ROBERT W. LARSON, LT, USN
Robert Larson '24
Lucky Bag
From the 1924 Lucky Bag:
Loss
From Naval History and Heritage Command:
During dive bombing practice, SOC-1 from Memphis (CL-13) crashed into the sea near Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Lt. Robert W. Larson and Aviation Machinist's Mate Sidney L. Harris both killed. 11 June 1936.
Robert earned his wings as naval aviator #3402 on April 7, 1928.
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Robert's father was John, a railroad claim agent, born in Sweden. His mother and sister were both named Margaret. In 1920 they lived in Cheyenne, and in 1930 they lived in Denver. Robert was born in Nebraska.
Unable to find a memorial marker.
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 1926
Ensign, USS Rochester
October 1927
Lieutenant (j.g.), under instruction, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida
Others at this command:
January 1928
Lieutenant (j.g.), under instruction, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida
Others at this command:
April 1928
Lieutenant (j.g.), under instruction, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida
Others at this command:
July 1928
Lieutenant (j.g.), Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B, USS Lexington
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at USS Lexington:
ENS William Graham, Jr. '25 (USS Lexington)
ENS Eugene Karpe '26 (USS Lexington)
October 1928
Lieutenant (j.g.), Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B, USS Lexington
Others at or embarked at USS Lexington:
LTjg William Graham, Jr. '25 (USS Lexington)
ENS Eugene Karpe '26 (USS Lexington)
January 1929
Lieutenant (j.g.), Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B, USS Lexington
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at USS Lexington:
ENS Eugene Karpe '26 (USS Lexington)
ENS Harold Sheehan '27 (USS Lexington)
April 1929
Lieutenant (j.g.), Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B, USS Lexington
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at USS Lexington:
LTjg William Graham, Jr. '25 (USS Lexington)
ENS Hilan Ebert '26 (USS Lexington)
ENS Eugene Karpe '26 (USS Lexington)
ENS Dick Downer '27 (USS Lexington)
ENS William Potts '27 (USS Lexington)
July 1929
Lieutenant (j.g.), Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B, USS Lexington
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at USS Lexington:
LTjg William Graham, Jr. '25 (USS Lexington)
ENS Hilan Ebert '26 (USS Lexington)
ENS William Potts '27 (USS Lexington)
ENS John Yoho '29 (USS Lexington)
October 1929
Lieutenant (j.g.), Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B, USS Lexington
Others at or embarked at USS Lexington:
LT Dixie Kiefer '19 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LT Arnold Isbell '21 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 1B)
LTjg William Graham, Jr. '25 (USS Lexington)
LTjg Hilan Ebert '26 (USS Lexington)
ENS William Potts '27 (USS Lexington)
ENS John Yoho '29 (USS Lexington)
January 1930
Lieutenant (j.g.), Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B, USS Lexington
Others at or embarked at USS Lexington:
LT Dixie Kiefer '19 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LT Arnold Isbell '21 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 1B)
LTjg William Graham, Jr. '25 (USS Lexington)
ENS William Potts '27 (USS Lexington)
ENS John Yoho '29 (USS Lexington)
April 1930
Lieutenant (j.g.), Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B, USS Lexington
Others at or embarked at USS Lexington:
LT Dixie Kiefer '19 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LT Arnold Isbell '21 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 1B)
LTjg William Graham, Jr. '25 (USS Lexington)
ENS Robert Winters '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 1B)
ENS William Potts '27 (USS Lexington)
ENS John Yoho '29 (USS Lexington)
October 1930
Lieutenant (j.g.), Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida
Others at this command:
LT Paul Thompson '19
LT Irving Wiltsie '21
LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23
LTjg James McDonough '24
LTjg John Waldron '24
LTjg Charles McDonald '24
LTjg Richard Moss '24
1LT Donald Willis '24
January 1931
Lieutenant (j.g.), Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida
Others at this command:
LT Paul Thompson '19
LT Irving Wiltsie '21
LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23
LTjg James McDonough '24
LTjg John Waldron '24
LTjg Charles McDonald '24
LTjg Richard Moss '24
LTjg John Duke '26
LTjg James Averill '27
April 1931
Lieutenant (j.g.), Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida
Others at this command:
LT Irving Wiltsie '21
LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23
LTjg James McDonough '24
LTjg John Waldron '24
LTjg Charles McDonald '24
LTjg Richard Moss '24
LTjg John Duke '26
LTjg James Averill '27
LTjg William Potts '27
ENS Carl Lindgren '28
July 1931
Lieutenant (j.g.), Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida
Others at this command:
LT Irving Wiltsie '21
LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23
LTjg James McDonough '24
LTjg Charles McDonald '24
LTjg Richard Moss '24
LTjg Carlton Hutchins '26
LTjg Charles Signer '26
LTjg John Duke '26
LTjg William Potts '27
ENS Carl Lindgren '28
October 1931
Lieutenant (j.g.), Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida
Others at this command:
LT Irving Wiltsie '21
LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23
LTjg James McDonough '24
LTjg Charles McDonald '24
LTjg Arthur Farrell '25
LTjg Carlton Hutchins '26
January 1932
Lieutenant (j.g.), Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida
Others at this command:
LT Jack Richardson '19
LT Irving Wiltsie '21
LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23
LTjg James McDonough '24
LTjg Charles McDonald '24
LTjg Arthur Farrell '25
LTjg Carlton Hutchins '26
LTjg Charles Signer '26
April 1932
Lieutenant (j.g.), Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida
Others at this command:
LT Jack Richardson '19
LT Irving Wiltsie '21
LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23
LTjg James McDonough '24
LTjg Charles McDonald '24
LTjg Arthur Farrell '25
LTjg Carlton Hutchins '26
LTjg Charles Signer '26
2LT Lofton Henderson '26
October 1932
Lieutenant (j.g.), Rigid Airship Training & Experimental Squadron, USS Akron
Others at or embarked at USS Akron:
LT Richard Cross, Jr. '21 (USS Akron)
LTjg Hammond Dugan '24 (USS Akron)
LTjg Morgan Redfield '26 (USS Akron)
LTjg Wilfred Bushnell '26 (USS Akron)
January 1933
Lieutenant (j.g.), Rigid Airship Training and Experimental Squadron, USS Akron
Others at or embarked at USS Akron:
LCDR Harold MacLellan '18 (USS Akron)
LT George Calnan '20 (USS Akron)
LT Richard Cross, Jr. '21 (USS Akron)
LT Herbert Wescoat '23 (USS Akron)
LTjg Charles Miller '25 (USS Akron)
LTjg Morgan Redfield '26 (USS Akron)
LTjg Wilfred Bushnell '26 (USS Akron)
LTjg Cyrus Clendening '27 (USS Akron)
April 1933
Lieutenant (j.g.), Rigid Airship Training and Experimental Squadron, USS Akron
Others at or embarked at USS Akron:
LCDR Harold MacLellan '18 (USS Akron)
LT George Calnan '20 (USS Akron)
LT Richard Cross, Jr. '21 (USS Akron)
LT Herbert Wescoat '23 (USS Akron)
LTjg Charles Miller '25 (USS Akron)
LTjg Morgan Redfield '26 (USS Akron)
LTjg Wilfred Bushnell '26 (USS Akron)
LTjg Cyrus Clendening '27 (USS Akron)
July 1933
Lieutenant (j.g.), engineering officer, USS Macon
October 1933
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Macon
April 1934
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Macon
July 1934
Lieutenant (j.g.), Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 6B, USS Milwaukee
Others at or embarked at USS Milwaukee:
October 1934
Lieutenant (j.g.), Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 6B, USS Milwaukee
Others at or embarked at USS Milwaukee:
January 1935
Lieutenant (j.g.), Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 6B, USS Milwaukee
Others at or embarked at USS Milwaukee:
April 1935
Lieutenant, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 6B, USS Milwaukee
Others at or embarked at USS Milwaukee:
October 1935
Lieutenant, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 6B, USS Milwaukee
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at USS Milwaukee:
January 1936
Lieutenant, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 5B, USS Milwaukee
Others at or embarked at USS Milwaukee:
April 1936
Lieutenant, Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 5B, USS Milwaukee
Others at or embarked at USS Milwaukee:
Class of 1924
Robert is one of 42 members of the Class of 1924 on Virtual Memorial Hall.