WILLIAM C. FRANCE, CAPT, USN

William France '24

Date of birth: October 28, 1902

Date of death: April 2, 1945

Age: 42

Lucky Bag

From the 1924 Lucky Bag:

WILLIAM COOK FRANCE

New Rochelle, New York

"Charlie"

WILLIAM COOK FRANCE at a song or a dance, is the peer of all men to behold, with his hot navy line and his glances sublime, he charms all the maidens so bold. But 'tis not of this thing that we wish most to sing—though there's more we could easily tell—'tis his habits so rare that we wish most to air and proclaim e'en to you, New Rochelle. His most prevalent vice—no, never touches the dice—is the wearing of shirts all in ribbons; from the front to the back a most evident lack shows the pelt of his royal "his nibbons." Though we rant and we rave and slip nearer the grave, 'tis all to the vainest of uses, a needle and thread seem to fill him with dread and he balks with the weakest excuses.

We'd forgive him for that if he'd only grow tar and furnish some real competition. "Eat and grow thin", will he ever give in and give up this pernicious ambition? The rest of us brood and give up our food, resort to all kinds of privations, though our efforts he'll conn he just scoffs and scoffs on without fear of a large corporation. So we'll close with a hope that some day he'll elope with a damsel of potent right arm, who will mend all his shirts and drive away flirts and thus keep our "Charley" from harm.

Mandolin Club (4, 3, 2, 1); Leader Mandolin Club (1).

WILLIAM COOK FRANCE

New Rochelle, New York

"Charlie"

WILLIAM COOK FRANCE at a song or a dance, is the peer of all men to behold, with his hot navy line and his glances sublime, he charms all the maidens so bold. But 'tis not of this thing that we wish most to sing—though there's more we could easily tell—'tis his habits so rare that we wish most to air and proclaim e'en to you, New Rochelle. His most prevalent vice—no, never touches the dice—is the wearing of shirts all in ribbons; from the front to the back a most evident lack shows the pelt of his royal "his nibbons." Though we rant and we rave and slip nearer the grave, 'tis all to the vainest of uses, a needle and thread seem to fill him with dread and he balks with the weakest excuses.

We'd forgive him for that if he'd only grow tar and furnish some real competition. "Eat and grow thin", will he ever give in and give up this pernicious ambition? The rest of us brood and give up our food, resort to all kinds of privations, though our efforts he'll conn he just scoffs and scoffs on without fear of a large corporation. So we'll close with a hope that some day he'll elope with a damsel of potent right arm, who will mend all his shirts and drive away flirts and thus keep our "Charley" from harm.

Mandolin Club (4, 3, 2, 1); Leader Mandolin Club (1).

Loss

William was lost on April 2, 1945 when USS Henrico (APA 45) was struck by a kamikaze during the invasion of Okinawa.

He had only taken command of Henrico two weeks earlier, on March 18.

His wife was listed as next of kin; he was also survived by his daughter, Martha. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Bronze Star

William was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star.

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 Oklahoma

Others at this command: LTjg John Burrow '21, ENS George Lehman '23, and ENS William Hobby, Jr. '23.

September 1924

Ensign, USS Oklahoma

Others at this command: ENS George Lehman '23 and ENS William Hobby, Jr. '23.

November 1924

Ensign, USS Oklahoma

Others at this command: ENS George Lehman '23 and ENS William Hobby, Jr. '23.

January 1925

Ensign, USS Oklahoma

Others at this command: ENS George Lehman '23 and ENS William Hobby, Jr. '23.

March 1925

Ensign, USS Oklahoma

Others at this command: ENS George Lehman '23 and ENS William Hobby, Jr. '23.

May 1925

Ensign, USS Oklahoma

Others at this command: ENS George Lehman '23 and ENS William Hobby, Jr. '23.

July 1925

Ensign, USS Oklahoma

Others at this command: ENS Adolph Hede '25, ENS Harold Pound '25, and ENS William Graham, Jr. '25.

October 1925

Ensign, USS Oklahoma

Others at this command: ENS Adolph Hede '25, ENS Harold Pound '25, and ENS William Graham, Jr. '25.

January 1926

Ensign, USS Farquhar

Others at this command: LCDR Fred Berry '08.

October 1926

Ensign, USS Farquhar

Others at this command: LCDR Fred Berry '08.

January 1927

Ensign, USS Farquhar

Others at this command: LCDR Fred Berry '08.