WILLIAM M. HOBBY, JR., CDR, USN
William Hobby, Jr. '23
Lucky Bag
From the 1923 Lucky Bag:
William Mathews Hobby, Jr.
Sylvania, Georgia
"Bill" "The Governor"
BILL is a born gambler. The click of chips is as music to his ears. "Is there a Nav P-work tomorrow?" Whitey sends a Plebe around to make it five handed, and books are forgotten. Only in case of urgent necessity will Bill forsake his favorite pastime.
Bill would like to create the impression that he's bilging. Invariably, toward the end of the month, we hear him bemoaning his fate. And just as invariably we struggle with the temptation to wield the broom when the marks are posted.
In the proper mood, with a stogie between his teeth, Bill loves to "chalk 'em up". He starts in easy, and so convincingly that, in spite of our knowledge of his ways, we almost believe him. But the ease with which he gets by makes him reckless, and, sooner or later, he oversteps the bounds of possibility.
Each spring Bill forsakes the radiator for the diamond. Numerals in interclass baseball indicate his success.
Class Baseball (3, 2); Numerals (3); Class Football (4).
William Mathews Hobby, Jr.
Sylvania, Georgia
"Bill" "The Governor"
BILL is a born gambler. The click of chips is as music to his ears. "Is there a Nav P-work tomorrow?" Whitey sends a Plebe around to make it five handed, and books are forgotten. Only in case of urgent necessity will Bill forsake his favorite pastime.
Bill would like to create the impression that he's bilging. Invariably, toward the end of the month, we hear him bemoaning his fate. And just as invariably we struggle with the temptation to wield the broom when the marks are posted.
In the proper mood, with a stogie between his teeth, Bill loves to "chalk 'em up". He starts in easy, and so convincingly that, in spite of our knowledge of his ways, we almost believe him. But the ease with which he gets by makes him reckless, and, sooner or later, he oversteps the bounds of possibility.
Each spring Bill forsakes the radiator for the diamond. Numerals in interclass baseball indicate his success.
Class Baseball (3, 2); Numerals (3); Class Football (4).
Loss
William was lost when USS Juneau (CL 52) was sunk at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on November 13, 1942. He was the executive officer.
Other Information
From Wikipedia:
William Matthews Hobby, Jr., was born on 27 July 1899 in Sylvania, Georgia. He was appointed a midshipman from the 1st Congressional District of Georgia on 20 June 1919, attended the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, and graduated in the class of 1923.
After initial sea duty in the battleship USS Oklahoma (BB-37) from June 1923 to April 1925, Hobby underwent brief aviation instruction at Naval Air Station Pensacola at Pensacola, Florida. He then reported to the destroyer USS Kidder (DD-319) on 21 November 1925 and served in Kidder as she earned the Second Nicaraguan Campaign Medal.
Hobby then underwent submarine instruction at Submarine Base New London in New London, Connecticut, from late December 1927 to June 1928. He then travelled to the United States Asiatic Fleet, where he reported to the submarine tender USS Canopus (AS-9) on 10 August 1928, prior to his joining the submarine USS S-37 (SS-142) on 20 August 1928. After successive tours in the submarines USS S-41 (SS-146) and USS S-30 (SS-135), Hobby returned to the United States for service at the United States Naval Academy from May 1931 to June 1933. He then helped to fit out the submarine USS Cachalot (SS-170) before serving back-to-back tours in the battleship USS Tennessee (BB-43) and training ship USS Wyoming (AG-17) into the summer of 1938.
Hobby reported to the Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company at Kearny, New Jersey, on 11 May 1939, to supervise the fitting out of the new Sims-class destroyer USS Anderson (DD-411) and to become her first commanding officer when she was placed in commission.
Detached from Anderson on 22 March 1941, Hobby then rejoined the battleship Oklahoma (BB-37) on 26 March 1941 as damage control officer and first lieutenant. After Oklahoma capsized and sank in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, Hobby served briefly in the 12th Naval District before he joined the new battleship USS Washington (BB-56) on 3 January 1942. He acted as navigator of Washington until he relieved Commander Walter E. Moore as executive officer of the light cruiser USS Juneau (CL-52) at Espiritu Santo on 2 November 1942.
On 12 November 1942, ten days after he reported aboard, Juneau was heavily damaged during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. The following afternoon, 13 November 1942, while she was returning to Espiritu Santo, the Japanese submarine I-26 torpedoed her. The torpedo hit detonated Juneau's magazine, and she disintegrated in a massive explosion, leaving only ten survivors. Commander Hobby was among those who perished in the cataclysmic blast that tore the ship apart.
From researcher Kathy Franz:
William’s mother Kathleen Johnston Hobby died in 1900. That year, William and his sister Kathleen, age 3, lived with their grandparents, Margaret and Ronald Johnston in Gwinnett, Georgia.
His father, who was a newspaperman and tax collector, married Mamie Lou Kittles in 1903. In 1910, the family lived in Sylvania. William, age 10, Wensley, age 8, Peter, age 3, and Evelyn (who became Mrs. John Mills, Jr.,) age 1.
On September 12, 1918, William registered for the draft. He was a surveyor for McBeth of W. S. G. S. (Warner Soil & Geological Services) in Sylvania. He was of medium height and build with blue eyes and brown hair.
After his father’s death in 1932, Mamie Lou took over his duties at the newspaper and as tax collector. William’s sister Kathleen was a stenographer in Atlanta in 1920.
His wife was listed as next of kin. His brother Wensley and sister-in-law Neil named their son, born 1935, William III. (William IV died in 1990).
William Jr. has a memory marker in Georgia.
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.
September 1923
July 1924
September 1924
November 1924
January 1925
July 1925
October 1925
January 1928
April 1928
October 1928
January 1929
April 1929
July 1929
October 1929
January 1930
April 1930
October 1930
January 1931
April 1931
July 1931
LCDR Robert English '11
LT Joseph Severyns, Jr. '20
LT Samuel Arthur '20
LT Robert Smith '20
LT Paul Slawson '20
LT John Jones '21
LT John French '22
October 1931
January 1932
April 1932
CDR Robert English '11
LCDR Lyman Swenson '16
LT Samuel Arthur '20
LT Robert Smith '20
LT Paul Slawson '20
LT John Welch '23
LT Louis Drexler, Jr. '23
October 1932
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT Robert Smith '20
LT Paul Register '21
LT Francis Bridget '21
LT George Brooke '21
LTjg Neville McDowell '24
LTjg Hubert Hayter '24
January 1933
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT Robert Smith '20
LT Paul Register '21
LT Francis Bridget '21
LT George Brooke '21
LTjg Neville McDowell '24
LTjg Hubert Hayter '24
April 1933
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT Robert Smith '20
LT Paul Register '21
LT Francis Bridget '21
LT George Brooke '21
LTjg Neville McDowell '24
LTjg Hubert Hayter '24
LTjg Lawrence McPeake '24
July 1933
October 1933
April 1934
October 1934
January 1935
October 1935
January 1936
April 1936
July 1936
January 1937
April 1937
LTjg Victor Gaulin '30 (Training Plane Squadron (VN) 8D5, Naval Academy)
September 1937
LT Robert Bedilion '22
LT Richard Baron '24
LT Richard Gingras '25
LT Harold Pound '25
LT William Graham, Jr. '25
LT Andrew Harris '25
LT Ralph Hickox '27
LTjg John Bermingham '29
LTjg Egbert Roth '29
January 1938
LT Robert Bedilion '22
LT Richard Baron '24
LT Richard Gingras '25
LT Harold Pound '25
LT William Graham, Jr. '25
LT Andrew Harris '25
LT Ralph Hickox '27
LT John Bermingham '29
LT Egbert Roth '29
July 1938
LT Richard Baron '24
LT Harold Pound '25
LT William Graham, Jr. '25
LT Andrew Harris '25
LT Hilan Ebert '26
LT John Bermingham '29
LT Egbert Roth '29
LT Victor Gaulin '30
LTjg Russell Ross '30
LT John Bisson '30
LTjg Raymond Mayo '30
January 1939
LCDR Robert Bedilion '22
LT Richard Baron '24
LT Harold Pound '25
LT William Graham, Jr. '25
LT Andrew Harris '25
LT Hilan Ebert '26
LT John Bermingham '29
LT Egbert Roth '29
LT Victor Gaulin '30
LT Russell Ross '30
LT John Bisson '30
October 1939
June 1940
November 1940
April 1941
Namesake
USS William M. Hobby (APD 95) was named for William; the ship was sponsored by his sister, Catherine.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.