GEORGE M. FENNELL, JR., ENS, USN
George Fennell, Jr. '58
Lucky Bag
From the 1958 Lucky Bag:
GEORGE MATTHEW FENNELL, JR.
Brooklyn, New York
George left the teeming hamlet of Brooklyn and entered the Academy at the ripe old age of seventeen. While always one of our youngest members, he lost no time in doing justice to his new way of life. Plebe year had its usual rigors for him, which caused him to thereafter dedicate his time to staying on good terms with the pad. Trying hard in every undertaking, George's good judgment could be counted on in any situation, whether it was battalion handball or raising a plebe the right way. He seeks the golden wings of Navy air and is already looking forward to retirement after twenty years of service.
He was also a member of the 22nd Company staff (winter).
GEORGE MATTHEW FENNELL, JR.
Brooklyn, New York
George left the teeming hamlet of Brooklyn and entered the Academy at the ripe old age of seventeen. While always one of our youngest members, he lost no time in doing justice to his new way of life. Plebe year had its usual rigors for him, which caused him to thereafter dedicate his time to staying on good terms with the pad. Trying hard in every undertaking, George's good judgment could be counted on in any situation, whether it was battalion handball or raising a plebe the right way. He seeks the golden wings of Navy air and is already looking forward to retirement after twenty years of service.
He was also a member of the 22nd Company staff (winter).
Obituary
From The New York Age on October 4, 1958:
Shortly after his graduation with top honors from the Annapolis Naval Academy in June this year, 21-year-old Ensign George M. Fennell, Jr., commenting on a Negro's future in the Navy, declared: "Like so many other places people are going to watch you more closely because you are a Negro. But it's up to the individual to show his stuff. If he comes through good. If he doesn't, that's too bad." On Sunday, Sept. 21, the Navy announced the death of Ensign Fennell in a plane crash during a training flight at the Naval airbase in Pensacola, Florida. He died in the service of his country. He had "shown his stuff." Military Honors. A military funeral for the Brooklyn Ensign was held Thursday afternoon at the Long Island National Cemetery at Pine Lawn The following Sunday, a memorial service was held for him at the Siloam Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn has set up a Citizenship Award in his name at the four schools he attended before entering the Navy. They are The Brooklyn Tech, P.S. 45 - 47 - 42.
The late Ensign's naval career began immediately after his graduation with honor from Brooklyn Technical High School in 1954. He reported to Annapolis and graduated with distinction from the Academy last June. He capped his scholastic record there, by winning the Jack Cobb Moore Award for attaining highest marks for the course in naval aviation. On August 10 be was assigned with other classmates to Pensacola, Florida to begin training as a Navy flier.
Writing to his parents the day before his death, young Fennell explained that in another nine-weeks his training period would be over and he was anticipating an easier pace during those weeks. This last letter from a boy to his mom and dad was found in his quarters after his tragic accident and forwarded to the parents. They received it the day after their boy’s funeral.
His parents are George Fennell, retired employe of the American Casualty Co. in Manhattan, and his mother Evelyn, a teacher at P.S. 20 at Adelphi and Willoughby in Brooklyn.
George is buried in New York.
Related Articles
Leonard Reynolds '58 was also a member of 22nd Company.
George is one of 28 members of the Class of 1958 on Virtual Memorial Hall.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
