WALTER C. DEY, LT, USN

Walter Dey '24

Date of birth: July 16, 1901

Date of death: August 23, 1937

Age: 36

Lucky Bag

From the 1924 Lucky Bag:

WALTER CHESTER DEY, Jr.

Portland, Oregon

"Chet"

YOU can spot this guy for miles. His method of locomotion, while peculiar, is effective and, what is more important, it gets him there. Moreover, any man who invariably wears a smile on his face is bound to get along with his fellow-sufferers. "Chet" is all this.

A girl in every port, but the "cherie" in Trinidad robbed him of his usual sang-froid. Further details are withheld. His best defense against both D. O.'s and girls is a misleading look of curious innocence, so easily assumed that they usually take pity on him.

"Now, what's up?"

"Why, Dey, of course." Having finally attained the Fourth Deck, he finds that he's left most of his gear down on the Ground Deck. "Dey coming, sir."

WALTER CHESTER DEY, Jr.

Portland, Oregon

"Chet"

YOU can spot this guy for miles. His method of locomotion, while peculiar, is effective and, what is more important, it gets him there. Moreover, any man who invariably wears a smile on his face is bound to get along with his fellow-sufferers. "Chet" is all this.

A girl in every port, but the "cherie" in Trinidad robbed him of his usual sang-froid. Further details are withheld. His best defense against both D. O.'s and girls is a misleading look of curious innocence, so easily assumed that they usually take pity on him.

"Now, what's up?"

"Why, Dey, of course." Having finally attained the Fourth Deck, he finds that he's left most of his gear down on the Ground Deck. "Dey coming, sir."

Loss

Walter was lost when the seaplane he was aboard crashed into San Diego Bay on August 23, 1937.

Unable to find any memory marker or next of kin.

He earned his wings as naval aviator #3624 on March 20, 1930.

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 1924

Ensign, USS Mississippi

Others at this command: ENS William Gray '21, ENS Eaton Boothe '22, 2LT Horace Busbey '23, and ENS Walter Leach, Jr. '24.

September 1924

Ensign, USS Mississippi

Others at this command: 2LT Horace Busbey '23 and ENS Walter Leach, Jr. '24.

November 1924

Ensign, USS Mississippi

Others at this command: 2LT Horace Busbey '23 and ENS Walter Leach, Jr. '24.

January 1925

Ensign, USS Mississippi

Others at this command: 2LT Horace Busbey '23 and ENS Walter Leach, Jr. '24.

March 1925

Ensign, USS Mississippi

Others at this command: 2LT Horace Busbey '23 and ENS Walter Leach, Jr. '24.

May 1925

Ensign, USS McCawley

July 1925

Ensign, USS McCawley

October 1925

Ensign, USS McCawley

January 1926

Ensign, USS McCawley

October 1926

Ensign, USS Nokomis

January 1927

Ensign, USS Nokomis

April 1927

Ensign, USS Nokomis

October 1927

Ensign, USS Nokomis

Others at this command: ENS John Blue '25.

January 1928

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Nokomis

Others at this command: ENS John Blue '25.

April 1928

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Nokomis

Others at this command: ENS John Blue '25.

July 1928

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Nokomis

Others at this command: ENS John Blue '25.

October 1928

Lieutenant (j.g.), Navy Department, Washington, D.C.

Others at this command: CDR Franklin Van Valkenburgh '09 and LCDR Lyman Swenson '16.

January 1929

Lieutenant (j.g.), Navy Department, Washington, D.C.

Others at this command: CDR Franklin Van Valkenburgh '09 and LCDR Lyman Swenson '16.

April 1929

Lieutenant (j.g.), Navy Department, Washington, D.C.

Others at this command: CDR Franklin Van Valkenburgh '09 and LCDR Lyman Swenson '16.

July 1929

Lieutenant (j.g.), under instruction, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida

Others at this command: LT Edwin Conway '20, LT LaRue Lawbaugh '20, LT James Carney '21, LT John Jones '21, LT James Craig '22, LTjg William Davis '22, LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23, LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24, LTjg Hubert Waters '25, LTjg Claude Haman '26, LTjg Francis Black '26, ENS Henry G'Sell '26, LTjg John Graff '26, 2LT Joseph Wolfe '26, 2LT Lofton Henderson '26, LTjg William Watson '26, ENS Arthur Loeser '27, ENS Charles Hill, Jr. '27, ENS Eugene Davis '27, ENS Eugene Lindsey '27, 2LT Guy Chappell '27, ENS James McRoberts '27, ENS John Eldridge, Jr. '27, ENS Julian Greer '27, ENS Leonard Southerland '27, ENS Loren Morris '27, ENS Oddle Anderson '27, ENS Oscar Pate, Jr. '27, 2LT Raymond Rutledge '27, and ENS Robert Winters '27.

October 1929

Lieutenant (j.g.), under instruction, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida

Others at this command: LT James Carney '21, LT John Jones '21, LT James Craig '22, LTjg William Davis '22, LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23, LTjg Hubert Hayter '24, LTjg John Waldron '24, LTjg Hubert Waters '25, LTjg Claude Haman '26, ENS Henry G'Sell '26, ENS Charles Skelly '27, ENS Charles Hill, Jr. '27, ENS Dick Downer '27, ENS Eugene Davis '27, ENS Eugene Lindsey '27, ENS Gerald Dyson '27, ENS Henry Dozier '27, ENS James McRoberts '27, ENS John Eldridge, Jr. '27, ENS Julian Greer '27, ENS Leonard Southerland '27, ENS Loren Morris '27, ENS Oddle Anderson '27, ENS Oscar Pate, Jr. '27, 2LT Raymond Rutledge '27, ENS Renwick Calderhead '27, ENS Robert Winters '27, ENS Robert Symes '27, and ENS Seymour Johnson '27.

January 1930

Lieutenant (j.g.), under instruction, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida

Others at this command: LT James Carney '21, LT John Jones '21, LT James Craig '22, LTjg William Davis '22, LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23, LTjg John Waldron '24, LTjg Ted Marshall '24, LTjg Andrew Harris '25, LTjg Ralph Smith '26, ENS Charles Skelly '27, ENS Charles Hill, Jr. '27, ENS Dick Downer '27, ENS Elmer Cooper '27, ENS Eugene Davis '27, ENS Gerald Dyson '27, ENS Henry Dozier '27, ENS James McRoberts '27, ENS Oddle Anderson '27, ENS Oscar Pate, Jr. '27, ENS Renwick Calderhead '27, ENS Robert Symes '27, ENS Seymour Johnson '27, and 2LT Ernest Pollock '28.

April 1930

Lieutenant (j.g.), under instruction, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida

Others at this command: LCDR Henry Mullinnix '16, LT James Carney '21, LT John Jones '21, LT James Craig '22, LTjg William Davis '22, LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23, LTjg James McDonough '24, LTjg John Waldron '24, LTjg Ted Marshall '24, LTjg Andrew Harris '25, LTjg Ralph Smith '26, ENS Charles Skelly '27, ENS Dick Downer '27, ENS Elmer Cooper '27, ENS Gerald Dyson '27, ENS Henry Dozier '27, ENS Renwick Calderhead '27, ENS Robert Symes '27, ENS Seymour Johnson '27, ENS Donald Lovelace '28, 2LT Ernest Pollock '28, ENS J. C. Riggs, Jr. '28, ENS John Nelson '28, ENS Weldon Hamilton '28, ENS William Pye, Jr. '28, ENS Finley Hall '29, ENS Lloyd Greenamyer '29, and ENS William Arthur '29.

October 1930

Lieutenant (j.g.), Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 5B, USS Colorado

Others at or embarked at USS Colorado: LTjg Andrew Harris '25 (USS Colorado), ENS Oliver White '30 (USS Colorado), and ENS Robert Coates '30 (USS Colorado).

January 1931

Lieutenant (j.g.), Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 5B, USS Colorado

Others at or embarked at USS Colorado: LTjg Andrew Harris '25 (USS Colorado), ENS Oliver White '30 (USS Colorado), and ENS Robert Coates '30 (USS Colorado).

April 1931

Lieutenant (j.g.), Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 5B, USS Colorado

Others at or embarked at USS Colorado: LTjg Andrew Harris '25 (USS Colorado), ENS Oliver White '30 (USS Colorado), and ENS Robert Coates '30 (USS Colorado).

July 1931

Lieutenant (j.g.), Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 4B, USS Colorado

Others at or embarked at USS Colorado: LT Ralph Bradford, Jr. '22 (USS Colorado), LTjg Andrew Harris '25 (USS Colorado), ENS Benjamin Ghetzler '31 (USS Colorado), ENS Ernest Evans '31 (USS Colorado), ENS John Hollingsworth '31 (USS Colorado), and ENS John Huntley '31 (USS Colorado).

October 1931

Lieutenant (j.g.), Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 4B, USS Colorado

Others at or embarked at USS Colorado: LT Ralph Bradford, Jr. '22 (USS Colorado), LTjg Andrew Harris '25 (USS Colorado), ENS Benjamin Ghetzler '31 (USS Colorado), ENS Ernest Evans '31 (USS Colorado), ENS John Hollingsworth '31 (USS Colorado), and ENS John Huntley '31 (USS Colorado).

January 1932

Lieutenant (j.g.), Observation Plane Squadron (VO) 4B, USS Colorado

Others at or embarked at USS Colorado: LTjg Andrew Harris '25 (USS Colorado), ENS Benjamin Ghetzler '31 (USS Colorado), ENS Ernest Evans '31 (USS Colorado), ENS John Hollingsworth '31 (USS Colorado), and ENS John Huntley '31 (USS Colorado).