FRANK E. HIGHLEY, JR., LTJG, USN

Frank Highley, Jr. '30

Date of birth: August 28, 1907

Date of death: April 26, 1934

Age: 26

Lucky Bag

From the 1930 Lucky Bag:

FRANK EDWARD HIGHLEY

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

"Higly"

FRANK is one of the greatest "workout" boys that ever entered the Academy. Everything that he does is done in a sure methodical fashion that seldom fails to bring good results. He devotes proportionate energy to his athletics, his literary activities, his social affairs, and to his academics. All have their place and time.

Frank's track work has been his big moment in the athletic line for four years. Once or twice he strayed from the path of the faithful, once to play football and another time to try his luck in the pool. Aside from these two breaks, however, he has stuck to track like a leech, fall, winter and spring. He has been lifting them up and putting them down for the sake of old Navy and a possible "N." In between times he fills in with tennis and handball.

His literary activities—ah! there we have the young man at his best. For four years Highley has been filling a page of the "Log" with snappy quips and cracks at the sporting world. Once in a while he digressed from the straight and narrow and in an effort to fill space took a fling at poetry. These sporty little verses; which took up lots of room, many a week saved the old "Headlight" from looking a bit barren, and form his chief claim to recognition as a man of letters.

Log Staff 4, 3, 2, 1, Assistant Athletic Editor 1; Track 4, 3, 2, 1; Cross Country 1, cNc, "30"; Athletic Editor Lucky Bag; Editor Trident 1; 2 P.O. 2; Three Stripes.

FRANK EDWARD HIGHLEY

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

"Higly"

FRANK is one of the greatest "workout" boys that ever entered the Academy. Everything that he does is done in a sure methodical fashion that seldom fails to bring good results. He devotes proportionate energy to his athletics, his literary activities, his social affairs, and to his academics. All have their place and time.

Frank's track work has been his big moment in the athletic line for four years. Once or twice he strayed from the path of the faithful, once to play football and another time to try his luck in the pool. Aside from these two breaks, however, he has stuck to track like a leech, fall, winter and spring. He has been lifting them up and putting them down for the sake of old Navy and a possible "N." In between times he fills in with tennis and handball.

His literary activities—ah! there we have the young man at his best. For four years Highley has been filling a page of the "Log" with snappy quips and cracks at the sporting world. Once in a while he digressed from the straight and narrow and in an effort to fill space took a fling at poetry. These sporty little verses; which took up lots of room, many a week saved the old "Headlight" from looking a bit barren, and form his chief claim to recognition as a man of letters.

Log Staff 4, 3, 2, 1, Assistant Athletic Editor 1; Track 4, 3, 2, 1; Cross Country 1, cNc, "30"; Athletic Editor Lucky Bag; Editor Trident 1; 2 P.O. 2; Three Stripes.

Loss

From Naval History and Heritage Command:

Lt. (jg) Frank E. Highley died in collision between two F3R-1 planes near Ensley, Fla. 26 April 1934

Frank died when he pulled the ripcord too soon, and his parachute became entangled in his damaged ship. He was carried down with the plane. The other pilot parachuted to safety.

Other Information

He earned his wings as naval aviator #4022 ten days earlier, on April 16, 1934.

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Frank's father was a lumber salesman, and his mother was Mary. His brother E. C. Shapley Highley was a Philadelphia attorney. Frank was a star athlete at West Philadelphia High School and graduated in 1925. The family previously had spent several years in Pottstown, Pennsylvania.

He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

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.