DONALD S. SCHEU, LCDR, USN
Donald Scheu '40
Lucky Bag
From the 1940 Lucky Bag:
DONALD STONE SCHEU
Buffalo, New York
Don
A love of sailing and blue water brought Don to the Naval Academy from the shores of Lake Erie. Born with a tiller in his hand, he early demonstrated his superior nautical ability by winning the Thompson Trophy sailing race Youngster year. Anything from a washtub to an oyster boat moves faster and more dexterously with Don at the helm. A constant booster of sailing here at the Naval Academy, his ambition is to abolish afternoon classes to get in more racing before the evening calm. Don gives the Navy an officer whose academic knowledge is grounded in a keen sense of practical seamanship.
Sailing Team 2, Captain 1; Thompson Trophy 1938, 1939; Boat Club; 2 Stripes.
DONALD STONE SCHEU
Buffalo, New York
Don
A love of sailing and blue water brought Don to the Naval Academy from the shores of Lake Erie. Born with a tiller in his hand, he early demonstrated his superior nautical ability by winning the Thompson Trophy sailing race Youngster year. Anything from a washtub to an oyster boat moves faster and more dexterously with Don at the helm. A constant booster of sailing here at the Naval Academy, his ambition is to abolish afternoon classes to get in more racing before the evening calm. Don gives the Navy an officer whose academic knowledge is grounded in a keen sense of practical seamanship.
Sailing Team 2, Captain 1; Thompson Trophy 1938, 1939; Boat Club; 2 Stripes.
Loss
Don was lost when USS Scorpion (SS 278) was sunk sometime after January 5, 1944.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
His father Edward was an executive of the Union Explosives Company, mother Marguerite, brother Robert.
From From The Ithaca Journal on October 13, 1942 via researcher Kathy Franz:
Lieut. (jg) Donald S. Scheu, nephew of Supervisor LePine Stone of Ulysses, was assistant [damage] control officer aboard the Aircraft Carrier Yorktown which sank during the Battle of Midway. “We hadn’t a single doubt until the last she could be saved,” Lieutenant Scheu said.
From The Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, New York, on March 28, 1944:
[Donald] was cited for heroism by Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox for his heroic efforts at the time of the sinking of the aircraft carrier Yorktown in the battle of the Coral Sea.
Lieutenant Scheu, as a damage control officer, was working below decks, flooding fuel tanks in an effort to right the listing carrier. He remained at his post until the ship went down. Later he was assigned to a submarine as gunnery and torpedo officer and received the Navy Cross and Star for his efforts on three missions.
Donald was aboard Scorpion in 1942 as a passenger; he reported aboard for duty on September 8, 1943.
His parents were listed as next of kin. He has a memory marker in New York.
Silver Star
From Hall of Valor:
The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Silver Star (Posthumously) to Lieutenant Donald S. Scheu (NSN: 0-85047), United States Navy, for gallantry in action while serving as Gunnery Officer aboard a United States Submarine during war patrols in enemy-controlled waters during World War II. Lieutenant Scheu performed his duties courageously and with expert skill, thereby contributing to the sinking or damaging of many thousands of tons of enemy shipping.
General Orders: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 329 (August 1944)
Rank: Lieutenant
He was also apparently awarded the Bronze Star medal; unable to find this citation.
Photographs
From the Lucky Bag
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.
June 1940
November 1940
LTjg Samuel Adams '35 (Bombing Squadron (VB) 5)
LTjg John Curtis '35 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 5)
LTjg Frank Robinson '36 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 5)
LTjg James Southerland, II '36 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 5)
ENS John Black '38 (Carrier Division 2)
ENS Keene Hammond '38 (Carrier Division 2)
April 1941
LTjg John Powers '35 (Bombing Squadron (VB) 5)
LTjg Samuel Adams '35 (Bombing Squadron (VB) 5)
LTjg John Curtis '35 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 5)
LTjg Jack Moore '36 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 5)
ENS John Black '38 (Carrier Division 2)
ENS Eric Allen, Jr. '38 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 5)
ENS Keene Hammond '38 (Carrier Division 2)
Memorial Hall Error
Memorial Hall lists him as a LT, but multiple other sources have him as a LCDR. On Eternal Patrol states "Donald was posthmously promoted to Lieutenant Commander on October 17, 1944."
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
