TERRY L. WATKINS, SR., CDR, USN
Terry Watkins '34
Lucky Bag
From the 1934 Lucky Bag:
Shipmate
From the February 1949 issue of Shipmate:
TERRY LYNN WATKINS, (Cdr. USN- Deceased). We extend our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of Cdr. Watkins who was killed in a plane crash on 9 May 1948 between Pueito Rico and Key West, Fla.
As an Ensign he became naval aviator #5281 on July 16, 1937.
He was married and had four children. He has a memory marker in Texas.
Memorial Hall Error
Terry was "Sr."; this is omitted from his name in Memorial Hall.
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.
April 1935
Ensign, USS Houston
October 1935
Ensign, USS Tarbell
January 1936
Ensign, USS Tarbell
April 1936
Ensign, USS Tarbell
July 1936
Ensign, under instruction, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida
Others at this command: LT James Craig '22, LTjg John Duke '26, CAPT Ernest Pollock '28, LTjg William Pennewill '29, LTjg Gilbert Carpenter '30, LTjg Lance Massey '30, LTjg Charles Crommelin '31, LTjg William Sisko '31, LTjg Albert Major, Jr. '32, ENS Bertram Prueher '33, ENS Burden Hastings '33, ENS David Stephan '33, ENS George Klinsmann '33, ENS George McCutchan '33, ENS Harold Von Weller '33, ENS Ludwell Pickett, Jr. '33, ENS Milton Stephens '33, ENS William Kane '33, ENS Charles Brewer '34, 2LT Floyd Parks '34, ENS James Tyler '34, ENS Robert Donaldson '34, ENS Thompson Guthrie, Jr. '34, and 2LT Ralph Haas '36.
January 1937
Ensign, under instruction, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida
Others at this command: LT James Craig '22, LT John Duke '26, CAPT Ernest Pollock '28, LTjg William Pennewill '29, LTjg Gilbert Carpenter '30, LTjg Lance Massey '30, LTjg Charles Crommelin '31, 1LT Harold Larson '31, LTjg William Sisko '31, LTjg Burden Hastings '33, ENS David Stephan '33, LTjg George Klinsmann '33, ENS George McCutchan '33, ENS Harold Von Weller '33, LTjg John Phillips, Jr. '33, ENS Robert Isely '33, ENS Charles Brewer '34, 2LT Floyd Parks '34, ENS Frank Whitaker '34, ENS Herbert Carroll, Jr. '34, ENS James Tyler '34, ENS Philip Torrey, Jr. '34, ENS Robert Donaldson '34, ENS Stuart Stephens '34, ENS Thompson Guthrie, Jr. '34, ENS Walker Ethridge '34, ENS William Drumtra '34, and 2LT Ralph Haas '36.
April 1937
Ensign, under instruction, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida
Others at this command: LT John Duke '26, CAPT Ernest Pollock '28, LTjg William Pennewill '29, LTjg Gilbert Carpenter '30, LTjg Lance Massey '30, LTjg Charles Crommelin '31, 1LT Harold Larson '31, LTjg Burden Hastings '33, ENS David Stephan '33, ENS George McCutchan '33, ENS Harold Von Weller '33, LTjg John Phillips, Jr. '33, ENS Robert Isely '33, ENS Charles Brewer '34, 2LT Floyd Parks '34, ENS Frank Whitaker '34, ENS Herbert Carroll, Jr. '34, ENS James Tyler '34, ENS Philip Torrey, Jr. '34, ENS Robert Donaldson '34, ENS Stuart Stephens '34, ENS Thompson Guthrie, Jr. '34, ENS Walker Ethridge '34, and ENS William Drumtra '34.
September 1937
Lieutenant (j.g.), Cruiser Scouting Squadron (VCS) 6, USS Minneapolis
Others at this command: ENS Norman Ostergren '35.
Others at or embarked at USS Minneapolis: LTjg John Fairbanks, Jr. '32 (USS Minneapolis) and ENS Richard Williams '37 (USS Minneapolis).
January 1938
Lieutenant (j.g.), Cruiser Scouting Squadron (VCS) 6, USS Minneapolis
Others at or embarked at USS Minneapolis: LTjg John Fairbanks, Jr. '32 (USS Minneapolis), ENS Frank Henderson, Jr. '37 (USS Minneapolis), and ENS Richard Williams '37 (USS Minneapolis).
July 1938
Lieutenant (j.g.), Cruiser Scouting Squadron (VCS) 6, USS Minneapolis
Others at or embarked at USS Minneapolis: LT Joseph Flynn '27 (Cruiser Division 6), ENS Frank Henderson, Jr. '37 (USS Minneapolis), and ENS Richard Williams '37 (USS Minneapolis).
January 1939
Lieutenant (j.g.), Utility Squadron (VJ) 1
October 1939
Lieutenant (j.g.), Utility Squadron (VJ) 1
June 1940
Lieutenant (j.g.), Utility Squadron (VJ) 1
Others at this command: LT Renwick Calderhead '27.
November 1940
Lieutenant (j.g.), Utility Squadron (VJ) 1
Others at this command: LT Renwick Calderhead '27.
April 1941
Lieutenant (j.g.), Utility Squadron (VJ) 1
Others at this command: LT Renwick Calderhead '27.
Class of 1934
Terry is one of 41 members of the Class of 1934 on Virtual Memorial Hall.