GEORGE W. D. COVELL, LT, USN

George Covell '22

Date of birth: March 1, 1899

Date of death: August 10, 1927

Age: 28

Lucky Bag

From the 1922 Lucky Bag:

GEORGE W. D. COVELL

Tacoma, Washington

"Turkey," "Slim."

AFTER nearly two years as a bluejacket on the West Coast, George entered here in 1918. First he built himself a home by hauling stones for the construction of the new wings of Bancroft Hall. But, as luck would have it, after he had built this "more stately mansion" they put him in the third wing.

From the first the boys recognized him as a regular fellow—a man's man—but, oh boy! he's a wazzo with the ladies. He can navigate those pedal extremities shod in "Welcome Homes" with more agility than an ampere chasing a stray loss over an entropy diagram. As a snake, he's a boa constrictor.

For three years George courted the friendship of the "filthy weed" and the "God of Good Tendencies," and maintained the enviable record of never having chalked up a "smoking pap." How's it to loan us your horseshoe a while, "Turkey?"

Second Class Year found George with a buzzard—yes, a "Turkey" buzzard, most likely.

Buzzard (2); Mandolin Club (2).

GEORGE W. D. COVELL

Tacoma, Washington

"Turkey," "Slim."

AFTER nearly two years as a bluejacket on the West Coast, George entered here in 1918. First he built himself a home by hauling stones for the construction of the new wings of Bancroft Hall. But, as luck would have it, after he had built this "more stately mansion" they put him in the third wing.

From the first the boys recognized him as a regular fellow—a man's man—but, oh boy! he's a wazzo with the ladies. He can navigate those pedal extremities shod in "Welcome Homes" with more agility than an ampere chasing a stray loss over an entropy diagram. As a snake, he's a boa constrictor.

For three years George courted the friendship of the "filthy weed" and the "God of Good Tendencies," and maintained the enviable record of never having chalked up a "smoking pap." How's it to loan us your horseshoe a while, "Turkey?"

Second Class Year found George with a buzzard—yes, a "Turkey" buzzard, most likely.

Buzzard (2); Mandolin Club (2).

Loss

George was lost on August 10, 1927 when the plane he was aboard crashed at Point Loma, California, near San Diego.

Other Information

From Find A Grave:

From the Santa Cruz Evening News (Santa Cruz, California), Wednesday, August 10, 1927, page 1:
Plane Crashes Into Point Loma When On the Way North
San Diego, Cal. - Aug. 10- Lieuts. George Covell and R. S. Waggener, U. S. N., who left here today in an airplane they had entered in the Dole flight to Honolulu, were killed when their airplane crashed into Point Loma near here. The plane was destroyed less than fifteen minutes after it left her for the Oakland air port, where they intended taking off Friday on the Honolulu flight.
Bursts into Flame
The plane burst into flames after it struck Point Loma. An orderly of the naval coaling station and La Playa residents stated it was reported both bodies had been recovered.
From the position of the plane it was believed it had struck the west bank of Point Loma as the airman endeavored to gain altitude.
The low winged monoplane which Covell and Waggener planned to fly to San Francisco for the Honolulu flight was a type entirely different from any before seen here. The plane was built by William D. Tremaine at Brea, Calif., from where Covell and Waggener started for San Diego last Saturday, only to be forced down near Escondido because of a broken oil feed line. After repairs had been made they continued their flight to San Diego, landing here late in the day. The plane was different from the usual monoplane in that its wings swung from the fuselage. In fact the whole body of the plane rested on the wings. The planes wings had a spread of 47 feet 6 inches, 7 feet wide, and had seven fuel tanks with a capacity of 645 gallons of gasoline and 35 gallons of oil were carried in the plane, which weighted two and a half tons and had a cruising speed of 100 miles an hour.
Seen Through the Fog
First reports of the crash came from the La Playa district, a small town on the edge of the reservation. It appears that some one saw the crash through the fog and made a report to the police authorities. No one in the reservation knew anything about it until their attention was called to it.
The naval air station, located on the top of the promontory near the end, reported having seen nothing. Fort Rosecrans reservation is practically the whole outer portion of Point Loma. Owing to the armament located there many parts are inaccessible and heavy brush prevent moving about.
Lieutenant Covell was born in Ellis, Neb., in 1899, and joined the aviation service of the navy in 1925. He resided at 327 B. Avenue, Coronado and was married and had two children.
Lieutenant Waggener was a native of Warrington, Fla., and was twenty six years old. He made his home at officers headquarters, North Island. Waggener was not married but fellow officers stated he was engaged to be married, although they do not know the name of his fiancee.

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Born in Nebraska, George graduated from Stadium High School in Tacoma.
George joined the navy and was stationed on the gunboat U. S. S. Vicksburg as a member of the detachment of the Tacoma naval militia called into service in April, 1917.
He received his appointment to the Naval Academy from Senator Miles Poindexter. He was in Goat Island when discharged to attend the Academy.
In May 1921, he received $465 from the Veteran’s Compensation Fund for his previous service of 31 months and 6 days in the navy.
Unlucky 13. George’s monoplane had been assigned position 13 in the San Francisco-Honolulu flight. He “reminded his friends that the flight was to start on Friday; that the wings of his plane were 13 inches from the ground; that he carried 13 instruments and that there were 13 letters in his name.”
His father Herbert was a minister, and his mother Winnifred was a milliner.
His wife was Ruth Davis, his son was David, born July 26, 1924, and his daughter was Anne Louise, born November 13, 1926.

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.