ANDREW G. REAVES, LT, USN

Andrew Reaves '17

Date of birth: August 31, 1894

Date of death: August 24, 1922

Age: 27

Lucky Bag

From the 1917 Lucky Bag:

ANDREW GLOVER REAVES

Orlando, Florida

"Al" "Algernon"

DELICIOUS fruits aren't the only good things that come from Florida—witness little "Al." Right from amidst the thickest of the Everglades, he came among us. We knew he meant business the minute we saw him from his determined manner and his square-cut chin. And we were not mistaken. Glover has put his whole soul into all his undertakings from the word go. That's why he's such a devil with the women—they can't resist him. How could they, anyway, once they know how divinely he trips the light fantastic?

In our sterner diversions Reaves has been equally successful. Twice he won his numerals by his ability with the pigskin spheroid. His "eagle eye and steady nerve" proved of great value to the Rifle team, and his splendid work made him the logical man for captain in 1917. The team realized this, and elected him accordingly. As captain he has organized and schooled the team till now they are rated as one of the best in the country. His experience in this direction will be no small asset on board ship.

In the role of gourmet "Al" was the envy of all his shipmates on the summer cruises. His sweet tooth has made him the fear of anyone with a stray bon-bon.

As a classmate, Reaves is of the ideal sort not the least obtrusive, possessed of sound judgment, loyal to his friends, and never taking offense over petty matters. The girl that "lands" our "Al" will be lucky indeed, no less than the ship which can claim him as among its officers.

Two Stripes; rNt (3, 2); Captain Rifle Team; Sharpshooter; Expert Rifleman; Football Numerals (4, 3).

The Class of 1917 was the first wartime-accelerated class, graduating on March 29, 1917.

ANDREW GLOVER REAVES

Orlando, Florida

"Al" "Algernon"

DELICIOUS fruits aren't the only good things that come from Florida—witness little "Al." Right from amidst the thickest of the Everglades, he came among us. We knew he meant business the minute we saw him from his determined manner and his square-cut chin. And we were not mistaken. Glover has put his whole soul into all his undertakings from the word go. That's why he's such a devil with the women—they can't resist him. How could they, anyway, once they know how divinely he trips the light fantastic?

In our sterner diversions Reaves has been equally successful. Twice he won his numerals by his ability with the pigskin spheroid. His "eagle eye and steady nerve" proved of great value to the Rifle team, and his splendid work made him the logical man for captain in 1917. The team realized this, and elected him accordingly. As captain he has organized and schooled the team till now they are rated as one of the best in the country. His experience in this direction will be no small asset on board ship.

In the role of gourmet "Al" was the envy of all his shipmates on the summer cruises. His sweet tooth has made him the fear of anyone with a stray bon-bon.

As a classmate, Reaves is of the ideal sort not the least obtrusive, possessed of sound judgment, loyal to his friends, and never taking offense over petty matters. The girl that "lands" our "Al" will be lucky indeed, no less than the ship which can claim him as among its officers.

Two Stripes; rNt (3, 2); Captain Rifle Team; Sharpshooter; Expert Rifleman; Football Numerals (4, 3).

The Class of 1917 was the first wartime-accelerated class, graduating on March 29, 1917.

Loss

Andrew was lost when the plane he was piloting crashed in very shallow water of Lake Elsinore, California on August 24, 1922.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

From Flying Squadron 2, Andrew and Clarence W. Green, his aviation machinist, were participating in maneuvers for three days at Elsinore, California. They took off from the H. H. Nieman ranch to return to San Diego. Flying at around 250 feet, the plane’s wings folded up and Andrew lost control. The lake is known to be hard to fly over at a low altitude because of air pockets. The investigation of their Vought plane crash pointed to air pockets at 300’ as the probable cause. Andrew was taken by car for the two-hour ride to the hospital. Cradled in the arms of Lt. Com. Robert Molten, Jr. (’11,) Andrew had a basal fracture of the skull and a crushed chest. The only thing he said was that he was tired, and he survived only a short time at the hospital. Clarence, who died instantly, had just five more days on his enlistment and looked forward to leaving the service.
As a gesture of respect, Captain Henry Butler, air squadron commander, dispatched six planes aloft to scatter flowers over their flag-draped caskets in front of dirigible hangar No. 1 at the naval air station. Andrew and Clarence’s formation position was left unoccupied.

Born in Crawfordville, Florida, Andrew graduated from Orlando high school in May, 1912. At the commencement exercises, he gave the Oration speech “Co-operation of Capital and Labor.”
After duty on the San Diego, Andrew spent one month on temporary duty on the receiving ship at New York, from July 27 to August 30, 1918. He then had duty on the Tenadores until February 15, 1919.
Andrew married Leola Nixon on December 30, 1919, in Los Angeles. It was the second marriage for both. Leola’s maiden name was Meiswinkel. Leola sailed to Honolulu at the end of August, 1920, for a three-week stay.
The baseball team from Andrew’s ship, the USS Idaho, beat a pick-up team from Hilo on September 13 by a score of 2-1. Andrew’s ship was on maneuvers with the dreadnaughts New Mexico, Arkansas, New York, and Wyoming.
After Andrew's death, Leola married Lt. Commander Adolf Von Scheven Pickhardt (’13) on June 2, 1928, in the Florentine room at the Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D. C. She died in 1980 and is buried with Adolf in Arlington National Cemetery. Andrew’s father John was a blacksmith, mother Martha, brothers John and Robert, and sisters Sarah, Bessie, and Ettie. In 1900 and 1910, they lived in Quincy, Florida.

He is buried in Illinois.

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.