DANIEL E. ARNOLD, LT, USN

Daniel Arnold '40

Date of birth: January 25, 1918

Date of death: September 9, 1943

Age: 25

Lucky Bag

From the 1940 Lucky Bag:

DANIEL EUGENE ARNOLD

Kansas City, Missouri

Firpo

From the Midwest came "Mickey," but he had already seen the sea, for, in spite of living inland, he had made a cruise as a member of the Naval Reserve. During plebe year this eager youth aspired to laurels and won them in the form of a star, showing himself to be well versed in mystic mathematics. Since then his tastes have followed more along the line of getting fun out of life, especially in battalion sports. "Gene" has always had high ideals while reaching for the top rung in the ladder of life. He will grasp it, too, for his winning personality and congenial, optimistic attitude speak well of him.

Secretary-Treasurer Christmas Card Committee; Star 4; 2 Stripes.

DANIEL EUGENE ARNOLD

Kansas City, Missouri

Firpo

From the Midwest came "Mickey," but he had already seen the sea, for, in spite of living inland, he had made a cruise as a member of the Naval Reserve. During plebe year this eager youth aspired to laurels and won them in the form of a star, showing himself to be well versed in mystic mathematics. Since then his tastes have followed more along the line of getting fun out of life, especially in battalion sports. "Gene" has always had high ideals while reaching for the top rung in the ladder of life. He will grasp it, too, for his winning personality and congenial, optimistic attitude speak well of him.

Secretary-Treasurer Christmas Card Committee; Star 4; 2 Stripes.

Loss

Mickey was lost when USS Grayling (SS 209) was sunk sometime between September 9-12, 1944.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Daniel graduated from Westport High School in 1934. “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” Member Crack Platoon, ’32, ’33; Member Crack Company, ’32, ’33; Circus Company, ’32, ’33; Irving; Senior Business Committee; Banker. He was an Eagle Scout in the troop sponsored by the St. James Catholic Church.
His mother Hattie was a beautician; sister was Mary Elizabeth. His father was Sigel who was a stenographer for the Missouri-Pacific Railroad in 1917.

His mother was listed as next of kin.

Daniel is remembered at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial.

Photographs

From the Lucky Bag
From The Kansas City Star on June 1, 1940
From The Kansas City Times on October 19, 1943

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.