ROBERT H. HOLLENBECK, LTJG, USN
Robert Hollenbeck '26
Lucky Bag
From the 1926 Lucky Bag:
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).
From researcher Kathy Franz: "Robert's father was Freddry, a physician in private practice in Chicago. His mother was Rose, and his brother was Freddry Jr." Robert is buried in Illinois.
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
January 1929
Ensign, USS New York
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at this command:
April 1929
Ensign, USS New York
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at this command:
July 1929
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS New York
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at this command:
October 1929
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS New York
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at this command:
Class of 1926
Robert is one of 36 members of the Class of 1926 on Virtual Memorial Hall.