VOLCKERT P. DOUW, CDR, USN

Volckert Douw '30

Date of birth: March 4, 1907

Date of death: April 29, 1945

Age: 38

Lucky Bag

From the 1930 Lucky Bag:

VOLCKERT PETRUS DOUW

Annapolis, Maryland

"Pete"

WE often wonder what they taught at that Prep school in Connecticut which Pete attended before he decided that after all his own Podunk Nautical Institution was the best that the world had to offer, for his methods of study have been the envy of us all. Always in the savviest of sections, a mere glance at the lesson seems sufficient to call to mind something that he had known all along.

Particular to an extreme, he has devoted his abundant time to the cultivation of likes and tastes that have enabled him to enjoy a wider field of diversion than is open to most of us.

His admirable character, his droll stories, ready wit, and pleasing manners have won a host of friends, both outside as well as in the Academy, as a table which is rarely bare after each mail delivery amply affirms. His popularity will be his downfall, we fear, as his chief trouble seems to be fighting off the numerous well wishers who are more than anxious to fill his life with "darling drags"; and no doubt one of his chief pleasures comes when a special delivery or telegram enables him again to shout triumphantly—"Hurrah, she can't come."

Pete's claim to fame is not confined to the fair damsels who surround him with their affections. Here is a man at once capable and earnest, a hard worker with a keen insight into human nature. Being a savoir, he bones less than most of us, yet keeps at the top. As for this man Douw, well—they just don't come any better.

Reef Points 3, 2, 1, Business Manager 1; Rifle 4, 3, 2, 1; Star 4; One Stripe.

VOLCKERT PETRUS DOUW

Annapolis, Maryland

"Pete"

WE often wonder what they taught at that Prep school in Connecticut which Pete attended before he decided that after all his own Podunk Nautical Institution was the best that the world had to offer, for his methods of study have been the envy of us all. Always in the savviest of sections, a mere glance at the lesson seems sufficient to call to mind something that he had known all along.

Particular to an extreme, he has devoted his abundant time to the cultivation of likes and tastes that have enabled him to enjoy a wider field of diversion than is open to most of us.

His admirable character, his droll stories, ready wit, and pleasing manners have won a host of friends, both outside as well as in the Academy, as a table which is rarely bare after each mail delivery amply affirms. His popularity will be his downfall, we fear, as his chief trouble seems to be fighting off the numerous well wishers who are more than anxious to fill his life with "darling drags"; and no doubt one of his chief pleasures comes when a special delivery or telegram enables him again to shout triumphantly—"Hurrah, she can't come."

Pete's claim to fame is not confined to the fair damsels who surround him with their affections. Here is a man at once capable and earnest, a hard worker with a keen insight into human nature. Being a savoir, he bones less than most of us, yet keeps at the top. As for this man Douw, well—they just don't come any better.

Reef Points 3, 2, 1, Business Manager 1; Rifle 4, 3, 2, 1; Star 4; One Stripe.

Loss

Pete was lost when USS Hazelwood (DD 531) was struck by a kamikaze on April 29, 1945 while operating off the coast of Okinawa.

He was the ship's commanding officer. Nine other officers and 67 men were also killed in the attack.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

In February, 1918, Volckert was one of seven boys who formed the American Boys’ Patriotic League of the United States of America, at the City of Annapolis . . . for the purpose of enlarging the food supply of our country…”
At age 12, Volckert had his poem published in the Evening Capital newspaper, Annapolis, April 2, 1919:

There was a silly kaiser, and his name was Hohenzellern,\
His hands and feet all full of stains, from yellow, dusty pollern.\
That he had gotten from the kultur plant while searching for autocracy,\
He should have done like Uncle Sam, looked for good old democracy.\
One day this foolish kaiser of a sudden got a fad;\
He used his artificial brain, poor thing, t’was all he had;\
He said, “How nice ‘twould be if I could have the world.”\
So off he went to get it, came back, his hair had curled.\
He had started out all fresh and new,\
He thought that he looked fine,\
But Uncle Sammy, he stepped up,\
“No Bill, you won’t this time.\
Here are a thousand million men to protect the world from you;”\
The kaiser skipped to Holland,\
“S’no use,” he said, “I’m through.”

In 1921, Volckert attended the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey and was the class historian. In 1923, he attended the Loomis-Chaffee School in Windsor, Connecticut. During the commencement program, he won an award for excellence in the college preparatory course. He was a member of the class of 1925.
In January, 1933, Volckert escorted the body of Ensign Robert B. Foster who had committed suicide aboard their ship the Oklahoma. Ensign Foster was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Volckert married Virginia Gregory Brown on October 20, 1937. Their son was John.
In November 1941, Volckert was promoted to lieutenant commander.
His father was Col. John dePeyster Douw, director of civilian defense at Annapolis, who died in August, 1942. He was an ensign in the Spanish-American War and served for a time as Mayor of Annapolis. Volckert’s step-mother was Anne, sisters Julia (Mrs. Walter C. Holt) and Helen (Mrs. Albert H. Richards.) Their mother Harriet died of typhoid-pneumonia in May, 1919.
Volckert’s ancestors trace back to Volkert Douw (1720-1801) who married Anna de Peyster in 1742 in Albany, New York. Volkert was a skipper on the Hudson and mayor of Albany, New York. Their son was John (1756-1835), a close friend of the Marquis de Lafayette, and his son was Volckert Douw (1790-1869.) Volckert’s son was Volckert (1842-1875,) and his son was John (1873-1942.) Earlier ancestors were probably: Volckert (1619-1681,) Jonas (1660-1736) and Petrus (1692-1775.)

His wife was listed as next of kin; she is buried in Virginia and has a memorial marker for him. They were married on October 20, 1937, in Alexandria, Virginia. Volckert is also listed at the Courts of the Missing in Hawaii.

Remembrances

From "Aircraft Carrier" by J. Bryan, III:

April 28th [1945]. At sea
As we stood away, one of the Hazelwood's officers took me up to the bridge and introduced me to their skipper, Comdr. Volckert P. Douw, a crisp, smart-looking man, with the warmest smile I've ever seen. We chatted a few minutes, then he said, "I bet you don't know who you're talking to. No? I'll tell you: you're talking to the happiest guy in the whole goddamn Navy! See that man standing there?"—he pointed to the other wing of the bridge—"That's my relief. He's going to take over in a couple of days, and I'll go home and see my wife and kids for the first time in God knows when."
We were coming alongside another CVE, the Attu, which was giving me a lift to Guam, so I told the skipper goodbye and wished him well. He had no messages for me to send his wife; he thought he'd get home before I would.
…
April 30th [1945]. At sea
… This morning [my friend] Hays took me up to the bridge and gave me the long glass and pointed to a destroyer on our starboard beam. "Look at that mess," he said.
Her bridge was smashed flat. Her foremast was hanging over the side. The starboard 40mm mount was lying on the deck.
Hays said, "A kamikaze hit her Saturday afternoon, just after you came aboard. I saw the dispatch, but I've forgotten the exact number of casualties. I know she's requesting a new skipper."
I put the glass on her bow. Her number stood out clearly: "531"—the Hazelwood.
The happiest guy in the whole goddamn Navy
A million laughs, chum—a million of 'em!

Legion of Merit

From Hall of Valor:

SYNOPSIS: Commander Volckert Petrus Douw (NSN: 0-63230), United States Navy, was awarded the Legion of Merit (Posthumously) for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the Government of the United States as Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. HAZELWOOD during the Battle for Leyte Gulf, 18 to 29 October 1944.
General Orders: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 345 (December 1945)
Service: Navy
Rank: Commander

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.