DONALD C. GODWIN, CAPT, USN
Donald Godwin '11
Lucky Bag
From the 1911 Lucky Bag:
Donald Clark Godwin
Williamston, North Carolina
"Don" "Goodman"
DON is a member of that happy group of Southerners, Bubber Scott, Fount Parrott, Jack Melvin, Maitre Reynaud and Company, who are always keen for a good time, even if it is at the expense of one of them. He is quiet when undisturbed, and likes to smoke his pipe and ruminate, but if the occasion or the company demands, he is strictly one of the boys, and good for anything that may turn up. At regular intervals he makes a big liberty, and lots of noise, usually with the Minstrel Man to cheer him on. He is a non-fusser. During the trip to London on First Class Cruise, he astonished a sedate "Cabby" one night, by directing him to " Pillidickey Square," but as a rule he talks quite naturally. He is good-looking, good-natured, and a light student, who gets more pleasure out of life by talking than by reading.
Donald Godwin was born in Williamston, North Carolina, on September 13, 1888. After leaving the grade schools he entered the Wilson Academy, but later entered and graduated from the Oak Ridge (N.C.) Institute. He was appointed from North Carolina.
Donald Clark Godwin
Williamston, North Carolina
"Don" "Goodman"
DON is a member of that happy group of Southerners, Bubber Scott, Fount Parrott, Jack Melvin, Maitre Reynaud and Company, who are always keen for a good time, even if it is at the expense of one of them. He is quiet when undisturbed, and likes to smoke his pipe and ruminate, but if the occasion or the company demands, he is strictly one of the boys, and good for anything that may turn up. At regular intervals he makes a big liberty, and lots of noise, usually with the Minstrel Man to cheer him on. He is a non-fusser. During the trip to London on First Class Cruise, he astonished a sedate "Cabby" one night, by directing him to " Pillidickey Square," but as a rule he talks quite naturally. He is good-looking, good-natured, and a light student, who gets more pleasure out of life by talking than by reading.
Donald Godwin was born in Williamston, North Carolina, on September 13, 1888. After leaving the grade schools he entered the Wilson Academy, but later entered and graduated from the Oak Ridge (N.C.) Institute. He was appointed from North Carolina.
Loss
Donald was lost on January 21, 1943, when the aircraft he was aboard crashed near Ukiah, California while enroute from Pearl Harbor to San Francisco. The flying boat, a Pan Am Clipper, was being operated by Pan Am employees but was a contracted Navy flight, and all ten passengers were Navy officers.
Other Information
From The US Naval Institute:
On 21 January 1943, a Pan Am clipper operating for the Naval Air Transport Service was on a flight from Pearl Harbor to San Francisco. On board the transport aircraft was Rear Admiral Robert H. English, Commander, Submarines, Pacific Fleet, headed for a conference at Mare Island, together with three of his senior staff officers. Once matters had been completed at San Francisco, English and the others were scheduled for inspection trips to U.S. submarine facilities at Kodiak, Dutch Harbor, and then San Diego.
From researcher Kathy Franz:
In January 1906, Donald was appointed by Senator Simmons as third alternate to the Naval Academy.
After graduating from the Naval Academy, Donald’s brother Charles gave him a “stag banquet” on July 17, 1911, in Williamston, North Carolina. The banquet included a seven-course meal and sparkling champagne.
Donald married Hazel May Kenney on October 27, 1913, in the old Episcopal church in Falls Church, Virginia. She was an actress with the Poli players, and she returned that night to Washington, D. C., to perform in “Captain Jinks.” Donald did not notify his family of his marriage. Right after the ceremony, he shipped off to Tampico, Mexico, on the Rhode Island.
He returned for a short while, and on April 22, 1914, Charles gave another party for Donald, his bride, brother Vernon and his bride at Williamston. Donald was shipped off again shortly thereafter, ruining their second chance for a honeymoon.
Their daughter Hazel “Donnie” May was born in 1916 and married Ensign Floyd W. Bringle (’37).
In February 1940, Donald received orders transferring him from the USS Whitney to the University of California at Berkeley as a naval instructor. He was professor of Naval Science and Tactics.
In November 1941, he was ordered to sea duty and sailed on November 13 on the S. S. Lurline from San Francisco. He arrived in Honolulu on November 19. He was on the USS Maryland when the Japanese attacked on December 7. He was listed as her commander until he died in January 1943.
In October 1942, his wife’s niece “Izetta Jewell, jr.” was living with her in San Francisco as she was appearing in “The Watch on the Rhine.” Her mother Izetta also performed at the Poli players with Hazel.
In January 1943, Donald was returning to San Francisco after six months’ service at Pearl Harbor. His wife was waiting for him when his plane crashed.
Donald’s father Benjamin was mayor of Williamston, and his mother was Emma. His brothers were Charles, Benjamin, Louis, Verner and Glover, a physician.
He had turned over command of USS Maryland (BB 46) the week before; it's unclear what his next duty was to be. Possibly with the 12th Naval District, Los Angeles, California, though this could just be for transitory/tracking purposes.
Donald was survived by his wife and daughter; he is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Photographs
From the Durham Morning Herald on January 27, 1943
"Admiral H.W. Hill, USN, and Captain D.C. Godin. In a speech at the "Crossing of the Line" ceremonies, Captain Godwin said that some would not return. He was the first to fulfill that prophecy." From a history of USS Maryland (BB 46).
Wartime Service
Donald was commanding officer of USS Maryland (BB 46) during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. The ship was flagship for the embarked Commander, Battleships Pacific Fleet and was damaged in the attack. He was in command of Maryland from November 21, 1941 to January 14, 1943.
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.
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October 1935
LT William Gray '21
LT John French '22
LT Howard Healy '22
LT Edward Metcalfe '22
LT Eugene Elmore '22
LT Richard Gingras '25
LTjg Ralph Hickox '27
LTjg Robert Winters '27
January 1936
LT William Gray '21
LT John French '22
LT Howard Healy '22
LT Edward Metcalfe '22
LT Eugene Elmore '22
LT Richard Gingras '25
LTjg Ralph Hickox '27
LTjg Robert Winters '27
April 1936
LT William Gray '21
LT John French '22
LT Howard Healy '22
LT Edward Metcalfe '22
LT Eugene Elmore '22
LT Richard Gingras '25
LTjg Ralph Hickox '27
LTjg Robert Winters '27
July 1936
January 1937
April 1937
LTjg Victor Gaulin '30 (Training Plane Squadron (VN) 8D5, Naval Academy)
September 1937
LT William Hobby, Jr. '23
LT Richard Baron '24
LT Richard Gingras '25
LT Harold Pound '25
LT William Graham, Jr. '25
LT Andrew Harris '25
LT Ralph Hickox '27
LTjg John Bermingham '29
LTjg Egbert Roth '29
January 1938
LT William Hobby, Jr. '23
LT Richard Baron '24
LT Richard Gingras '25
LT Harold Pound '25
LT William Graham, Jr. '25
LT Andrew Harris '25
LT Ralph Hickox '27
LT John Bermingham '29
LT Egbert Roth '29
July 1938
January 1939
October 1939
June 1940
November 1940
April 1941
Related Articles
Robert English '11, Robert Smith '20, John Crane '26, Francis Black '26, William Myers '26, John Coll '27, and George Stone '31 were also lost in the crash of Pan Am Flight 1104. Eight of the ten passengers were Naval Academy graduates.
Memorial Hall Error
Donald, along with his classmate Robert English '11, are the only two Naval Academy alumni who perished in this crash who are not included in Memorial Hall. Their loss is clearly an operational one, and six other alumni who were aboard are listed with their classmates.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
