ROBERT W. MACKERT, CDR, USN

Robert Mackert '31

Date of birth: September 3, 1907

Date of death: June 23, 1944

Age: 36

Lucky Bag

From the 1931 Lucky Bag:

Robert William Mackert

Peoria, Illinois

"Boops"

Combine a ready smile, a keen sense of humor, a big heart, and a fine understanding of sportsmanship—then add a dash of the romantic, and you will have a fair idea of Boops.

His ability to discourse upon any known, or unknown, probable or improbable subject, coupled with his quick wit, and skill at tap-dancing soon earned for him a place in any gathering of the Radiator Club. He would rather play forward in any game of basketball, at any time, or any place, however, than exercise his tongue, and with good reason.

He flatly refused at the outset to have any battles with the academic departments, and the ease with which he captured the elusive 2.5's has been the despair of the profs and a mystery to us all. Yet mystery is a very poor defining word to use here, as his nature never permits an "on-the-surface" display—he thinks deeply and acts accordingly.

Wherever he is stationed he will rate a hearty welcome; he is a good shipmate.

Plebe Football Squad 4; Football "B" Squad 3; Basketball "B" Squad 2; Track 4; "31"

Robert William Mackert

Peoria, Illinois

"Boops"

Combine a ready smile, a keen sense of humor, a big heart, and a fine understanding of sportsmanship—then add a dash of the romantic, and you will have a fair idea of Boops.

His ability to discourse upon any known, or unknown, probable or improbable subject, coupled with his quick wit, and skill at tap-dancing soon earned for him a place in any gathering of the Radiator Club. He would rather play forward in any game of basketball, at any time, or any place, however, than exercise his tongue, and with good reason.

He flatly refused at the outset to have any battles with the academic departments, and the ease with which he captured the elusive 2.5's has been the despair of the profs and a mystery to us all. Yet mystery is a very poor defining word to use here, as his nature never permits an "on-the-surface" display—he thinks deeply and acts accordingly.

Wherever he is stationed he will rate a hearty welcome; he is a good shipmate.

Plebe Football Squad 4; Football "B" Squad 3; Basketball "B" Squad 2; Track 4; "31"

Loss

Robert was lost on June 23, 1944, when his "plane crashed at sea; he was attached to USNAB, Eniwetok." (Information from September 1946 issue of Shipmate.)

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Sadly, his sister Florence died at 2 months of age in 1910 – and his mother spent most of her life in the state hospital.
At age 14, Robert’s father took him to Germany, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Holland, Italy, Austria and the British Isles. They returned on the S. S. Mount Clinton leaving Hamburg on August 14, 1922, and arriving at Ellis Island on September 5.
Robert married Edythe Agnes Kadow on February 25, 1933, in Los Angeles.
His father William owned a florist shop out of his home. He was born in Baden, Germany, came to the U.S. in 1903 and was naturalized in 1908. Robert’s mother was Edith (Culver.)

From the Capital Times, Madison, Wisconsin, April 3, 1937:

MANITOWOC, Wis. – Two-months-old Penola Kadow Mackert, daughter of Navy Lieutenant and Mrs. Robert Mackert, Friday gained the distinction of being Wisconsin’s youngest air traveler.
For at 5 o’clock Friday evening with her mother, the former Eythe Kadow of this city, baby Penola boarded a plane here piloted by Elmer Leighton, former airport manager, for Chicago. The mother and baby took another plane for the west coast.
The child’s father is in the naval air service and flies a big bomber.

From Manitowoc:

Offer Mass For Comdr. Mackert
A solemn requiem high mass was offered for Commander Robert W. Mackert, U.S.N., by the Rev. Alfred Pritzl at St. Boniface Catholic church at 9 o'clock this morning. Commander Mackert was reported missing on July 3, somewhere in the south Pacific area, and his widow, the former Edythe Kadow, who has been making her home in Manitowoc since his transfer to the combat zone shortly after the first of the year, was recently given official notification by the government of his death while engaged in the line of duty. Besides the widow he is survived by three children, (private) and his father, William Mackert of Peoria, Ill.
Commander Mackert was born Sept. 3, 1907, in Peoria. He was graduated from the Naval academy at Annapolis with the class of 1931. His marriage to Miss Kadow took place Feb. 25, 1938, in St. Anthony's church in Long Beach, Calif. Two years later he transferred to the aviation branch of the service and completed this training in Pensacola, Fla. During the first two years of World War II he was a test pilot in the Navy. While visiting with his family here at the John M. Kadow home during the last Christmas holidays he received word to report in the Pacific theater of war in reply to his request for active duty. News of his transfer cut short his holiday stay in this city and he left by plane to report back to Washington D.C. Manitowoc Herald Times Tuesday, October 24, 1944 pg. 2

From Find A Grave:

Lt. Com. Mackert was killed in action while flying his F4F Aircraft on 6-23-1944 in the area of the Marshall Islands in the South Pacific.
He is the son of Mr. & Mrs. William Mackert of 505 Rock Island in Peoria, Illinois, and a 1925 graduate of the old Kingman H.S. (now Woodruff), and the husband of Mrs. Edythe Mackert, and the father of three children in Wisconsin. He was a regular sailor for two years, and was appointed to Annapolis, Maryland, and graduated in 1931, and received his Ensign Stripe.
Awards: Purple Heart Medal, Pilot Wings, Legion of Merit, Pacific Campaign Medal with Three Battle Stars, American Campaign Medal, American Defense Medal, Navy Good Conduct Medal.

Note the first line of the biography above about him being "killed in action" is incorrect.

His wife was listed as next of kin. Robert has a memory marker in Wisconsin; he is also listed at the Courts of the Missing in Hawaii.

Photographs

From his father's passport photograph, 1922

Legion of Merit

From Hall of Valor:

The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Legion of Merit (Posthumously) to Lieutenant Commander Robert W. Mackert (NSN: 0-70030), United States Navy, for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the Government of the United States as chief staff officer to the atoll commander in the Marshall Islands area from 31 January to 23 June 1944. Lieutenant Commander Mackert assisted in the initial planning and rapid construction of major airfields immediately after our troops landed at Majuro and Eniwetok. He also served as coordinator of our day and night raids against Ponape and Truk and, in two instances, was largely responsible for the rescue of bomber crews brought down at sea.
General Orders: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 334 (January 1945)
Service: Navy
Rank: Lieutenant Commander

Memorial Hall Error

He is listed in Memorial Hall as a LCDR, but his memory marker has Commander. The Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps of 1944 shows he was promoted to Commander to rank from June 1, 1942.

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.