CHARLES E. ANDERSON, LTJG, USNR
Charles Anderson '31
Lucky Bag
From the 1931 Lucky Bag:
Charles Edison Anderson
Millen, Georgia
"Andy"
C. E. WITH great regret shoot the dust of Georgia from his feet and ambled slowly through gate 3 to view the future with solemn and thoughtful eye.
Thus Andy came into our midst after attending the school of hard knocks on an oil tanker, at Georgia Tech. and at Marion Institute.
With a cool, pleasing personality he soon rose high in the estimation of those that surrounded him. His inexhaustible store of general knowledge marked him as a plebe, and since then has proved a source of constant grief to the gentlemen of the fourth class.
Academics troubled him little. In the athletic field, he is one of Spike's gladiators by winter and one of Kid Mohler's horsehide heavers by spring. In the fall, one of Morpheus' most ardent worshipers.
True southern gentleman, with a heart as big as a G. O. P. elephant, he goes from us as he came, unchanged by his four years, with the exception of the loss of a few hairs from his noble pate.
Bugle Corps 4, 3, 2, 1; Musical Clubs 3, 2, 1; Director Musical Club 1; Gymkhana 4; N.A. Ten 1; C.P.O.
Charles Edison Anderson
Millen, Georgia
"Andy"
C. E. WITH great regret shoot the dust of Georgia from his feet and ambled slowly through gate 3 to view the future with solemn and thoughtful eye.
Thus Andy came into our midst after attending the school of hard knocks on an oil tanker, at Georgia Tech. and at Marion Institute.
With a cool, pleasing personality he soon rose high in the estimation of those that surrounded him. His inexhaustible store of general knowledge marked him as a plebe, and since then has proved a source of constant grief to the gentlemen of the fourth class.
Academics troubled him little. In the athletic field, he is one of Spike's gladiators by winter and one of Kid Mohler's horsehide heavers by spring. In the fall, one of Morpheus' most ardent worshipers.
True southern gentleman, with a heart as big as a G. O. P. elephant, he goes from us as he came, unchanged by his four years, with the exception of the loss of a few hairs from his noble pate.
Bugle Corps 4, 3, 2, 1; Musical Clubs 3, 2, 1; Director Musical Club 1; Gymkhana 4; N.A. Ten 1; C.P.O.
Loss
Charles was lost on January 28, 1942 when he drowned near Iceland while serving aboard USS Tuscaloosa (CA 37). His tombstone is etched with the phrase "lost his life saving his men;" another man aboard Tuscaloosa was lost on the same day "when his launch was swamped."
Charles was first reported as missing, but within a couple of days was confirmed lost.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
In 1935, Charles lived in Lake City, Florida. In 1940, he was a solicitor for the court in Millen.
His father Albert was an attorney, mother Etta. His brothers were attorney Albert, Jr., and William who was a major in the Army in 1942.
He was a member of the Naval Reserve (from Shipmate and 1941 Navy Directory).
Though Charles was a graduate of the Naval Academy (#94 of 441 graduating), his "Voluntary resignation accepted immediately upon graduation" per 1932 Naval Academy Register. (This was very common in the Depression-era Navy.) Prior to the war he served in the Naval Reserves and practiced law in Millen, GA, including serving as a Justice of the Peace from 1935 to 1939.
He is buried in Millen, Georgia; he also has another marker elsewhere in Georgia. He was survived by his wife, Lucille and son Charles Edison Anderson, Jr.. Another son, William, died at birth.
Memorial Hall Error
Charles is not listed with his classmates. This omission was discovered by reviewing the September 1946 issue of Shipmate.
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.
April 1941
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