CHAUNCEY MCNEILL, ENS, USNR
Chauncey McNeill '33
Chauncey McNeill was admitted to the Naval Academy from West Virginia on June 14, 1929 at age 18 years 2 months.
Lucky Bag
He is listed as a "Forced Landing" from Second Class Year.
Biography
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Chauncey was born in Virginia. In September 1928, he was named alternate for West Point.
In 1945 when Chauncey’s father died, his sister was a Lieutenant (jg) in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations in Washington.
His father enlisted in the Naval Academy in 1907 but resigned the next year to become a second lieutenant in the Army Cavalry. A month before Chauncey’s birth, his father commanded a broadsword contest by his Troop D detachment at Fort Myer. Other program exhibits were: Troop A’s riders who astride two or three horses stood upright as they took the hurdles, Troop B’s daring bareback horse riding, and a music drill with horses keeping perfect step to the music. The best was Battery D, Third Field Artillery dash into the hall, quickly lining up and firing the gatling gun, and just as quickly leaving the hall.
From the 1953 edition of "Double Three Roundup":
When Chauncey left the Academy Second Class Year he went into the real estate business in Washington, D.C., later managing his father's property in West Virginia. He was commissioned an Ensign in the Naval Reserve, and while serving on active duty at a CCC Camp, he received injuries which resulted in his death at Walter Reed Hospital, on 9 October 1937.
He is survived by his mother, Mrs. C.S. McNeill, and his sister, Mrs. John T. Crippen, both of whom are living in Bethesda, Maryland. His father, Lt. Col. C. S. McNeill, USA, Ret'd, died in 1945.
The injuries were self-inflicted; he had hanged himself "in a ward at Walter Reed Hospital, where he was confined for mental observation."
Chauncey is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Photographs
Memorial Hall Errors
Suicide is not a criteria for inclusion in Memorial Hall. Less significantly, his last name is spelled with two "L"s; only one appears in Memorial Hall.
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