ADAM W. DEMERS, LT, USN

Adam DeMers '41

Date of birth: May 27, 1918

Date of death: February 1, 1943

Age: 24

Lucky Bag

From the 1941 Lucky Bag:

ADAM WILLIAM DeMERS

Little Rock, Arkansas

The closest Adam had been to the sea before he entered the Naval Academy was in a leaky, flat-bottomed rowboat on the Arkansas River; so it is quite understandable why he didn't acquire his sea legs until first class cruise. That three month's jaunt in the Atlantic and Caribbean last summer qualified Rollo as a real salt water man, a qualification which will probably remain valid until he sees duty on a destroyer when he may again be afflicted with that dreaded midwestern disease—mal de mer.

Adam received his pre-Annapolis physical brace at Marion Institute and his mental brace at Little Rock Junior College. With this background, whether or not he would have starred had he not boned Cosmo is hard to say because he didn't indulge in that pastime. Instead the midnight oil was burned occasionally to excellent advantage.

We'll all remember his tact and even temper and above all we'll never forget his friendly smile.

Battalion Wrestling 2; Company Baseball 2; Black N* * * * * * * * * * * *.

The Class of 1941 was the first of the wartime-accelerated classes, graduating in February 1941.

ADAM WILLIAM DeMERS

Little Rock, Arkansas

The closest Adam had been to the sea before he entered the Naval Academy was in a leaky, flat-bottomed rowboat on the Arkansas River; so it is quite understandable why he didn't acquire his sea legs until first class cruise. That three month's jaunt in the Atlantic and Caribbean last summer qualified Rollo as a real salt water man, a qualification which will probably remain valid until he sees duty on a destroyer when he may again be afflicted with that dreaded midwestern disease—mal de mer.

Adam received his pre-Annapolis physical brace at Marion Institute and his mental brace at Little Rock Junior College. With this background, whether or not he would have starred had he not boned Cosmo is hard to say because he didn't indulge in that pastime. Instead the midnight oil was burned occasionally to excellent advantage.

We'll all remember his tact and even temper and above all we'll never forget his friendly smile.

Battalion Wrestling 2; Company Baseball 2; Black N* * * * * * * * * * * *.

The Class of 1941 was the first of the wartime-accelerated classes, graduating in February 1941.

Loss

Adam was lost when USS De Haven (DD 469) was sunk on February 1, 1943 by Japanese aircraft near Savo Island.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

His father was Albert, an attorney, mother Anna, brother Albert, and sister Rosalie.

His father was listed as next of kin.

Adam is remembered at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial.

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.