ARTHUR B. CROSS, JR., ENS, USNR
Arthur Cross, Jr. '40
Arthur Barton Cross, Jr. was admitted to the Naval Academy from South Carolina on June 15, 1936 at age 18 years 2 months.
He resigned on March 4, 1938 because he was "Deficient in studies, first term's work. Continued with class pending reexamination. Reexamined and again deficient. Recommended to be dropped. Permitted to resign."
Lucky Bag
Arthur Barton Cross, Jr. is listed on the page titled “And Some We Knew.”
From a pre-1940 Lucky Bag
Loss
Arthur died on January 30, 1945 while in a Japanese prison camp.
He had been a member of USS Otus (AS 20). It seems he was one of "a number of officers and men [who] were ashore on business" during the bombing of the Cavite Navy Yard on December 10, 1941; "… quite a few never returned to the ship." (From the post-war book of Otus.)
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
In 1921, Arthur came through Ellis Island from Liverpool, England, with his mother and sister Helen. In 1925, the family lived in Rhode Island. In 1930 his father was a general manager for a textile plant in Ebenezer, South Carolina. In 1935, the family lived in Rock Hill, South Carolina; and in 1940, they lived in Oceanport, New Jersey.
His parents were listed as next of kin; he was also survived by a brother. He was a member of the Signal Corps. He was born in Fall River, Massachusetts and entered the service from New York City, New York.
Prisoner of War Medal
From Hall of Valor:
Ensign Arthur Barton Cross (NSN: 0-109016), United States Navy, a member of the crew of the U.S.S. OTUS (AS-20), was captured by the Japanese in the Philippine Islands on or about 10 December 1941, and was held as a Prisoner of War until his death of Acute Enteritis on or about 30 January 1945.
General Orders: NARA Database: Records of World War II Prisoners of War, created, 1942 - 1947
Action Date: December 10, 1941 - January 30, 1945
Service: Navy
Rank: Ensign
Division: Prisoner of War (Philippine Islands & Japan)
(Note the date here is almost certainly incorrect; Japanese forces had only landed on December 8 and were nearly 120 miles north of Cavite on December 10th.)
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