WILLIAM F. CALLAWAY, LCDR, USN

William Callaway '11

Date of birth: November 7, 1889

Date of death: December 17, 1927

Age: 38

Lucky Bag

From the 1911 Lucky Bag:

William Franklin Callaway

Clinton, Missouri

"Deadwood Dick" "Devil" "Dick"

DICK is one of the quiet men of the class, who steadily makes good without much furor. One of the Acey-Deucey sharps of Cruise days, and a member of the notorious Second Deck Ironclads. He rhinoes on occasions, but merely for the fun of it, which few of us can say. He has a fetching grin of his own design, and makes good but quiet company. He is modest and rather too diffident for either a savoir or a fusser, though he has attempted the latter several times during his career. He loves a rough-house, as a good many quiet men do, and when "Bright Eyes" and "Alf" join him there is usually something happening. He roomed with Hyman for the first two years, until that little hazing incident occurred. Doesn't know what it is not to be worried over his eyes, and has a chronic dread of physical exams.

William Franklin Callaway was born in Clinton, Missouri, November 7, 1889. Before entering the Naval Academy he spent nearly three years at the Clinton High School.

William Franklin Callaway

Clinton, Missouri

"Deadwood Dick" "Devil" "Dick"

DICK is one of the quiet men of the class, who steadily makes good without much furor. One of the Acey-Deucey sharps of Cruise days, and a member of the notorious Second Deck Ironclads. He rhinoes on occasions, but merely for the fun of it, which few of us can say. He has a fetching grin of his own design, and makes good but quiet company. He is modest and rather too diffident for either a savoir or a fusser, though he has attempted the latter several times during his career. He loves a rough-house, as a good many quiet men do, and when "Bright Eyes" and "Alf" join him there is usually something happening. He roomed with Hyman for the first two years, until that little hazing incident occurred. Doesn't know what it is not to be worried over his eyes, and has a chronic dread of physical exams.

William Franklin Callaway was born in Clinton, Missouri, November 7, 1889. Before entering the Naval Academy he spent nearly three years at the Clinton High School.

Loss

William (on left) while in command of submarine USS G-4, 1917.

William was lost on December 17, 1927 when USS S-4 (SS 109) sank immediately following a collision with USCG Paulding (CG 17) near Cape Code, Massachusetts. He was aboard as an observer of the Bureau of Construction and Repair.

He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Memorial Hall Error

William's headstone has his rank as LCDR; Memorial Hall has CDR. Unable to find evidence of a posthumous promotion. He is listed in the Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps of 1927 — and the 1928 edition, which also has his death date — as a LCDR.

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.

January 1912

Midshipman, Ohio

January 1913

Ensign, Ohio

Others at this command: ENS Thalbert Alford '09.

January 1914

Ensign, Ohio

Others at this command: ENS Thalbert Alford '09.

January 1915

Ensign, USS Leonidas

Others at this command: LT Robert Cabaniss '06.

January 1916

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Ozark

January 1917

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS G-4

March 1918

Lieutenant, USS R-19

January 1919

Lieutenant Commander, commanding officer, USS R-19

January 1920

Lieutenant Commander, commanding officer, USS R-19

January 1921

Lieutenant Commander, inspection duty, Bureau of Engineering

Others at this command: LCDR Grattan Dichman '07.

January 1922

Lieutenant Commander, Naval Inspr. Mach. Busch Sulzer Co., St. Louis

May 1923

Lieutenant Commander, Submarine Division 12, USS RainbowUSS Rainbow

July 1923

Lieutenant Commander, Submarine Division 12, USS RainbowUSS Rainbow

September 1923

Lieutenant Commander, Submarine Division 12, USS RainbowUSS Rainbow

November 1923

Lieutenant Commander, Submarine Division 12, USS Rainbow

Others at this command: LT Morris Spriggs '15 and LTjg Paul Register '21USS Rainbow.

January 1924

Lieutenant Commander, commanding officer, Submarine Division 12, USS Rainbow

Others at this command: LT Morris Spriggs '15 and LTjg Paul Register '21USS Rainbow.