CHARLES D. HART, LTJG, USN

Charles Hart '30

Date of birth: December 31, 1908

Date of death: November 3, 1933

Age: 24

Lucky Bag

From the 1930 Lucky Bag:

CHARLES DAVID HART

Many, Louisiana

"Dave" "C. D." "Punkin"

THE call of the sea passed over Louisiana, beckoned to Dave, the embryo electrical engineer in the State Normal College, and led him to the Seat of Sea Knowledge.

During his first year, he appeared to be a shy, demure person afflicted with lockjaw, but Plebe year and a Youngster cruise produced that carefree, good-natured, generous-to-a-fault person whom we now know.

Fortunately, academics have never proven difficult for Dave, but his troubles began when the "downfall of men"—women—took notice of this blonde Southerner.

"And I learned about women from her." Which of the many is the question. Dave has been a most consistent snake, as his volume of fan mail will attest.

He has confined his athletic activities to football. His ability in this aided his class to gain two successive championships.

Dave appears to have those qualifications necessary for a good naval officer, and he is headed for a successful career in his chosen profession.

Class Football 3, 2, Class Numerals; 2 P.O.

CHARLES DAVID HART

Many, Louisiana

"Dave" "C. D." "Punkin"

THE call of the sea passed over Louisiana, beckoned to Dave, the embryo electrical engineer in the State Normal College, and led him to the Seat of Sea Knowledge.

During his first year, he appeared to be a shy, demure person afflicted with lockjaw, but Plebe year and a Youngster cruise produced that carefree, good-natured, generous-to-a-fault person whom we now know.

Fortunately, academics have never proven difficult for Dave, but his troubles began when the "downfall of men"—women—took notice of this blonde Southerner.

"And I learned about women from her." Which of the many is the question. Dave has been a most consistent snake, as his volume of fan mail will attest.

He has confined his athletic activities to football. His ability in this aided his class to gain two successive championships.

Dave appears to have those qualifications necessary for a good naval officer, and he is headed for a successful career in his chosen profession.

Class Football 3, 2, Class Numerals; 2 P.O.

Loss

Charles was lost on November 3, 1933 when the F4B4 airplane he was piloting collided with another near San Diego.

From The Times, Shreveport, November 4, 1933, via researcher Kathy Franz:

San Diego, Calif., Nov. 3 (AP). -- Lieut. C. D. Hart, 24, of Many, La., a naval flier, was killed today when his plane collided with another craft 14,000 feet above Sweetwater lake, about 20 miles from here.
The other plane, piloted by Lieut. C. E. Ekstrom, of Coronado Beach, Calif., was not damaged and was landed safely. Ekstrom was uninjured.
The planes were engaged in gunnery exercises and the wing of Hart’s craft was torn off by Ekstrom’s ship. The gasoline tank exploded as the planes crashed, fire destroying the craft and burning the pilot.
O. P. Cartwright, rancher living near the scene, said: “A squadron of planes was flying high above. Two of the ships collided and then one of them crashed. It fell to pieces as it plunged earthward and several parts seemed to drop away.”

He was a member of VF-3B, operating from USS Langley (CV 1).

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

His father Cecil was a farmer, mother Cleo, and older sister was Cecil (Mrs. J. H. Galloway of Roseland.)

He is buried in Louisiana.

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.

October 1930

Ensign, USS Saratoga

Others at this command:

CDR Melville Brown '10
LT Van Moore '19
LT Dixie Kiefer '19

LTjg Warren Graf '27
ENS Jacob Britt '29
ENS James Clarkson '30

ENS Dudley Morton '30
ENS John Craig '30
ENS James Kyes '30

Others at or embarked at this command:

LT Thomas Fisher '18 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LT William Sample '19 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Creighton Lankford '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
LTjg Carlton Hutchins '26 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Charles Signer '26 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)

LTjg Claude Haman '26 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Robert Symes '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Renwick Calderhead '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg John Eldridge, Jr. '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Julian Greer '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
ENS Weldon Hamilton '28 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)

January 1931

Ensign, USS Saratoga

Others at this command:

CDR Melville Brown '10
LT Van Moore '19
LT Dixie Kiefer '19

LTjg Warren Graf '27
ENS Jacob Britt '29
ENS James Clarkson '30

ENS Dudley Morton '30
ENS John Craig '30
ENS James Kyes '30

Others at or embarked at this command:

LT Thomas Fisher '18 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LT William Sample '19 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Creighton Lankford '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
LTjg Carlton Hutchins '26 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Charles Signer '26 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)

LTjg Claude Haman '26 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Robert Symes '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Renwick Calderhead '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg John Eldridge, Jr. '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Julian Greer '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
ENS Weldon Hamilton '28 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)

October 1931

Ensign, under instruction, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida

Others at this command: