Alan Barnett '15
Date of birth: June 20, 1892
Date of death: March 5, 1930
Age: 37
Lucky Bag
From the 1915 Lucky Bag:
Alan Barnett
Springfield, Ohio
"Alan" "Barney"
KIND reader, let me introduce to you Alan Barnett, for you may be sure that he will never introduce himself. Quiet, reserved, always a gentleman, with a spark of wit when the occasion demands—that's Alan. Barney has gone through the four years here in a steady, easy-going fashion, very seldom worrying much and never rhinoing. He was a source of alternate delight and disgust to members of the old Seventh, with his jokes and puns. Noted for being the King of Red Mikes: never known to drag. Fair one: "Who is that man there?" Joe: "Why that's Alan Barnett." Fair one: "Oh, I think he is so handsome!"—at which Alan turns red and beats a hasty retreat.
Alan will be your friend when you need one, will do anything on earth for you but drag. He is always the same, every time you meet him, and welcomes you with his slow smile whether everything is going all right or all wrong. You may rhino to your heart's content, and Barney will sympathize with you and finally persuade you that the outlook is not so blue after all. On hop nights you will generally find Alan, with his feet on the radiator, being entertained by well-known Cosmop. He has a practical head which will prove of good use in the Service, and is well informed on almost any subject you can think of. Has ideas of his own which you can't induce him to change, and usually they turn out to be right.
In "Kansas" steamer. Second Class cruise. Doctor: "My foot hurts. I think there is a tack in my shoe and I don't know how to get it out."
Alan: "Come about." Deep, tangible silence.
Class Crest Committee; Log Staff (2, 1); Basketball Numerals.
Loss
Alan "jumped overboard from the destroyer Bainbridge on the night of Wednesday, March 5," 1930.
He has a memorial marker in Ohio.
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Alan had a 15-year career in the Navy with his last station being aboard USS New York. He became mentally exhausted from overwork and was being sent on USS Bainbridge to the Naval Hospital in Norfolk, Virginia, for treatment. He broke away from his guards and jumped overboard near Cape Maisi, Cuba.
His parents were John, a farmer and agricultural editor, and Esther. Alan was their only child.
Class of 1915
Alan is one of 18 members of the Class of 1915 on Virtual Memorial Hall.
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