HERBERT S. FULMER, JR., CDR, USN

Herbert Fulmer, Jr. '33

Date of birth: June 14, 1912

Date of death: January 21, 1945

Age: 32

Lucky Bag

From the 1933 Lucky Bag:

HERBERT SAMUEL FULMER, JR.

St. Louis, Missouri

"Herb"

Herb hails from that famed old city in the center of our United States, the home of Budweiser. When one hears him carry on about the Cards, and their standing in the National League, there is no further doubt as to his podunk.

The environment of time spent in following the fistic game, while a "young feller," came to the front during his Youngster Year, and he succeeded in annexing an intercollegiate crown for his Alma Mater after three grand victories. At present, his ambition of carrying on to higher laurels in the sport is coupled with a desire to do some high flying before settling down.

Loves? Yes, as regular as the weeks come and go. Although he sinks before the scintillating gaze of a flaxen haired femme, red heads are held high in his esteem.

Regulations were the least of this tow head's worries. As a result, he has had his troubles with the Executive Department. Not a black "N" man, to be sure, but if there was such, he would be five striper of that famed organization, the escorters of Miss Springfield.

Herb is a chip off the old block—and what a block (from one who knows); and you can bet your bottom dollar that he will be batting 1000 when success comes sailing along his way.

Boxing 4, 3, 2; Track 4; 2 P.O.

HERBERT SAMUEL FULMER, JR.

St. Louis, Missouri

"Herb"

Herb hails from that famed old city in the center of our United States, the home of Budweiser. When one hears him carry on about the Cards, and their standing in the National League, there is no further doubt as to his podunk.

The environment of time spent in following the fistic game, while a "young feller," came to the front during his Youngster Year, and he succeeded in annexing an intercollegiate crown for his Alma Mater after three grand victories. At present, his ambition of carrying on to higher laurels in the sport is coupled with a desire to do some high flying before settling down.

Loves? Yes, as regular as the weeks come and go. Although he sinks before the scintillating gaze of a flaxen haired femme, red heads are held high in his esteem.

Regulations were the least of this tow head's worries. As a result, he has had his troubles with the Executive Department. Not a black "N" man, to be sure, but if there was such, he would be five striper of that famed organization, the escorters of Miss Springfield.

Herb is a chip off the old block—and what a block (from one who knows); and you can bet your bottom dollar that he will be batting 1000 when success comes sailing along his way.

Boxing 4, 3, 2; Track 4; 2 P.O.

Loss

Herb was lost when USS Ticonderoga (CV 14) was struck by a kamikaze on January 21, 1945 while operating off Formosa. He was the ship's gunnery officer and earned a Navy Cross (below) for this action.

Other Information

From the 1953 edition of the book "Double Three Roundup," published by the class of 1933:

When Herb graduated he was right on the dividing line between '33A and '33B, and although he was pretty sure he would get a commission because of the resignation of one of those in '33A, he had to return home and wait for further word. Sure enough, two weeks later he received his commission, and he proceeded to the West Coast to join the TENNESSEE. In 1936 he transferred to the old fourstacker CROWINSHIELD and continued on as her Chief Engineer until she was decommissioned in April 1937. He then had two years as Gunnery Officer of the LONG, followed by 6 months each in the UTAH, KILTY and FANNING.
In May 1941 Herb was assigned to the Naval Mission, Caracas, Venezuela, and he was stationed there when we entered World War II. In February 1944 he put the TICONDEROGA in commission at Newport News, Virginia, as Gunnery Officer. He was in that ship during the Palau, Luzon, Formosa and China Coast operations. On 21 January 1945 an enemy suicide plane got through the ship's antiaircraft battery and crashed into Herb's battle station. He was first reported "missing in action" but later declared dead.
Herb was awarded the Navy Cross and the Purple Heart Medal for his action in that attack. The Navy Cross citation states: "When the ship was under a heavy enemy air attack, Commander Fulmer left the protection of his battle station and, accompanied by two CIC phone talkers, went to an exposed position forward where he directed effective counterfire which resulted in the shooting down of three hostile aircraft. As the second suicide plane bore down on the ship, he still refused to seek the comparative safety of his battle station in order to fight his guns. Bravely remaining at his dangerous post, he maintained fire from the ship's guns until thrown overboard by the explosion when the Kamikaze crashed his station. By his fortitude and indomitable spirit, he inspired others to heroic effort in defending the TICONDEROGA. He gallantly gave his life for his country."
Herb was married to Laura Virginia Clarke of Centralia, Virginia. Laura has since remarried, -- on 26 January, 1952, to Captain William O. Burch, class of '27. They are living at 4201 Massachusetts Avenue, N. W. in Washington, D. C.

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Herbert won the lightweight boxing honors at Western Military Academy at Alton, Illinois, in 1928. Per the St. Louis Globe Democrat, March 29, 1931, the superintendent of the Academy said, “The boy was a quick thinker and a formidable adversary in every contest he entered. He was a member of the ‘Upper Ten,’ the ten students who make the highest academic averages in the cadet corps, in 1928 and 1929.
At Western, he also was on the “Rinkeydink” football team and a second team basketball player in 1927. In 1928, he was on the “B” teams for football and basketball and played company baseball. He was also a sergeant in Company B. On graduating in 1929 , he was elected to the Honorary Senior Society, a distinction based on military work, sports and academic standing. In his yearbook’s “A Quarter of a Century Hence:” Fulmer, the head of a publishing firm, has a market in every quarter of the globe.
Herbert was appointed to the Naval Academy by Congressman Dyer. In the Eastern college boxing competition in March 1931, he won the intercollegiate lightweight (135-pound) match by a knockout in the second round over the reigning two-year champion. Herbert wrote home that his father might be able to buy the Academy cheap, as “I practically own it right now.”
Herbert served three years with a special naval mission to Venezuela. He was an instructor in gunnery and navigation at Venezuela’s naval academy. He was also a volunteer instructor in boxing. On leave in February, 1944, he was quoted in the St. Louis newspaper: “The Government of Venezuela is so well organized and so strongly held by the army that nothing can change its friendly attitude to this country or the cause of the Allied nations. Even should anything happen to Gen. Isias Medina Angarita, President of Venezuela, who is now in the United States on a friendly tour, there could be no change in his country’s attitude.”
Herbert was born in Denver, Colorado. His father was a department manager in a book and stationery store in 1930; his stepmother was Florence. His mother was the former Emma Payton, and in 1920, the family lived in Omaha, Nebraska.

His wife was listed as next of kin. He is listed at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial.

Photographs

From the St. Louis Globe Democrat on March 29, 1931
From the Western Military Academy yearbook.

Navy Cross

From Hall of Valor:

The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Commander Herbert Samuel Fulmer, Jr. (NSN: 0-72576), United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism as Gunnery Officer of the U.S.S. TICONDEROGA (CV-14), in action against enemy Japanese forces at Formosa on 21 January 1945. When the ship was under a heavy enemy air attack, Commander Fulmer left the protection of his battle station and, accompanied by two CIC phone talkers, went to an exposed position forward on a catwalk which nearly surrounded the island where he directed effective counterfire which resulted in the shooting down of three hostile aircraft. As the second suicide plane bore down on the ship, he still refused to seek the comparative safety of his battle station in order to fight his guns. Bravely remaining at his dangerous post, he maintained fire from the ship's guns until thrown overboard by the explosion when the Kamikaze crashed his station. By his fortitude and indomitable spirit, he inspired others to heroic effort in defending the TICONDEROGA. His courageous devotion to duty throughout this perilous action reflects the highest credit on Commander Fulmer and the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
General Orders: Board Serial 2649 (September 20, 1948)
Action Date: January 21, 1945
Service: Navy
Rank: Commander
Division: U.S.S. Ticonderoga (CV-14)

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.