CLARENCE K. BRONSON, LTJG, USN
Clarence Bronson '10
Lucky Bag
From the 1910 Lucky Bag:
Clarence King Bronson
New York City, New York
"Buck"
Old Buck never gets in a flurry,
He's the last man to act in a hurry,
But decision once made,
And his course firmly laid,
He'll get what he wants, don't you worry.
METHODICAL BUCK! Everything with him is method—deeply thought out and laid up in cold storage. Shines his shoes every night at 9.30, so as to be on time to breakfast formation next day. Has been doing the same thing in the same way for years. Used to go out in town every Saturday for a comfortable nap on the club sofa. He is very deliberate in forming an opinion on anything, but once having formed it—right or wrong—nothing on earth can change him. His very courtly manners are the envy of all the would-be Chesterfields in the Academy. He is an out-and-out Red Mike, but no matter who she may be, no courtesy could exceed Buck's. At times, however, when there is an adverse wind, the vehement expression of Buck's indignation is the admiration of all his listeners.
Generous to a fault, anything he has is yours for the asking. His great popularity, with our appreciation of his extraordinarily fine and strong character, made him a very close second for the class presidency, and has given him many positions of honor and responsibility in the gift of the class. As assistant baseball manager, he was once ordered to sweep off the field before a game. Buck was sore; but he did it. As caterer on the "Chi" First Class cruise, he did very well till he lost his grease with "Puggy" by coming on the bridge too often and asking too many questions. "Keep off this bridge, Mr. Bronson." "No, no, you can't go ashore. Keep off this bridge."
Manager Baseball (1). Class Football (4, 3, 2, 1). Yellow 1910. Chairman Class Pipe Committee. Athletic Representative (3). Executive Committee (4). Buzzard (a). One Stripe (b).
Clarence King Bronson
New York City, New York
"Buck"
Old Buck never gets in a flurry,
He's the last man to act in a hurry,
But decision once made,
And his course firmly laid,
He'll get what he wants, don't you worry.
METHODICAL BUCK! Everything with him is method—deeply thought out and laid up in cold storage. Shines his shoes every night at 9.30, so as to be on time to breakfast formation next day. Has been doing the same thing in the same way for years. Used to go out in town every Saturday for a comfortable nap on the club sofa. He is very deliberate in forming an opinion on anything, but once having formed it—right or wrong—nothing on earth can change him. His very courtly manners are the envy of all the would-be Chesterfields in the Academy. He is an out-and-out Red Mike, but no matter who she may be, no courtesy could exceed Buck's. At times, however, when there is an adverse wind, the vehement expression of Buck's indignation is the admiration of all his listeners.
Generous to a fault, anything he has is yours for the asking. His great popularity, with our appreciation of his extraordinarily fine and strong character, made him a very close second for the class presidency, and has given him many positions of honor and responsibility in the gift of the class. As assistant baseball manager, he was once ordered to sweep off the field before a game. Buck was sore; but he did it. As caterer on the "Chi" First Class cruise, he did very well till he lost his grease with "Puggy" by coming on the bridge too often and asking too many questions. "Keep off this bridge, Mr. Bronson." "No, no, you can't go ashore. Keep off this bridge."
Manager Baseball (1). Class Football (4, 3, 2, 1). Yellow 1910. Chairman Class Pipe Committee. Athletic Representative (3). Executive Committee (4). Buzzard (a). One Stripe (b).
Loss
Clarence was lost on November 8, 1916 when "on an experimental bomb test flight at Naval Proving Ground, Indian Head, Maryland, were instantly killed by the premature explosion of a bomb in their plane."
Other Information
He was naval aviator #10. Clarence was one of the men to establish NAS Pensacola, Florida
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Per The Washington Post, November 10, 1916: The two men were thrown into the Potomac River. A diver found Clarence’s body seated upright in the pilot’s seat with his hands still grasping what remained of the steering wheel.
Clarence married Sophie Elizabeth Roach on June 1, 1915, in New Orleans. She was ill there at the time he died in the explosion. Their daughter Elizabeth Vernon Bronson was born on June 11, 1916, and died March 11, 1991. Sophie remarried Walter Richardson and died in 1970.
Clarence’s mother and sister, who was born in Wyoming, were both named Grace. His brother Edgar, who was born in Texas, became a lawyer.
Clarence’s father Edgar was a capitalist and an author. Edgar, who was on the staff of The Tribune, was introduced to Clarence King and became his secretary. King had a ranch in the west, did mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada, and was a witty and intelligent man. In the July 1910 issue of Century magazine, Edgar published an article about Clarence King entitled “A Man of East and West.”
He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Namesakes
USS Clarence K. Bronson (DD 668) was named for Clarence.
Bronson Field, located near Pensacola, Florida, was named for him.
Photographs
"They are outside the Flying School office, which bears a sign (at left) with the name of Lt. j.g. Clarence K. Bronson. Both station staff and student aviators are present. Most are identified below (as annotated on the print). Standing, left to right: Ensign Harold W. Scofield, USN; Past Assistant Surgeon Charles L. Beeching, USN; Lt. j.g. Clarence K. Bronson, USN; Lt. j.g. William M. Corry, Jr., USN; Lt. j.g. Joseph P. Norfleet, USN; and Lt. Albert C. Read, USN. Seated, left to right: Unidentified Lt. j.g.; Lt. j.g. Earl W. Spencer, Jr., USN; Lt. j.g. Walter A. Edwards, USN; Lt. j.g. Robert R. Paunack, USN; Lt. Earle F. Johnson, USN; Lt. j.g. George D. Murray, USN. Photograph from the photo album of Vice Admiral T.T. Craven. Courtesy of Lt. Rodman DeKay, Jr., USNR (Retired), 1979. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph."
"Five early American naval aviators in Pensacola, c. 1915. From left: Lt. (j.g.) Walter A. Edwards USN, Lt. (j.g.) Clarence K. Bronson USN, Lt. (j.g.) Godfrey Chevalier USN, 2nd Lt. William M. McIlvain USMC, and Lt. (j.g.) Kenneth Whiting USN."
Officers at the Naval Aeronautic Station, Pensacola, Florida, circa July-November 1915. They are standing in front of a Curtiss AB type seaplane, and include both station staff and student aviators. They are identified (as numbered on the print) as: 1. Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Harold W. Scofield, USN; 2. Lieutenant (Junior Grade) William M. Corry, Jr., USN; 3. Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Clarence K. Bronson, USN; 4. Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Ewart G. Haas, USN; 5. Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Robert R. Paunack, USN; 6. 1st Lieutenant Francis T. Evans, USMC; 7. Lieutenant Earle F. Johnson, USN; 8. Lieutenant Albert C. Read, USN; 9. Lieutenant Commander Henry C. Mustin, USN, Naval Aeronautic Station Commandant; 10. Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Patrick N.L. Bellinger, USN; 11. 1st Lieutenant Alfred A. Cunningham, USMC; 12. Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Richard C. Saufley, USN; 13. Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Joseph P. Norfleet, USN; 14. Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Walter A. Edwards, USN; 15. Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Harold T. Bartlett, USN; 16. Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Earl W. Spencer, Jr., USN; 17. Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Edward O. McDonnell, USN. Photograph from the photo album of Vice Admiral T.T. Craven. Courtesy of Lieutenant Rodman DeKay, Jr., USNR (Retired), 1979. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.
Related Articles
Luther Welsh '09 was also lost in this incident.
Richard Saufley '08 and William Corry '10 were also pictured among the earliest naval aviators.
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.
January 1912
January 1915
January 1916
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
