CHARLES K. PALMER, SR., LTJG, USN

Charles Palmer, Sr. '31

Date of birth: September 14, 1909

Date of death: September 16, 1935

Age: 26

Lucky Bag

From the 1931 Lucky Bag:

Charles Keith Palmer

Timmonsville, South Carolina

"Brutus"

It was a gala day in the wilds of South Carolina when Keith first saw the light of day. His was a destiny to fulfill—he was to become one of "Uncle Sam's Pampered Pets."

He began his career by gleaning all the knowledge possible in the Podunk High School and then arrived at "Bobby's War College." Brutus is a hard worker and because of this has made a name for himself. He is never too busy to help anyone who needs it.

Early in Plebe Year Keith started on the road to fame when he startled "femmes" and classmates by his uncanny tumbling feats in the Gymkhana. His trick of tucking his feet behind his head has caused anxiety for many of us. We have been afraid he might stay that way.

That Southern drawl and gentlemanly manner have caused many a fair heart to flutter; but alas, rumor has it, that he has already tied up to the dock or perhaps made a flying moor!

Reception Committee 3, 2, 1 Lucky Bag, Photographic Staff Class Gym, 4th Class Gymkhana "1928" 2 P. O.

Charles Keith Palmer

Timmonsville, South Carolina

"Brutus"

It was a gala day in the wilds of South Carolina when Keith first saw the light of day. His was a destiny to fulfill—he was to become one of "Uncle Sam's Pampered Pets."

He began his career by gleaning all the knowledge possible in the Podunk High School and then arrived at "Bobby's War College." Brutus is a hard worker and because of this has made a name for himself. He is never too busy to help anyone who needs it.

Early in Plebe Year Keith started on the road to fame when he startled "femmes" and classmates by his uncanny tumbling feats in the Gymkhana. His trick of tucking his feet behind his head has caused anxiety for many of us. We have been afraid he might stay that way.

That Southern drawl and gentlemanly manner have caused many a fair heart to flutter; but alas, rumor has it, that he has already tied up to the dock or perhaps made a flying moor!

Reception Committee 3, 2, 1 Lucky Bag, Photographic Staff Class Gym, 4th Class Gymkhana "1928" 2 P. O.

Loss

Charles was lost on September 16, 1935 when the plane he was flying "crashed at Border Field, San Ysidro," California. His plane was a single-seater, doing gunnery practice. It failed to come out of a mile-high dive. He was a member of Bombing Squadron (VB) 3.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

On March 31, 1932, he married the former Cameron McKenzie of Timmonsville in Long Beach, California.
Per The State [newspaper], Columbia, South Carolina, August 18, 1933: Washington, Aug. 17 – It was announced here today that Ensign Charles K. Palmer, U. S. N., of Timmonsville will be in the class of instruction in heavier than air craft to be convened at the Pensacola, Fla., training course to begin within a short time. – P. H. McG.
Per The State, Columbia, South Carolina, September 19, 1935: “Keith Palmer, was a young man of brilliant mind, charming personality and sterling qualities. His untimely end is a keen sorrow to his many friends here who have loved him deeply from his childhood.”
At his funeral, his brother Lt. George G. Palmer (’30) was military escort. Five different pastors participated including his great-uncle, the Rev. B. H. Price, pastor of the Baptist church. Floral tributes included: a casket spray from the captain, officers and men of U. S. S. Saratoga; a spray from the officers of bombing squadron Q; a wreath from the enlisted personnel of bombing squadron Q and a wreath from the Fifteenth Brigade 118th infantry.
Per The Item [newspaper], Sumter, South Carolina, September 23, 1935: “The death of one so young and so loved as Charles Keith Palmer has brought heart-felt sorrow to a host of friends, both Negro and white, throughout this section and particularly at Cartersville, his birth place, and at Timmonsville, his home since boyhood.”
Charles was a member of the Timmonsville Presbyterian church.
He was survived by his mother, Mary, four brothers (George, Richard, Joe and Jim,) grandmother, Mrs. Mary G. Palmer, an aunt and six uncles including three doctors, a mayor and Major J. B. Keith of Daytona Beach, Florida. His father George, who died in 1920, was a retail merchant in a department store in 1910 Cartersville.

He is buried in South Carolina, with his wife and son, who was one month old at the time of Charles' loss.

Memorial Hall Error

Charles' name was Charles K. Palmer, Sr.; Memorial Hall omits the suffix.

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.