FRANCIS M. DOUGLASS, LT, USN

Francis Douglass '32

Date of birth: May 8, 1908

Date of death: January 18, 1945

Age: 36

Lucky Bag

From the 1932 Lucky Bag:

FRANCIS MALCOLM DOUGLASS

Tucson, Arizona

"Doug" "Mac" "Fran"

A few service traditions and a penchant for navigation made Doug sally forth from the desert country of Arizona to land nearer the sea. Just then an R. O. T. C. lost a very military man, and a university a promising student.

Doug's several characteristics are marvelously compatible. He claims he would have been a lawyer; at times he had thought of being a doctor. In a drawing-room he is always at ease. Doug, too, might have been a diplomat. But more than anything, this young man was attracted by the call of the sea, and—we think—he is to be one of our future admirals.

At Annapolis Mac has been tremendously successful. Friendships were always awfully easy to make. The more important matter of academics means much to many, but to Doug was just another part of the regulations. Regulations, to him, too, were always easy to observe—and never with a criticism. Thus, years have come and gone in which a lot of things have been accomplished. Now we are looking forward to a famous future life.

Fencing; Baseball; Cross-Country; Expert Pistol; 1 P. O.

FRANCIS MALCOLM DOUGLASS

Tucson, Arizona

"Doug" "Mac" "Fran"

A few service traditions and a penchant for navigation made Doug sally forth from the desert country of Arizona to land nearer the sea. Just then an R. O. T. C. lost a very military man, and a university a promising student.

Doug's several characteristics are marvelously compatible. He claims he would have been a lawyer; at times he had thought of being a doctor. In a drawing-room he is always at ease. Doug, too, might have been a diplomat. But more than anything, this young man was attracted by the call of the sea, and—we think—he is to be one of our future admirals.

At Annapolis Mac has been tremendously successful. Friendships were always awfully easy to make. The more important matter of academics means much to many, but to Doug was just another part of the regulations. Regulations, to him, too, were always easy to observe—and never with a criticism. Thus, years have come and gone in which a lot of things have been accomplished. Now we are looking forward to a famous future life.

Fencing; Baseball; Cross-Country; Expert Pistol; 1 P. O.

Loss

From Find A Grave:

Lt. Francis M. Douglass was held as a POW in the Philippine Islands. In December 1944, he was boarded onto the Oryoku Maru for transport to Japan. The ship came under attack from American planes on December 14th. As evening approached, the attack was called off. The next day the planes returned and continued the attack. The ship was sunk by American planes at Subic Bay, Philippine Islands, on December 15, 1944. The surviving POWs were boarded onto the Enoura Maru which reached Takao, Formosa. While docked it was bombed by American planes on January 9, 1945, killing many of the POWs. The surviving POWs were boarded onto the Brazil Maru. Douglass died of his wounds, from the attack on the Enoura Maru, on the ship.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Born in New Hampshire, Francis often went by his middle name Malcolm. He attended University of Arizona 1927-28 and pledged to Omicron Phi Omicron.
In the 1931 Naval Academy summer cruise, Malcolm was on the U. S. S. Arkansas. Together with the U. S. S. Wyoming, they visited Denmark, Scotland, southern Spain and Gibraltar. The squadron picked up Sir Hubert Wilkins in his submarine Nautilus on the way over and towed him into Queenstown.
Malcolm was reported missing on May 27, 1942.
In 1920 Moorestown, New Jersey, his father Moses was an auditor of an express company, mother Edith, brother Andrew, and sisters Edith and Mary. His mother died in January, 1932.
His uncle was Andrew E. Douglass, famous tree-ring researcher and director of the Steward Observatory at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

Unable to determine which unit Francis was stationed with; the Navy Directory of April 1, 1941 lists him at the Naval Training Station, Newport, Rhode Island.

His wife was listed as next of kin. He has a memory marker in New Hampshire.

Photographs

From his high school yearbook

Prisoner of War Medal

From Hall of Valor:

Lieutenant Francis M. Douglass (NSN: 0-71456), United States Navy, was captured by the Japanese after the fall of Corregidor, Philippine Islands, on 6 May 1942, and was held as a Prisoner of War until his death while still in captivity.
General Orders: NARA Database: Records of World War II Prisoners of War, created, 1942 - 1947
Action Date: May 6, 1942 - Died in Captivity
Service: Navy
Rank: Lieutenant
Division: Prisoner of War (Philippine Islands)

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.