TERRY L. WATKINS, SR., CDR, USN

Terry Watkins '34

Date of birth: March 16, 1911

Date of death: May 9, 1948

Age: 37

Lucky Bag

From the 1934 Lucky Bag:

TERRY LYNN WATKINS

Terrell Wells, Texas

"Terry" "Wat"

POSSIBLY it was the sight of the muddy waters of the Rio Grande and maybe it was just a good old wanderlust that made Terry forsake the sand hills around San Antonio for the salt spray and sea breezes. Nobody really knows. But he came here from somewhere inside one of Uncle Sam's battlewagons and claimed from the very first that he knew what it was all about. This statement he still stands by, and we can add that he does get the news enough to be classed as one of the sixty percent. His quiet nature and good looks have caused havoc in many a maiden's heart. If he hasn't a girl in every port it is because he hasn't been in every one—although his efforts are commendable. Always ready to sit in on a good bull session, he invariably adds something of interest to the general conversation.

A real member of the Spanish Athletic Association, in the fall and winter his dormant ambitions burst into flame with the buds and green leaves and he leisurely strolls with his javelin out to Thompson Field.

Near the middle of Youngster Year, Terry decided that to spend another Christmas Leave in Bancroft Hall wasn't to his liking, and from that time hence the academics have caused him little worry.

For four years we have laughed and griped and worked with him, and at the end we draw the conclusion that they don't have better wives anywhere in the U. S. He will go far in whatever he decides to do.

Track 4, 3, 2, 1. Class Boxing 4. Card Stunts 4, 3, 2. 2 P.O.

TERRY LYNN WATKINS

Terrell Wells, Texas

"Terry" "Wat"

POSSIBLY it was the sight of the muddy waters of the Rio Grande and maybe it was just a good old wanderlust that made Terry forsake the sand hills around San Antonio for the salt spray and sea breezes. Nobody really knows. But he came here from somewhere inside one of Uncle Sam's battlewagons and claimed from the very first that he knew what it was all about. This statement he still stands by, and we can add that he does get the news enough to be classed as one of the sixty percent. His quiet nature and good looks have caused havoc in many a maiden's heart. If he hasn't a girl in every port it is because he hasn't been in every one—although his efforts are commendable. Always ready to sit in on a good bull session, he invariably adds something of interest to the general conversation.

A real member of the Spanish Athletic Association, in the fall and winter his dormant ambitions burst into flame with the buds and green leaves and he leisurely strolls with his javelin out to Thompson Field.

Near the middle of Youngster Year, Terry decided that to spend another Christmas Leave in Bancroft Hall wasn't to his liking, and from that time hence the academics have caused him little worry.

For four years we have laughed and griped and worked with him, and at the end we draw the conclusion that they don't have better wives anywhere in the U. S. He will go far in whatever he decides to do.

Track 4, 3, 2, 1. Class Boxing 4. Card Stunts 4, 3, 2. 2 P.O.

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.

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.

July 1934

Ensign, USS Houston

Others at this command: LTjg Harold Pound '25 and LTjg John Blue '25.

October 1934

Ensign, USS Houston

Others at this command: ENS James Bullock '33.

January 1935

Ensign, USS Houston

Others at this command: ENS James Bullock '33.

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).