VAN R. MOORE, LCDR, USN (RET.)
Van Moore '19
Lucky Bag
From the 1919 Lucky Bag:
Van Ransselear Moore
Hudson, New York
THIS scion of an ancient and honorable tribe attempts to uphold the pristine dignity of his patronym by his blasé and world-weary attitude. No doubt his long stay in the Vale of Tears (for he is an opponent of intensive training) has robbed him of his optimism. His gregarious instinct, impelling the search for companionship during study hours, won for him the pseudonym of Pest, especially when the Duty Officer chose the same time to pay a call.
Frequently he has deluded the instructors into the belief that he was thoroughly cognizant of the quirks of the lesson, and then ruined it all by talking too long and displaying his real uncertainty.
In athletics Moore is a jack-of-all-trades. Every new season finds him one of the best of the second-string men in every branch of sport. First Class year while he was cavorting around with the "Z" squad, Shorty yelled " Give us a rough halfback" and Moore answered "Right here." Answered "Here," despite his aristocratic origin and dis-distingué manner! You'll never fool us again, Van Ransselear, into thinking you are a real blood, for you have shown your cloven hoof.
Nevertheless V. R. is a fine man to have for a friend, although such distinction places you on the eligible list of victims for his practical jokes.
Added to his other accomplishments he has the reputation of being the only charter member of Hill's Jazz Band in the Academy.
Imagine an inscrutable face graven in wood, surmounting a body in whose veins runs purple blood and you have V. R.
Honors: Buzzard; Football Numerals 3; Track Numerals 4, 3; Bugle Corps 6, 5, 4, 3, 1; Swimming Squad 6, 5, 4, 3, 1.
The Class of 1919 was graduated on June 6, 1918 due to World War I. The entirety of 2nd class (junior) year was removed from the curriculum.
Van Ransselear Moore
Hudson, New York
THIS scion of an ancient and honorable tribe attempts to uphold the pristine dignity of his patronym by his blasé and world-weary attitude. No doubt his long stay in the Vale of Tears (for he is an opponent of intensive training) has robbed him of his optimism. His gregarious instinct, impelling the search for companionship during study hours, won for him the pseudonym of Pest, especially when the Duty Officer chose the same time to pay a call.
Frequently he has deluded the instructors into the belief that he was thoroughly cognizant of the quirks of the lesson, and then ruined it all by talking too long and displaying his real uncertainty.
In athletics Moore is a jack-of-all-trades. Every new season finds him one of the best of the second-string men in every branch of sport. First Class year while he was cavorting around with the "Z" squad, Shorty yelled " Give us a rough halfback" and Moore answered "Right here." Answered "Here," despite his aristocratic origin and dis-distingué manner! You'll never fool us again, Van Ransselear, into thinking you are a real blood, for you have shown your cloven hoof.
Nevertheless V. R. is a fine man to have for a friend, although such distinction places you on the eligible list of victims for his practical jokes.
Added to his other accomplishments he has the reputation of being the only charter member of Hill's Jazz Band in the Academy.
Imagine an inscrutable face graven in wood, surmounting a body in whose veins runs purple blood and you have V. R.
Honors: Buzzard; Football Numerals 3; Track Numerals 4, 3; Bugle Corps 6, 5, 4, 3, 1; Swimming Squad 6, 5, 4, 3, 1.
The Class of 1919 was graduated on June 6, 1918 due to World War I. The entirety of 2nd class (junior) year was removed from the curriculum.
Loss
Van was killed in action on August 20, 1942 when the merchant steamer he was aboard was torpedoed by a German U-Boat about 95 miles off the coast of Venezuela. He was the convoy commander; the other 43 men aboard survived.
From Find A Grave:
The Paris News (Paris, Lamar County, Texas)
Mon. October 19, 1942Merchantman Sunk, Commodore Killed
Retired officer Only Casualty
Washington (AP)—The sinking of a medium-sized American merchant ship by enemy submarine attack in the Caribbean in mid-August with only one casualty, the Navy officer who was commodore of the convoy, was announced Monday by the Navy Department.
Lieutenant Commander Van Rensselaer Moore, USN retired, was on the bridge deck when last seen a few moments before the ship was destroyed under him by the explosion of a torpedo.
All of the remaining 44 officers and men were saved, the Navy said, and have arrived at an East Coast port.
The Navy account of the loss said that Moore, whose home was in San Diego, Calif., was a naval veteran of the first World War, who had been on the retired list since June 1940, although he remained on active duty.
The first torpedo to strike Moore's ship did not damage it seriously, the Navy said, but a second hit two hours later broke the ship apart.
All on board except Moore managed to get into lifeboat and rafts. In the uncertain light of early morning, they did not see the submarine which attacked the convoy. The survivors rode for two days in the open sea to reach a port in the Caribbean, and only recently were returned to the United States.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
On February 16, 1921, in Vladivostok, Russia, Van married Nadia Syd Kova. She was born on February 24, 1902, in St. Petersburg, Russia. Van adopted her daughter Vera who was born in Vladivostok. Their daughter Margaret was born on March 6, 1922, in Pensacola, Florida. Their son Van R., Jr., was born in 1931 in California.
In 1928, the family sailed on the USS Henderson from Shanghai, China, to San Francisco. In 1935, the family lived in Honolulu, and in 1937, his family traveled back to San Diego.
Van’s father James was a coal merchant. His mother was Adelaide, his brother was Lucius, and his sister was Margaret. In 1910, Van’s grandmother Harriet lived with them.
His wife was listed as next of kin. Van has a memorial marker in California.
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 1919
January 1920
January 1921
January 1922
May 1923
July 1923
September 1923
November 1923
January 1924
March 1924
May 1924
July 1924
September 1924
November 1924
January 1925
March 1925
May 1925
July 1925
October 1925
January 1926
October 1926
January 1927
April 1927
October 1927
January 1928
April 1928
July 1928
October 1928
January 1929
April 1929
July 1929
October 1929
January 1930
April 1930
October 1930
LT William Sample '19 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Creighton Lankford '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
LTjg Carlton Hutchins '26 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Charles Signer '26 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Robert Symes '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Renwick Calderhead '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg John Eldridge, Jr. '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Julian Greer '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
ENS Weldon Hamilton '28 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
January 1931
LT William Sample '19 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Creighton Lankford '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
LTjg Carlton Hutchins '26 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Charles Signer '26 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Robert Symes '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Renwick Calderhead '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg John Eldridge, Jr. '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Julian Greer '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
ENS Weldon Hamilton '28 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
April 1931
LT William Sample '19 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Creighton Lankford '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
LTjg Carlton Hutchins '26 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Charles Signer '26 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Robert Symes '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Renwick Calderhead '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg John Eldridge, Jr. '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Julian Greer '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
ENS Weldon Hamilton '28 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
July 1931
LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Robert Symes '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Eugene Davis '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Renwick Calderhead '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Julian Greer '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
ENS William Arthur '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
ENS Lloyd Greenamyer '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
October 1931
LT Edwin Conway '20 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Robert Symes '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Eugene Davis '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Renwick Calderhead '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
ENS Weldon Hamilton '28 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
ENS William Arthur '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
ENS William Oliver '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
ENS Lloyd Greenamyer '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
January 1932
LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Robert Symes '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Eugene Davis '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Renwick Calderhead '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
ENS Weldon Hamilton '28 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
ENS William Arthur '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
ENS William Oliver '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
ENS Lloyd Greenamyer '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
April 1932
LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Robert Symes '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Eugene Davis '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Renwick Calderhead '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Julian Greer '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
ENS William Arthur '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
ENS Mathias Wyatt '29 (Aircraft Squadrons, Battle Force)
ENS William Oliver '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
ENS Lloyd Greenamyer '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
October 1932
LTjg Eugene Davis '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Renwick Calderhead '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
ENS Weldon Hamilton '28 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg William Arthur '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
LTjg William Oliver '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Lloyd Greenamyer '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
ENS James Kyes '30 (Aircraft Squadrons)
January 1933
LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Eugene Davis '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Renwick Calderhead '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
ENS Weldon Hamilton '28 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Mathias Wyatt '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg William Oliver '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Lloyd Greenamyer '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
ENS James Kyes '30 (Aircraft Squadrons)
April 1933
July 1933
October 1933
April 1934
July 1934
October 1934
January 1935
April 1935
October 1935
January 1936
April 1936
July 1936
January 1937
April 1937
September 1937
January 1938
July 1938
January 1939
October 1939
June 1940
November 1940
April 1941
1LT Radford West '37 (Marine Bombing Squadron (VB) 2M)
Memorial Hall Error
Van is listed in Memorial Hall as a LCDR, USN. Memorial Hall does not include his status on the retired list, which happened sometime between June and November 1940.
And despite his memorial marker listing Commander there is no evidence that this was his rank. (The Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps of 1944, which has his date of death, has LCDR.)
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
