ROBERT H. HOLLENBECK, LTJG, USN

Robert Hollenbeck '26

Date of birth: November 27, 1903

Date of death: November 14, 1929

Age: 25

Lucky Bag

From the 1926 Lucky Bag:

Robert Hope Hollenbeck

Chicago, Illinois

"Bob" "Holly"

HOLLY takes life seriously. Perhaps you're not convinced, to look at his smiling phiz, but ask him and he'll vehemently assure you. And if still you doubt, consider how he goes after that 440-record. Youngster year it seemed as though he'd tucked it safely away, when he chalked up a new Academy record. But records don't always stay put. Which is perhaps just as well, for it gives one something to work toward. "It's worth it, too," says he, and flashes that grin of his. Six months of training table with Olympic tryouts at the end are not to be despised. Of course, everything is not always sugar and molasses. There are, for instance, certain well-known ropes to be climbed. If you didn't know, you'd say there was Dago, too; but be not misled, Holly enjoys fooling the Dago Profs as much as he enjoys eating apple dumplings with hard sauce, at which he holds the Intercollegiate Record of three.

Holly used to insist he was a Red Mike and for two years he did remain a steadfast Benedick. But one fair day he was lured from the straight and narrow into dragging blind and now———

"Well, last time I dragged a 4.0, so even if she is a brick this time, I'll still average 2.5."

Swimming Squad (4, 3, 2, 1); N (3), Olympic Tryouts (3), Navy Numerals (2); Choir (4).

Robert Hope Hollenbeck

Chicago, Illinois

"Bob" "Holly"

HOLLY takes life seriously. Perhaps you're not convinced, to look at his smiling phiz, but ask him and he'll vehemently assure you. And if still you doubt, consider how he goes after that 440-record. Youngster year it seemed as though he'd tucked it safely away, when he chalked up a new Academy record. But records don't always stay put. Which is perhaps just as well, for it gives one something to work toward. "It's worth it, too," says he, and flashes that grin of his. Six months of training table with Olympic tryouts at the end are not to be despised. Of course, everything is not always sugar and molasses. There are, for instance, certain well-known ropes to be climbed. If you didn't know, you'd say there was Dago, too; but be not misled, Holly enjoys fooling the Dago Profs as much as he enjoys eating apple dumplings with hard sauce, at which he holds the Intercollegiate Record of three.

Holly used to insist he was a Red Mike and for two years he did remain a steadfast Benedick. But one fair day he was lured from the straight and narrow into dragging blind and now———

"Well, last time I dragged a 4.0, so even if she is a brick this time, I'll still average 2.5."

Swimming Squad (4, 3, 2, 1); N (3), Olympic Tryouts (3), Navy Numerals (2); Choir (4).

Loss

Robert was lost on November 14, 1929 when he and another man were "overcome by carbon monoxide gas in the bottom of the battleship New York." He had reported aboard in October 1928; his previous tour was aboard USS Hull (DD 330).

Memorial Hall Error

Robert's name is spelled incorrectly on the Class of 1926 panel in Memorial Hall as "Hollenback."

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 1926

Ensign, USS Omaha

January 1927

Ensign, USS Omaha

April 1927

Ensign, USS Omaha

October 1927

Ensign, USS Hull

January 1928

Ensign, USS Hull

April 1928

Ensign, Treatment, Naval Hospital, San Diego

July 1928

Ensign, sick leave

October 1928

Ensign, USS New York

Others at this command: ENS Douglas Fox '26 and ENS James Willis '27.

January 1929

Ensign, USS New York

Others at this command: ENS Douglas Fox '26 and ENS James Willis '27.

Others at or embarked at this command: LT William Sample '19 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 3B).

April 1929

Ensign, USS New York

Others at this command: ENS Douglas Fox '26 and ENS James Willis '27.

Others at or embarked at this command: LT William Sample '19 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 3B).

July 1929

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS New York

Others at this command: ENS Douglas Fox '26, ENS James Willis '27, and ENS Howard Garner '29.

Others at or embarked at this command: LCDR Charles Cecil '16 (Battleship Division 3) and LT William Sample '19 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 3B).

October 1929

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS New York

Others at this command: LTjg Douglas Fox '26, ENS Hugh Black '26, ENS James Willis '27, and ENS Howard Garner '29.

Others at or embarked at this command: LCDR Charles Cecil '16 (Battleship Division 3) and LT William Sample '19 (Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 3B).

Class of 1926

Robert is one of 36 members of the Class of 1926 on Virtual Memorial Hall.