EDWARD T. GRACE, LCDR, USN
Edward Grace '39
Lucky Bag
From the 1939 Lucky Bag:
EDWARD THOMAS GRACE
Washington, D.C.
Ned
Four years is all too short a time to fully evaluate and appreciate all the aspects of Ned's multilateral character. A strong love of music is not the least of his catholic tastes in arts and letters. As one of Ortland's most promising mermen, Ned has proved himself an athlete, as well as an athlete, of no mean ability. Even with time out for all his outside activities, academics have never been able to daunt this little giant of the fourth platoon. His analytical mind is always quick to reach the core of the most difficult lesson or the most controversial question. Ned's broad viewpoint on life coupled with an ability to make friends everywhere will always keep him where he belongs—on top.
Swimming 4, 3, 2, 1; 1 P.O.
EDWARD THOMAS GRACE
Washington, D.C.
Ned
Four years is all too short a time to fully evaluate and appreciate all the aspects of Ned's multilateral character. A strong love of music is not the least of his catholic tastes in arts and letters. As one of Ortland's most promising mermen, Ned has proved himself an athlete, as well as an athlete, of no mean ability. Even with time out for all his outside activities, academics have never been able to daunt this little giant of the fourth platoon. His analytical mind is always quick to reach the core of the most difficult lesson or the most controversial question. Ned's broad viewpoint on life coupled with an ability to make friends everywhere will always keep him where he belongs—on top.
Swimming 4, 3, 2, 1; 1 P.O.
Loss
Edward was lost when USS Halligan (DD 584) struck a mine and sank on March 26, 1945, near Okinawa. Only two of her 21 officers survived.
Other Information
He was commanding officer; it appears he might have only taken command of the ship sometime in February.
His wife was listed as next of kin. He was also survived by his two-year-old daughter.
Photographs
From the Lucky Bag
Silver Star
From the Kitsap News on August 4, 1996, remembering August 4th, 1946:
The Silver Star, posthumously awarded to Lt.Cmdr. Edward Grace, was ceremoniously pinned on his 2-year-old daughter's dress yesterday at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Grace, who lived at 1416 Gregory Way, died March 26, 1945, during the assault on Okinawa Gunto, Ryukyu Islands. As the commanding officer of USS Halligan, he maneuvered the destroyer into "withering fire" from Japanese shore batteries, torpedo skiffs, suicide boats and kamikaze planes to shield inbound Marine landing craft, saving perhaps hundreds of American lives before being killed when his ship struck a mine.
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
April 1941
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
