming energy to class athletics and organization.

Girls and studies shared equally in Bob's boredom, and only on rare occasions did the "fair ones" have the pleasure of his tricky feet at the "Dahlgren Brawls." Ever a willing helper, Bob's quiet ways have found a permanent place in the hearts of his classmates, and of everyone else having the gift of his friendship.

As a gentleman and scholar, as well as a true pal, you'll live forever in the sacred memories of Academy days, Bob. May the best of everything be yours.

Class Football 3, 2, 1; Track 4, 3; Gymkhana 4, 2 P.O.

Loss

Robert was lost on October 23, 1935 when his aircraft collided with another and crashed near Fort Barrancas, Florida during pilot training.

He is buried in Wisconsin.

Related Articles

Nicholas Pusel '30 was the pilot of the other plane and was also killed in this crash.

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 this command: LTjg Andrew Harris '25 and ENS Oliver White '30.

Others at or embarked at this command: LTjg Walter Dey '24 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 5B).

January 1931

Ensign, USS Colorado

Others at this command: LTjg Andrew Harris '25 and ENS Oliver White '30.

Others at or embarked at this command: LTjg Walter Dey '24 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 5B).

April 1931

Ensign, USS Colorado

Others at this command: LTjg Andrew Harris '25 and ENS Oliver White '30.

Others at or embarked at this command: LTjg Walter Dey '24 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 5B).

July 1931

Ensign, under instruction, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida

Others at this command: LCDR Henry Mullinnix '16, LT Irving Wiltsie '21, LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23, LTjg Charles McDonald '24, LTjg James McDonough '24, LTjg Richard Moss '24, LTjg Robert Larson '24, LTjg Carlton Hutchins '26, LTjg Charles Signer '26, LTjg John Duke '26, LTjg William Potts '27, ENS Carl Lindgren '28, ENS Bruce Van Voorhis '29, ENS Clair Miller '29, ENS Egbert Roth '29, ENS Finley Hall '29, ENS Harold MacFarlane '29, ENS Henry Twohy '29, ENS John Collett '29, ENS Mathias Wyatt '29, ENS William Pennewill '29, ENS William Oliver '29, ENS Byron Newell '30, ENS Charles Hart '30, ENS Charles Ostrom '30, ENS Edwin Kelly '30, ENS Gilbert Carpenter '30, ENS John Burgess '30, ENS John Craig '30, ENS Robert Haven '30, and ENS Thomas Marshall, Jr. '30.

October 1931

Ensign, under instruction, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida

Others at this command: LCDR Henry Mullinnix '16, LT Irving Wiltsie '21, LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23, LTjg Charles McDonald '24, LTjg James McDonough '24, LTjg Robert Larson '24, LTjg Arthur Farrell '25, LTjg Carlton Hutchins '26, LTjg Charles Signer '26, 2LT Lofton Henderson '26, LTjg John Eldridge, Jr. '27, ENS Mathias Wyatt '29, ENS William Pennewill '29, ENS Charles Hart '30, ENS Charles Ostrom '30, ENS Edwin Kelly '30, ENS Gilbert Carpenter '30, ENS Henry Wygant, Jr. '30, ENS John Burgess '30, ENS Robert Haven '30, and ENS Victor Gaulin '30.

January 1932

Ensign, USS Arizona

Others at this command: LTjg James Smith, Jr. '25, ENS Charles Palmer, Sr. '31, ENS Charles Crommelin '31, and ENS Lorenz Forbes '31.

Others at or embarked at this command: LTjg Leonard Southerland '27 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 3B).

April 1932

Ensign, USS Arizona

Others at this command: LTjg James Smith, Jr. '25, ENS Charles Palmer, Sr. '31, and ENS Lorenz Forbes '31.

Others at or embarked at this command: LT James Craig '22 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 3B) and LTjg Leonard Southerland '27 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 3B).

October 1932

Ensign, USS Arizona

Others at this command: ENS Baylies Clark '30, ENS Charles Palmer, Sr. '31, ENS Lorenz Forbes '31, ENS John Moore '32, ENS Nathaniel Dial '32, and ENS Robert Vandling '32.

Others at or embarked at this command: LT James Craig '22 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 3B).

January 1933

Ensign, USS Arizona

Others at this command: ENS Baylies Clark '30, ENS Charles Palmer, Sr. '31, ENS John Moore '32, ENS Nathaniel Dial '32, and ENS Robert Vandling '32.

Others at or embarked at this command: LT James Craig '22 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 3B) and ENS Lorenz Forbes '31 (Battleship Division 3).

April 1933

Ensign, USS Arizona

Others at this command: ENS Baylies Clark '30, ENS Charles Palmer, Sr. '31, ENS John Moore '32, ENS Nathaniel Dial '32, and ENS Robert Vandling '32.

Others at or embarked at this command: LT James Craig '22 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 3B) and ENS Lorenz Forbes '31 (Battleship Division 3).

July 1933

Ensign, USS Arizona

Others at this command: ENS Baylies Clark '30, ENS Charles Palmer, Sr. '31, ENS John Moore '32, ENS Nathaniel Dial '32, and ENS Robert Vandling '32.

Others at or embarked at this command: LT James Craig '22 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 3B) and ENS Lorenz Forbes '31 (Battleship Division 3).

October 1933

Ensign, USS Arizona

Others at this command: ENS Charles Palmer, Sr. '31, ENS John Moore '32, ENS Nathaniel Dial '32, and ENS Robert Vandling '32.

Others at or embarked at this command: LT James Craig '22 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 3B) and ENS Lorenz Forbes '31 (Battleship Division 3).

April 1934

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Arizona

Others at this command: ENS Charles Palmer, Sr. '31, ENS John Moore '32, ENS Nathaniel Dial '32, and ENS Robert Vandling '32.

Others at or embarked at this command: LT James Craig '22 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 3B).

July 1934

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Arizona

Others at this command: ENS John Moore '32, ENS Nathaniel Dial '32, ENS Robert Vandling '32, 2LT David McDougal '33, and ENS Charles Brewer '34.

October 1934

Lieutenant (j.g.), Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 2B, USS Arizona

Others at or embarked at USS Arizona: ENS John Moore '32 (USS Arizona), ENS Robert Vandling '32 (USS Arizona), 2LT David McDougal '33 (USS Arizona), and ENS Charles Brewer '34 (USS Arizona).

January 1935

Lieutenant (j.g.), Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 2B, USS Arizona

Others at or embarked at USS Arizona: ENS Robert Vandling '32 (USS Arizona), 2LT David McDougal '33 (USS Arizona), ENS Arthur Newman '34 (USS Arizona), and ENS Charles Brewer '34 (USS Arizona).

April 1935

Lieutenant (j.g.), under instruction, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida

Others at this command: CDR Melville Brown '10, LT James Craig '22, LTjg John Duke '26, LTjg Ralph Smith '26, 1LT Harold Bauer '30, 1LT Nicholas Pusel '30, ENS Edward Allen '31, LTjg Robert Mackert '31, LTjg Thomas Ashworth, Jr. '31, LTjg Vernon Hain '31, ENS Archibald Greenlee '32, ENS Charles Mallory, Jr. '32, ENS Clarence Kasparek '32, 2LT Cleo Keen '32, ENS Dewitt Shumway '32, ENS Edwin Hurst '32, ENS Frank Latta '32, ENS George Bellinger '32, ENS George Hutchinson '32, ENS George Ottinger '32, ENS James Kemper '32, ENS James Reilly '32, ENS John Speer '32, ENS Robert Goodgame, Jr. '32, ENS Robert Strickler '32, ENS Truman Carpenter '32, ENS William Thorn '32, ENS William Townsend '32, and ENS William Widhelm '32.

October 1935

Lieutenant (j.g.), under instruction, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida

Others at this command: CDR Melville Brown '10, LT James Craig '22, LT Richard Moss '24, LTjg John Duke '26, 1LT Ernest Pollock '28, LTjg William Pennewill '29, LTjg Gilbert Carpenter '30, 1LT Harold Bauer '30, LTjg Lance Massey '30, 1LT Nicholas Pusel '30, LTjg Robert Mackert '31, LTjg Albert Major, Jr. '32, LTjg Charles Mallory, Jr. '32, LTjg Clarence Kasparek '32, 1LT Cleo Keen '32, LTjg Dewitt Shumway '32, LTjg Edwin Hurst '32, LTjg George Bellinger '32, LTjg George Ottinger '32, LTjg James Reilly '32, LTjg Joseph Loughlin, Jr. '32, LTjg Max Silverstein '32, LTjg Robert Goodgame, Jr. '32, LTjg Robert Strickler '32, LTjg Truman Carpenter '32, LTjg William Thorn '32, LTjg William Townsend '32, ENS William Widhelm '32, ENS Bertram Prueher '33, ENS Ludwell Pickett, Jr. '33, ENS Milton Stephens '33, and ENS William Kane '33.

Class of 1930

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

• ← Edwin Kelly '30
• Nicholas Pusel '30 →

The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of the alumni in Memorial Hall.