WALTER C. DEY, LT, USN
Walter Dey '24
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.
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Early reports indicated the plane was flying at nearly 100 miles per hour when her hull crashed into the rotting hulk of the old whaling ship Narwhal. She nosed over and landed in eight feet of water. The men who died were knocked unconscious and drowned. It took a powerful floating crane and high tide to lift the 13-ton plane out of the water.
Other Information
He earned his wings as naval aviator #3624 on March 20, 1930.
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Walter graduated from Lincoln high school in 1920 and was president of the Hi-Y’s.
He was appointed to the Naval Academy by Senator Charles McNary.
In 1926, he married Caroline Muir. Their son Walter was born April 11, 1927 and died December 14, 2003.
In 1910 Portland, Walter's father was manager of a creamery, and his mother was Lucia. In 1920, his father was manager of a creamery in San Francisco, and his stepmother was Edna.
His wife was Caroline, and his sons were Walter Jr and James. Son Walter was born in California in 1927, and James in Washington, D.C., in 1929. In 1930 the family lived in Palmetto Beach, Florida; in 1935, San Diego, and in 1940, his widow and children lived near other naval officers in Coronado, California.
Walter's Find A Grave page is here.
Related Articles
William Freshour '31 and Ford Wallace '31 were also lost in this crash.
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
September 1924
November 1924
January 1925
March 1925
May 1925
July 1925
October 1925
January 1926
October 1926
January 1927
April 1927
October 1928
January 1929
April 1929
July 1929
LT LaRue Lawbaugh '20
LT James Carney '21
LT John Jones '21
LTjg William Davis '22
LT James Craig '22
LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23
LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24
LTjg Hubert Waters '25
ENS Henry G'Sell '26
October 1929
LT John Jones '21
LTjg William Davis '22
LT James Craig '22
LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23
LTjg Hubert Hayter '24
LTjg John Waldron '24
LTjg Hubert Waters '25
ENS Henry G'Sell '26
LTjg Claude Haman '26
January 1930
LT John Jones '21
LTjg William Davis '22
LT James Craig '22
LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23
LTjg Theodore Marshall '24
LTjg John Waldron '24
LTjg Andrew Harris '25
April 1930
LT James Carney '21
LT John Jones '21
LTjg William Davis '22
LT James Craig '22
LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23
LTjg Theodore Marshall '24
LTjg James McDonough '24
LTjg John Waldron '24
LTjg Andrew Harris '25
October 1930
January 1931
April 1931
July 1931
LTjg Andrew Harris '25 (USS Colorado)
ENS Benjamin Ghetzler '31 (USS Colorado)
ENS Ernest Evans '31 (USS Colorado)
ENS John Hollingsworth '31 (USS Colorado)
October 1931
LTjg Andrew Harris '25 (USS Colorado)
ENS Benjamin Ghetzler '31 (USS Colorado)
ENS Ernest Evans '31 (USS Colorado)
ENS John Hollingsworth '31 (USS Colorado)
January 1932
ENS Benjamin Ghetzler '31 (USS Colorado)
ENS John Huntley '31 (USS Colorado)
April 1932
October 1932
January 1933
April 1933
July 1933
October 1933
April 1934
July 1934
LT James Carney '21 (USS Lexington)
LTjg Edwin Kelly '30 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
LTjg Victor Gaulin '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS Daniel Gothie '32 (USS Lexington)
ENS Edward Worthington '34 (USS Lexington)
October 1934
LT James Carney '21 (USS Lexington)
LTjg Edwin Kelly '30 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
LTjg Victor Gaulin '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg Baylies Clark '30 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
ENS Philip Ashworth '31 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS Daniel Gothie '32 (USS Lexington)
ENS Edward Worthington '34 (USS Lexington)
January 1935
LT James Carney '21 (USS Lexington)
LTjg Edwin Kelly '30 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
LTjg Victor Gaulin '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg Baylies Clark '30 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
ENS Philip Ashworth '31 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS Daniel Gothie '32 (USS Lexington)
ENS Edward Worthington '34 (USS Lexington)
April 1935
LT James Carney '21 (USS Lexington)
LTjg Victor Gaulin '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg Baylies Clark '30 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
LTjg Philip Ashworth '31 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS Daniel Gothie '32 (USS Lexington)
ENS Edward Worthington '34 (USS Lexington)
October 1935
LT James Carney '21 (USS Lexington)
LTjg Baylies Clark '30 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
LTjg Philip Ashworth '31 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS John Eichmann '35 (USS Lexington)
ENS Richard McGowan '35 (USS Lexington)
January 1936
LT Hallsted Hopping '24 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 1B)
LTjg Ralph Smith '26 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
LTjg Seymour Johnson '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg James McRoberts '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg Baylies Clark '30 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
LTjg Lorenz Forbes '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg Alden Irons '31 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg William Sisko '31 (USS Ranger)
LTjg Alfred Tucker, III '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
ENS Earle Schneider '33 (USS Ranger)
ENS Milton Ricketts '35 (USS Ranger)
April 1936
LT Hallsted Hopping '24 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 1B)
LTjg Ralph Smith '26 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
LTjg Seymour Johnson '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg James McRoberts '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg Baylies Clark '30 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
LTjg William Freshour '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 5B)
LTjg Alden Irons '31 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg Alfred Tucker, III '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
ENS Earle Schneider '33 (USS Ranger)
ENS Milton Ricketts '35 (USS Ranger)
July 1936
LTjg Robert Symes '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
LTjg John Riggs, Jr. '28 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
LTjg William Thorn '32 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
January 1937
April 1937
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.