Miguel Nava '17
On February 7, 2024 Captain Miguel Nava, USMC '17 was killed in a helicopter crash. Please consider a donation to his family to honor his service, and the incredible sacrifice of his wife and five-month-old son.

WILLIAM H. BECK, JR., LCDR, USN

From USNA Virtual Memorial Hall
William Beck, Jr. '40

Date of birth: March 5, 1916

Date of death: March 19, 1945

Age: 29

Lucky Bag

From the 1940 Lucky Bag:

1940 Beck LB.jpg

WILLIAM HENRY BECK, JR.

Buffalo, New York

Billy

Born by one of our Great Lakes, Bill comes naturally by his desire to go to sea; so it is only to be expected that we find him here at the Naval Academy. A direct sort of person, he generally gets what he goes after, or knows the reason why. He has an excellent sense of humor that is belied by his countenance, but which is hard for anyone to attempt to match. His leisure time is spent swimming or playing baseball for enjoyment rather than making numerals. Despite an affinity for winning bets and arguments, his humorous satire has won him a host of friends and forecasts a happy and successful future.

1 Stripe.

1940 Beck LB.jpg

WILLIAM HENRY BECK, JR.

Buffalo, New York

Billy

Born by one of our Great Lakes, Bill comes naturally by his desire to go to sea; so it is only to be expected that we find him here at the Naval Academy. A direct sort of person, he generally gets what he goes after, or knows the reason why. He has an excellent sense of humor that is belied by his countenance, but which is hard for anyone to attempt to match. His leisure time is spent swimming or playing baseball for enjoyment rather than making numerals. Despite an affinity for winning bets and arguments, his humorous satire has won him a host of friends and forecasts a happy and successful future.

1 Stripe.

Loss

Bill was lost when his F6F-5 Hellcat was shot down near Kyushu, Japan on March 18, 1945. He was a member of Fighting Squadron (VF) 6, flying from USS Hancock (CV 19).

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

His father William was a salesman, mother Emelia, brothers Robert and Warren, sister Helen.

His wife was listed as next of kin; she later remarried.

Photographs

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.

June 1940
Ensign, USS Ranger


Others at or embarked at this command:
LT William Pennewill '29 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 42)
LTjg Wendell Froling '34 (Bombing Squadron (VB) 4)
LTjg Richard Bull, Jr. '36 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 41)
LTjg Ralph Embree '36 (Bombing Squadron (VB) 4)
ENS Patrick Hart '37 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 42)
November 1940
Ensign, USS Ranger


Others at or embarked at this command:
LT William Widhelm '32 (Bombing Squadron (VB) 4)
LTjg Wendell Froling '34 (Bombing Squadron (VB) 4)
LTjg Richard Bull, Jr. '36 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 41)
LTjg Ralph Embree '36 (Bombing Squadron (VB) 4)
April 1941
Ensign, USS Ranger


Others at or embarked at this command:
LT William Widhelm '32 (Bombing Squadron (VB) 4)
LTjg Richard Bull, Jr. '36 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 41)
LTjg Ralph Embree '36 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 41)
ENS John Erickson '38 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 42)
ENS Richard Crommelin '38 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 41)


Class of 1940

William is one of 91 members of the Class of 1940 on Virtual Memorial Hall.

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