GEORGE F. PARROTT, JR., LCDR, USN
George Parrott, Jr. '11
Lucky Bag
From the 1911 Lucky Bag:
George Fountain Parrott, Jr.
Kinston, North Carolina
"Polly" "Bird"
YOU may know Polly intimately for months and never hear him speak an unkind word of another. Appreciating the prevalence of criticism at the Academy, we can realize what it means to abstain from it. Quiet, unassuming, and, it must be said, far from addicted to work. Has a Southerner's love of ease, but actually mustered up sufficient energy to be a football representative of the Third Company once upon a time. Always in a good humor. About every three weeks, he becomes very voluble and musical. Though not remarkably religious, Polly was elected President of the Y.M.C.A, Second Class year. However, his high ideals of honor would not permit him to accept the office after learning that the ballots had been stuffed and he resigned in favor of one more religiously inclined. Has long dreamed of a medical career, but will make a better naval officer than doctor.
George Fountain Parrott, Jr., was born in Falling Creek, N. C., on December 22, 1887. He attended successively the Kingstown Graded School and the Rhodes Military Institute, but did not graduate from either. He then went to the Oak Ridge Institute, N. C., from which he graduated. His present home address is Kingston, N. C. He was appointed from the 2nd District, North Carolina, by the Hon. C. Kitchin.
George Fountain Parrott, Jr.
Kinston, North Carolina
"Polly" "Bird"
YOU may know Polly intimately for months and never hear him speak an unkind word of another. Appreciating the prevalence of criticism at the Academy, we can realize what it means to abstain from it. Quiet, unassuming, and, it must be said, far from addicted to work. Has a Southerner's love of ease, but actually mustered up sufficient energy to be a football representative of the Third Company once upon a time. Always in a good humor. About every three weeks, he becomes very voluble and musical. Though not remarkably religious, Polly was elected President of the Y.M.C.A, Second Class year. However, his high ideals of honor would not permit him to accept the office after learning that the ballots had been stuffed and he resigned in favor of one more religiously inclined. Has long dreamed of a medical career, but will make a better naval officer than doctor.
George Fountain Parrott, Jr., was born in Falling Creek, N. C., on December 22, 1887. He attended successively the Kingstown Graded School and the Rhodes Military Institute, but did not graduate from either. He then went to the Oak Ridge Institute, N. C., from which he graduated. His present home address is Kingston, N. C. He was appointed from the 2nd District, North Carolina, by the Hon. C. Kitchin.
Loss
George was lost on October 9, 1918 when USS Shaw (Destroyer No. 68) collided with a steamship she was escorting. Eleven others were also lost. He was the ship's executive officer, and was asleep in the forward part of the ship.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
George went by his middle name Fountain. At one time, he was employed by Kinston’s Free Press newspaper. In July 1911, he was assigned to the New Hampshire.
From The News and Observer, Raleigh, North Carolina, May 11, 1914:
“War loses all the music that poets have put into it when you meet it face to face. It is far from beautiful.” That is the way Ensign Fountain Parrott, a Kinstonian on the battleship New Hampshire at Vera Cruz, describes it. In a letter to his mother here Ensign Parrott describes graphically the taking of the port by the American naval forces late in April. His ship and the South Carolina, he complains, were neglected in the press of reports. The New Hampshire, writes the young officer, lost five amen among the killed, more than her proportionate share, and the landing party with which he was bore the brunt of the fighting ashore as the vanguard of a sailor regiment. He tells of the summary execution of 19 prisoners by the Americans because they fired on Red Cross parties. “The Mexican police, 300 of whom were engaged, are dirty fighters.” Their fire “was most demoralizing, because it came from windows and housetops and we couldn’t see them,” states Ensign Parrott. “I can certainly vouch for the fact that a state of war exists here now” was his opinion of conditions in Vera Cruz when he wrote.”
At Vera Cruz, George returned personal effects of the Mexican General Obregon. He received and prized a warm letter of thanks from Obregon, per Kinston newspaper, Nov. 3, 1918.
In October 1914, a passenger on the New Hampshire, author James B. Connolly, had just won the $2,500 prize for his story “The Trawler” in Collier’s Weekly. The ship was returning from Vera Cruz, and Connolly invited all to celebrate. George was officer of the deck and couldn’t go to the celebration. When he was relieved of duty, he found his stateroom in a mess from the celebration.
George was a member of the Methodist Church. A memorial service was held at the Queen Street Methodist Church on December 1, 1918.
George’s father was an ex-Senator and in 1907 was president of the North Carolina Farmers’ Alliance. George’s brothers were: Albert, a doctor; Mercer, assistant surgeon U. S. N.; and James Marion who died in an auto accident at the age of 19 in 1921. His sisters were Sarah/Bessie (Mrs. Charles Rosemond), Julia (Mrs. Willis Maier) and Mildred (Mrs. Robert Parker.)
He was survived by his parents and six siblings.
George has a memory marker in North Carolina.
Photographs
John is pictured (front row, left) aboard USS New Hampshire, possibly with his division.
From Hall of Valor:
The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Lieutenant George Fountain Parrott, United States Navy, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished service in the line of his profession on the U.S.S. SHAW, when that vessel was rammed by the steamship AQUITANIA on 9 October 1918. Lieutenant Parrot lost his life on that occasion.
Service: Navy
Division: U.S.S. Shaw
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.
January 1914
January 1915
January 1916
January 1917
March 1918
Memorial
George's classmates erected a plaque in his honor in Memorial Hall.
Memorial Hall Error
George is listed as a Commander with his classmates in Memorial Hall; as a Lieutenant Commander on his plaque in Memorial Hall; as a Lieutenant in his Navy Cross citation; and as a Lieutenant Commander on his memorial marker. The commanding officer of Shaw was a Lieutenant Commander, and there is no indication of posthumous promotion. Lieutenant Commander is almost certainly correct.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
