FITZHUGH L. RHEA, LTJG, USN

Fitzhugh Rhea '24

Date of birth: May 25, 1903

Date of death: February 8, 1928

Age: 24

Lucky Bag

From the 1924 Lucky Bag:

FITZHUGH LEE RHEA

Lexington, Virginia

"Fitz"

IF you are among those who are sanguine, and hopeful of a successful future for this product of the ages, read his honors rather than his biography, for this is not an exposition of his achievements; but an attempt to show him as he is.

Supply Officer: "Timonier, tell the Captain that the S'p'ly Officer wants to see him."

Timonier (to Captain): "Sir, Mr. Splob wants to see you."

Captain: "Don't know him, but send him in. I'll be prepared for the worst."

Enter Mr. Splob (alias the Supply Officer). Captain becomes apoplectic. Timonier (alias "Fitz") enjoys joke hugely when light finally dawns. So do all the rest of the Olympia's crew. Could this have happened to anyone else?

To crowd the real essentials of a diverse character into a few words is difficult; however, the dramatic incident related above should do much to proclaim an irresistible and irrepressible nature—such is truly typical; take it as being a real indicator.

Class Wrestling (4); Wrestling Squad (3, 2, 1); WNT (2).

FITZHUGH LEE RHEA

Lexington, Virginia

"Fitz"

IF you are among those who are sanguine, and hopeful of a successful future for this product of the ages, read his honors rather than his biography, for this is not an exposition of his achievements; but an attempt to show him as he is.

Supply Officer: "Timonier, tell the Captain that the S'p'ly Officer wants to see him."

Timonier (to Captain): "Sir, Mr. Splob wants to see you."

Captain: "Don't know him, but send him in. I'll be prepared for the worst."

Enter Mr. Splob (alias the Supply Officer). Captain becomes apoplectic. Timonier (alias "Fitz") enjoys joke hugely when light finally dawns. So do all the rest of the Olympia's crew. Could this have happened to anyone else?

To crowd the real essentials of a diverse character into a few words is difficult; however, the dramatic incident related above should do much to proclaim an irresistible and irrepressible nature—such is truly typical; take it as being a real indicator.

Class Wrestling (4); Wrestling Squad (3, 2, 1); WNT (2).

Loss

Fitzhugh was lost on February 8, 1928 when the plane he was piloting crashed into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

In April 1910, the family lived in Fort Riley, Kansas. Fitzhugh’s father was later stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas. In 1916, Fitzhugh’s brother James died and was buried in Midland, Texas.
In the January 1920 census, Fitzhugh, his mother and sister lived on his grandfather James F. Rhea’s ranch in Midland.
Fitzhugh married Anita Birney in San Francisco on June 24, 1925. Their daughter Barbara Lee was born on March 30, 1926, at Ft. Huachuca, Arizona. His widow married Lieutenant Ralph Woods (’23) at St. Anne’s Church on July 6, 1929, in Annapolis.
Fitzhugh’s father was Colonel James C. Rhea, and his sister was Eleanor who was born in the Philippines. She married Fitzhugh’s classmate John N. Opie (‘24.)
Fitzhugh’s grandfather was General Fitzhugh Lee, one time governor of Virginia and Governor General of Cuba during the Spanish American War. His uncle was Captain Fitzhugh Lee of the Third cavalry whose horses won the majority of the jumping events at a San Francisco horse show in October 1915. He then came to visit Fitzhugh’s family in Midland.

From Veterans Profile:

Lieutenant (JG) Fitzhugh Lee Rhea (5/25/1903-2/8/1928). Rhea was appointed to the US Naval Academy 7/23/1920 and graduated 6/4/1924. Rhea was one of the early naval aviators. Serving on USS OMAHA; USS LANGLEY; USS WOOD; USS KIDDER and USS WEST VIRGINIA as assistant fire control officer.
On February 8, 1928 while with Observation Squadron 4B Lt. Rhea was killed when his plane crashed about 35 miles off shore from Point Loma, CA. Lt Rhea was the son of Brigadier General James C. Rhea.

He earned his wings as naval aviator #3512 on September 16, 1929.

Fitzhugh was survived by his mother and sister. He has a memory marker in Virginia.

Photographs

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.