DANIEL B. DECKELMAN, LT, USN

Daniel Deckelman '37

Date of birth: July 7, 1913

Date of death: March 26, 1942

Age: 28

Lucky Bag

From the 1937 Lucky Bag:

DANIEL BERNARD DECKELMAN

Cincinnati, Ohio

"Danny" "Boxcar" "Prince"

Danny is one of the landmarks of the Second Battalion. Plebe year offered no easy sailing for him. Never one to sit idly by and let things run their course, he often differed in opinion with the upper classes. Now the boys agree with him. A likeable fellow who is always ready to promote anything from an interesting bull session to an afternoon at "Pop's", Dan is not one of the intelligentsia, but a member of that party known as the backbone of the Regiment.

Football 4, 3, 2. Wrestling 4. One Stripe.

DANIEL BERNARD DECKELMAN

Cincinnati, Ohio

"Danny" "Boxcar" "Prince"

Danny is one of the landmarks of the Second Battalion. Plebe year offered no easy sailing for him. Never one to sit idly by and let things run their course, he often differed in opinion with the upper classes. Now the boys agree with him. A likeable fellow who is always ready to promote anything from an interesting bull session to an afternoon at "Pop's", Dan is not one of the intelligentsia, but a member of that party known as the backbone of the Regiment.

Football 4, 3, 2. Wrestling 4. One Stripe.

Loss

Daniel was lost when USS Atik (AK 101) was sunk by a German submarine 300 miles east of Norfolk, Virginia on March 26, 1942. None of her crew survived the sinking and a large explosion as the ship sank.

The Naval History and Heritage Command has details of the Q-ship program, and of Atik's brief history.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Daniel graduated in 1932 from Walnut Hills High School. “Dan was a typical football captain – on the gridiron, in the classroom, and with the girls.” Gym Team, 9, 10, 11, 12. Gym Exhibition Team 10, 11, 12. Football Team, 10, 11, 12 (Captain). Track Team 10, 11, 12. Basketball 11, 12. “The New Poor,” 11. Student Council 12. School Prophecy: “A little farther on at the University of Southern California I saw Dan Deckelman, coach and football authority, whose recent book, “School Spirit As a Latin Substitute in the School Curriculum,” has caused a furor among educational circles.” Nickname: Dan. Rendezvous: Front steps. Expressions: “I’ll punch you in the nose.” Weakness: Football. Asset: Athletic. Fears: Car stalling on a date.
Appointed second alternate to the Naval Academy by Representative John B. Hollister.
Daniel was survived by his wife Ethel, 14-month-old son, father Charles, a clothing salesman, and mother Frances “Fannie.”

Ethel was listed as next of kin. He has a memory marker in Ohio. (Note: the date on this marker is the date he was officially declared dead by the Navy Department.)

Photographs

From his high school yearbook
From his high school yearbook

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.