FRED B. CANNON, JR., ENS, USNR
Fred Cannon, Jr. '40
Fred Beatty Cannon, Jr. was admitted to the Naval Academy from West Virginia on June 15, 1936 at age 19 years 10 months.
He resigned on March 12, 1937.
Photographs
Fred, pictured on the "Inter-Frat Council" page of the Fairmont College yearbook of 1936
Fred, pictured on the Zeta fraternity page of the Fairmont College yearbook of 1936
Lucky Bag
Fred Beatty Cannon, Jr. is listed on the page titled “And Some We Knew.”
Loss
Fred was lost when USS Wasp (CV 7) was sunk by a Japanese submarine on September 15, 1942.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Fred was born in Mount Morris, Pennsylvania, as was his father. The family later moved to Fairmont, West Virginia where his father was a barber who was involved in the Monongahela Valley Trades & Labor Council. His mother Flossie was a cosmetician, and his uncle Elmer was a ballplayer.
Fred only stayed at the Naval Academy for nine months. In 1940 he was working for the Federal Security Agency, Social Security Board in Clarksburg, West Virginia. His Registration Card on 10/16 stated that he was 6’ tall, 140 lbs, with blonde hair and gray eyes. On April 27, 1942, he left on USS Mizar out of Norfolk with destination unknown. The same day, his father registered for the Selective Service.
On September 15, 1942, Fred died when USS Wasp was hit by a Japanese torpedo at 1447. Wreckage and planes flew high in the air. USS Landsdowne rescued 41 officers and 406 men. At 1830 she then received orders to sink the USS Wasp which she did by firing five torpedoes.
His parents were listed as next of kin. He has a memory marker in Pennsylvania and at Honolulu, Hawaii.
He is not listed in the July 1941 edition of "Commissioned Officers, Cadets, Midshipmen, and Warrant Officers of the United States Naval Reserve."
Memorial Hall Error
In Memorial Hall, he is listed on the Class of 1940 panel without "Jr.", and also as a LTJG; all other references (and his headstone) have ENS. "Jr." is present on the killed in action panel in the front of Memorial Hall. He was also a member of the Naval Reserve; the class panel has USN.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
