EDWARD B. CURTIS, JR., LT, USN

Edward Curtis, Jr. '22

Date of birth: February 1, 1899

Date of death: November 18, 1926

Age: 27

Lucky Bag

From the 1922 Lucky Bag:

EDWARD BURNAM CURTIS

New Orleans, Louisiana

"Eddie," "Ed," "Barrel."

"AND then the Duke of York says to me, says he, as he finally went under, 'Take charge, Curtis. You're a better man than I am, Drinka Gin.' No, I don't suppose I would have won, only me, King, Gal, and the boys had been training in Belgium for a month before." No, we haven't heard the last of "Eddie's" adventures as a member of the Olympic Team, and we don't expect to. He never runs out. Then, too, ever since his younger days, he's always been able to think faster than he could talk.

Many who have admired his striking features have guessed, and rightly too, that he is possessed of royal blood. Yes indeed, he holds no less a title than Prince. When only a Plebe, he won this position over the fair kingdom of Eastport, but despite superhuman efforts he still is forced to take precedence next after ex-Midshipman Hog Murray.

Track N (4, 3, 2); Captain (1); Olympic Team, 1920; Boxing Squad (3, 2, 1); The Clan (4, 3, 2, 1).

EDWARD BURNAM CURTIS

New Orleans, Louisiana

"Eddie," "Ed," "Barrel."

"AND then the Duke of York says to me, says he, as he finally went under, 'Take charge, Curtis. You're a better man than I am, Drinka Gin.' No, I don't suppose I would have won, only me, King, Gal, and the boys had been training in Belgium for a month before." No, we haven't heard the last of "Eddie's" adventures as a member of the Olympic Team, and we don't expect to. He never runs out. Then, too, ever since his younger days, he's always been able to think faster than he could talk.

Many who have admired his striking features have guessed, and rightly too, that he is possessed of royal blood. Yes indeed, he holds no less a title than Prince. When only a Plebe, he won this position over the fair kingdom of Eastport, but despite superhuman efforts he still is forced to take precedence next after ex-Midshipman Hog Murray.

Track N (4, 3, 2); Captain (1); Olympic Team, 1920; Boxing Squad (3, 2, 1); The Clan (4, 3, 2, 1).

Loss

Edward was lost on November 18, 1926 when the plane he was aboard crashed near Hampton Roads Naval Operating Base (now Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia). The pilot, a classmate of his, survived.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

In 1910, Edward’s father was a traveling salesman for a rubber company.
Edward was an outstanding football player at Jesuits high school.
He was a member of the U. S. Olympic team of 1920 and participated in the mile event in the July trials in Harvard Stadium, Cambridge. He came in second to Joie Ray of the Illinois Athletic Club.
Edward was a member of the Observations Squadron of the Scouting Fleet. He was in Norfolk visiting while awaiting duty on the steamer Marblehead. The plane lost a wing while coming out of a tail spin at 2,000 feet in the air and fell into the roof of a mess hall in Unit J of the Hampton Roads Naval Operating Base. His parachute became entangled, and his pilot and classmate Delbert Cornwell tried to control the plane’s fall instead of parachuting out. For his actions, Delbert was awarded the distinguished flying cross.

Edward was married, but his wife seems to have died of complications from childbirth in January 1923, only a few days following the death of their newborn.

His ring is in the collection of the Naval Academy Museum. Edward is buried in Louisiana.

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.