CHARLES C. MCDONALD, CAPT, USN
Charles McDonald '24
Lucky Bag
From the 1924 Lucky Bag:
CHARLES CLARKE McDONALD
Long Pine, Nebraska
"Fats"
"CHAP. I. "Say. did you ever eat a wild duck? You did! I thought Nebraska was the only place they shot ducks. Why, I've killed so many———"
Chap. II. "Do you call this snow? (Registering huge disgust). Why, it snowed so hard in Nebraska in 1914 that we had to get out of the house by the upstairs window———" ad infinitum
Chap III. Ever since Mac knocked off switching freight cars and put on his first pair of shoes to enter the Navy, he has been disappointed to find that all vacancies in the Horse Marines have been filled. After having lived through a Plebe year of Dago and Second Classmen, "Fats" has had the world by the ears.
"Been smoking cigarettes ever since I was five years old and just look at my chest expansion!" But, nevertheless, he trains faithfully, loses two pounds every day and gains three back at supper.
Post Mortem. "No use boning, fellows. Once I made a 4.0 recitation in Ordnance and got hung on the tree with a 1.5. There ain't no justice."
Assistant Manager Baseball (2); Manager Baseball (1); Class Water Polo (4, 3, 2); Reception Committee (3); Manager Class Football (2); Gymkhana Committee.
CHARLES CLARKE McDONALD
Long Pine, Nebraska
"Fats"
"CHAP. I. "Say. did you ever eat a wild duck? You did! I thought Nebraska was the only place they shot ducks. Why, I've killed so many———"
Chap. II. "Do you call this snow? (Registering huge disgust). Why, it snowed so hard in Nebraska in 1914 that we had to get out of the house by the upstairs window———" ad infinitum
Chap III. Ever since Mac knocked off switching freight cars and put on his first pair of shoes to enter the Navy, he has been disappointed to find that all vacancies in the Horse Marines have been filled. After having lived through a Plebe year of Dago and Second Classmen, "Fats" has had the world by the ears.
"Been smoking cigarettes ever since I was five years old and just look at my chest expansion!" But, nevertheless, he trains faithfully, loses two pounds every day and gains three back at supper.
Post Mortem. "No use boning, fellows. Once I made a 4.0 recitation in Ordnance and got hung on the tree with a 1.5. There ain't no justice."
Assistant Manager Baseball (2); Manager Baseball (1); Class Water Polo (4, 3, 2); Reception Committee (3); Manager Class Football (2); Gymkhana Committee.
Loss
Charles was lost on October 2, 1945 when the seaplane he was aboard crashed on the island of Honshu, Japan. The aircraft belonged to Patrol Bombing Squadron (VPB) 205; he had been commanding officer of USS Suwannee (CVE 27) since sometime after July 1945.
There is more on the flight and search operations. The wreckage was not discovered until November 1948.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Charles was born in Illinois and was mostly known by his middle name Clarke. He graduated from Long Pine High School in 1918. After completing one year at Wentworth Military Academy, he entered Illinois State University. He was nominated to the Naval Academy by Congressman M. P. Kinkaid. After graduation, Charles presented the Lucky Bag to the Long Pine Board of Education for the high school.
In January 1926, Charles’ parents visited him on the destroyer Mullany at San Diego. His father spent a full day on board ship during target practice and had a “thrilling ride on a Navy airplane.”
Charles married Loretta Christine Miller on May 20, 1927, in Pensacola.
In May 1933 Charles and his crew flew an engineer off the United Fruit Company’s steamer, the S. S. Carrillo, to Mercy hospital for an emergency appendicitis operation. The transfer from the ship was made 200 miles off shore in rough seas and took more than an hour to complete.
The Mayor of New Orleans called for a resolution congratulating the crew of Patrol Sea Plane No. 8683 in savings John Grigis’ life. The resolution read, in part, “Be it moved, that we, the commission council of the city of New Orleans, officially inscribe in the records of this community the gratitude and appreciation which we hereby express on behalf of all of the people of New Orleans to the United States navy and particularly to Lieutenants W. E. Kellum, C. C. McDonald, C. G. Alexander, J. E. Barnes, E. C. Brickman, E. P. Webb, H. M. Gordon and H. Van Amringe for the service which they so splendidly rendered one of our citizens, and that copies of this motion, each bearing the seal of this city, be transmitted to the officers and men of the seaplane in testimony of the esteem in which their gallant conduct will always be held here.” The Times Picayune newspaper of New Orleans printed a photo of the crew.
In 1940 Charles lived in Charleston, South Carolina, with his wife and daughter Anne, age 8, who was born in Maryland. In 1935 the family lived in Norfolk.
His mother was notified that the wreckage of the seaplane in which Charles died was discovered in an isolated area about five miles northeast of Wada, Nagano Prefecture, Honshu.
Charles’ remains were buried along with the others killed on the flight in a group burial in Arlington National Cemetery on May 17, 1949. His mother, wife, and daughter were present at the funeral.
In 1920 in Pine, Nebraska, his father Lewis was depot agent at the steam railroad, mother Jessie. In 1910, the family lived in Deadwood, South Dakota, where his father was a railroad cashier.
He was designated Naval Aviator #3362 in 1927.
His wife was listed as next of kin. Charles is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Photographs
From the Wentworth Military Academy's 1919 yearbook
Legion of Merit
From Hall of Valor:
(Citation Needed) - SYNOPSIS: Captain Charles C. McDonald, United States Navy, was awarded the Legion of Merit for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the Government of the United States as Naval Member of the staff of the Commanding General, Commander of the 6th Air Force Patrol Command, 21 December 1942 to 3 July 1944.
General Orders: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 342 (September 1945) & 343 (October 1945)
Service: Navy
Rank: Captain
Related Articles
William Sample '19 was also lost in this crash.
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.
July 1924
September 1924
November 1924
January 1925
March 1925
May 1925
July 1925
October 1925
January 1926
October 1926
January 1927
April 1927
October 1927
LT James Carney '21 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
January 1928
LT John Jones '21 (Aircraft Squadrons, Battle Fleet)
April 1928
LTjg Joseph Rooney '23 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
July 1928
October 1928
January 1929
LTjg Theodore Marshall '24 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Charles Redfield '26 (USS Saratoga)
ENS John Crane '26 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Clinton Rounds '27 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Arthur Loeser '27 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Henry Dozier '27 (USS Saratoga)
April 1929
LTjg Theodore Marshall '24 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Charles Redfield '26 (USS Saratoga)
ENS John Crane '26 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Clinton Rounds '27 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Henry Dozier '27 (USS Saratoga)
July 1929
LT Thomas Fisher '18 (Light Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 2B)
LT Paul Thompson '19 (Aircraft Squadrons, Battle Fleet)
LTjg Theodore Marshall '24 (USS Saratoga)
LTjg John Crane '26 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Henry Dozier '27 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Henry Twohy '29 (USS Saratoga)
October 1929
LT Thomas Fisher '18 (Light Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 2B)
LTjg Creighton Lankford '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
January 1930
LT Thomas Fisher '18 (Light Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 2B)
LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24 (Light Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 2B)
LTjg Hubert Waters '25 (Aircraft Squadrons, Battle Fleet)
LTjg Creighton Lankford '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
LTjg Charles Signer '26 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
ENS Loren Morris '27 (Aircraft Squadrons, Battle Fleet)
ENS Robert Winters '27 (Aircraft Squadrons, Battle Fleet)
ENS John Eldridge, Jr. '27 (Aircraft Squadrons, Battle Fleet)
ENS Eugene Lindsey '27 (Aircraft Squadrons, Battle Fleet)
ENS Julian Greer '27 (Aircraft Squadrons, Battle Fleet)
April 1930
LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24 (Light Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 2B)
LTjg Creighton Lankford '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
LTjg Carlton Hutchins '26 (Light Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 2B)
LTjg Claude Haman '26 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
ENS John Eldridge, Jr. '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
ENS Julian Greer '27 (Light Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 2B)
October 1930
LT Paul Thompson '19
LT Irving Wiltsie '21
LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23
LTjg Robert Larson '24
LTjg James McDonough '24
LTjg John Waldron '24
LTjg Richard Moss '24
1LT Donald Willis '24
January 1931
LT Paul Thompson '19
LT Irving Wiltsie '21
LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23
LTjg Robert Larson '24
LTjg James McDonough '24
LTjg John Waldron '24
LTjg Richard Moss '24
LTjg John Duke '26
LTjg James Averill '27
April 1931
LT Irving Wiltsie '21
LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23
LTjg Robert Larson '24
LTjg James McDonough '24
LTjg John Waldron '24
LTjg Richard Moss '24
LTjg John Duke '26
LTjg James Averill '27
LTjg William Potts '27
ENS Carl Lindgren '28
July 1931
LT Irving Wiltsie '21
LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23
LTjg Robert Larson '24
LTjg James McDonough '24
LTjg Richard Moss '24
LTjg Carlton Hutchins '26
LTjg Charles Signer '26
LTjg John Duke '26
LTjg William Potts '27
ENS Carl Lindgren '28
October 1931
LT Irving Wiltsie '21
LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23
LTjg Robert Larson '24
LTjg James McDonough '24
LTjg Arthur Farrell '25
LTjg Carlton Hutchins '26
January 1932
LT Jack Richardson '19
LT Irving Wiltsie '21
LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23
LTjg Robert Larson '24
LTjg James McDonough '24
LTjg Arthur Farrell '25
LTjg Carlton Hutchins '26
LTjg Charles Signer '26
April 1932
LT Jack Richardson '19
LT Irving Wiltsie '21
LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23
LTjg Robert Larson '24
LTjg James McDonough '24
LTjg Arthur Farrell '25
LTjg Carlton Hutchins '26
LTjg Charles Signer '26
2LT Lofton Henderson '26
October 1932
January 1933
April 1933
July 1933
ENS William Sisko '31 (USS Texas)
ENS Ralph Elden '31 (USS Texas)
ENS Edgar Chase '32 (USS Texas)
ENS William Widhelm '32 (USS Texas)
ENS Francis Brown '33 (USS Texas)
October 1933
April 1934
ENS Ralph Elden '31 (Battleship Division 1)
ENS Edgar Chase '32 (USS Texas)
July 1934
LT Matthias Marple, Jr. '23 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Harold Richards '27 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LTjg Loren Morris '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Leonard Southerland '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Carl Lindgren '28 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Mathias Wyatt '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Robert Patten '30 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LTjg Charles Ostrom '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
ENS George Stone '31 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Eugene Lytle, Jr. '31 (Aircraft Squadrons)
ENS James Kelsey, Jr. '31 (Aircraft Squadrons)
ENS Bertram Prueher '33 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Paul Burton '33 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Robert Fair '33 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Wendell Froling '34 (USS Saratoga)
October 1934
LT Arnold Isbell '21 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LT John Jones '21 (USS Saratoga)
LT Matthias Marple, Jr. '23 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Harold Richards '27 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LTjg Loren Morris '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Leonard Southerland '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Carl Lindgren '28 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Mathias Wyatt '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Charles Ostrom '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg James Murphy '31 (Torpedo Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
ENS George Stone '31 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Albert Gates, Jr. '32 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Bertram Prueher '33 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Paul Burton '33 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Robert Fair '33 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Wendell Froling '34 (USS Saratoga)
January 1935
LT Arnold Isbell '21 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LT John Jones '21 (USS Saratoga)
LT Matthias Marple, Jr. '23 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Harold Richards '27 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LTjg Loren Morris '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Leonard Southerland '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Carl Lindgren '28 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Mathias Wyatt '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Charles Ostrom '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg James Murphy '31 (Torpedo Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Edward Blessman '31 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LTjg George Stone '31 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Albert Gates, Jr. '32 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Bertram Prueher '33 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Paul Burton '33 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Robert Fair '33 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Wendell Froling '34 (USS Saratoga)
April 1935
LT Arnold Isbell '21 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LT John Jones '21 (USS Saratoga)
LT Matthias Marple, Jr. '23 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Harold Richards '27 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LTjg Loren Morris '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Leonard Southerland '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Mathias Wyatt '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Ford Wallace '31 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg James Murphy '31 (Torpedo Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Edward Blessman '31 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
ENS Albert Gates, Jr. '32 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Bertram Prueher '33 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Paul Burton '33 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Wendell Froling '34 (USS Saratoga)
October 1935
LT John Gillon '20 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LT Arnold Isbell '21 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LTjg Charles Signer '26 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Ralph Smith '26 (USS Saratoga)
LTjg Harold Richards '27 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LTjg Loren Morris '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Leonard Southerland '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Oliver White '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg James Murphy '31 (Torpedo Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Thomas Ashworth, Jr. '31 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Edward Blessman '31 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Alfred Tucker, III '31 (USS Saratoga)
LTjg Albert Gates, Jr. '32 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Paul Burton '33 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Wendell Froling '34 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Maurice Fitzgerald '35 (USS Saratoga)
January 1936
LCDR John Gillon '20 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LT Arnold Isbell '21 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LTjg Charles Signer '26 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Harold Richards '27 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LTjg Loren Morris '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Leonard Southerland '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Oliver White '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg James Murphy '31 (Torpedo Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Thomas Ashworth, Jr. '31 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Edward Blessman '31 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Albert Gates, Jr. '32 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Wendell Froling '34 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Maurice Fitzgerald '35 (USS Saratoga)
April 1936
LCDR John Gillon '20 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LT Arnold Isbell '21 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LTjg Charles Signer '26 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Harold Richards '27 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LTjg Loren Morris '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Leonard Southerland '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg James Murphy '31 (Torpedo Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Thomas Ashworth, Jr. '31 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Edward Blessman '31 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Albert Gates, Jr. '32 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Wendell Froling '34 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Maurice Fitzgerald '35 (USS Saratoga)
July 1936
LT Richard Moss '24 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 2B)
LTjg Elmer Cooper '27 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 2B)
LTjg Gerald Dyson '27 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 2B)
LTjg Leonard Southerland '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg William Pye, Jr. '28 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg John Collett '29 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LTjg Lloyd Greenamyer '29 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LTjg Finley Hall '29 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LTjg Thomas Ashworth, Jr. '31 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Edward Blessman '31 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Albert Gates, Jr. '32 (USS Saratoga)
LTjg George Bellinger '32 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Edwin Hurst '32 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 2B)
ENS Wendell Froling '34 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Maurice Fitzgerald '35 (USS Saratoga)
January 1937
April 1937
September 1937
January 1938
July 1938
January 1939
October 1939
June 1940
November 1940
April 1941
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
