HUBERT E. CARTER, LCDR, USN
Hubert Carter '39
Lucky Bag
From the 1939 Lucky Bag:
HUBERT EARL CARTER
Miami, Florida
Bo, Seminole, He
His popularity doesn't depend upon a smile, but that alone, indicative of his genial personality, has made him many friends. He is always ready to help a friend whether it be with money or studies. A minor genius himself, earning grades any savoir might envy, he has never boned more than he could help, often avoiding study by some such method as spending considerable time helping a luckless classmate with a difficult problem. Never a great athlete, he chooses to divide his time between the glee club and the radiator squad, with annual attempts at learning to swim. His two weaknesses are singing and Florida. It's a pretty safe bet to find him either singing or bragging about his beloved land of oranges and hurricanes.
Glee Club 4, 3, 2, 1; Choir 4,3, 2, 1; Musical Club Show 4, 3, 2, 1; Director 1; Mandolin Club 4; 2 Stripes.
HUBERT EARL CARTER
Miami, Florida
Bo, Seminole, He
His popularity doesn't depend upon a smile, but that alone, indicative of his genial personality, has made him many friends. He is always ready to help a friend whether it be with money or studies. A minor genius himself, earning grades any savoir might envy, he has never boned more than he could help, often avoiding study by some such method as spending considerable time helping a luckless classmate with a difficult problem. Never a great athlete, he chooses to divide his time between the glee club and the radiator squad, with annual attempts at learning to swim. His two weaknesses are singing and Florida. It's a pretty safe bet to find him either singing or bragging about his beloved land of oranges and hurricanes.
Glee Club 4, 3, 2, 1; Choir 4,3, 2, 1; Musical Club Show 4, 3, 2, 1; Director 1; Mandolin Club 4; 2 Stripes.
Loss
Hubert was lost when USS Robalo (SS 273) sank on July 26, 1944, possibly by a mine. Only four men survived the initial sinking, but they were captured and did not survive to tell what they knew of the loss.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Hubert attended Ponce de Leon High school and transferred to Miami Senior High school graduating in 1933.
His parents were Earl and Margaret Carter. His father was an investigator for the bureau of internal revenue (federal alcohol tax unit) in Miami for many years. In February 1940, Hubert’s ship docked in Miami, and he visited with his parents.
He married Bessie Cochran Powell on December 23, 1941, at Trinity Episcopal Church in Miami. His brother William was best man.
In early July, Hubert’s wife and 17-month-old son William Earl left with her parents to vacation in Hendersonville, North Carolina.
From the Miami Herald on June 23, 1935:
Obstacles are Overcome by Miamian To Gain Admission
As midshipman to the United States Naval Academy
The story of the admission of Humbert E. Carter, 19, son of Mr. and Mrs. Earl P. Carter, 2209 S. W. Tenth street, to the naval academy at Annapolis, Md., as a midshipman of the class of 1935 is a story of a goal set and attained through determination and the capacity to overcome obstacles.
Last year young Carter was one of 18 youths in this congressional district who took the competitive examinations for entrance to the academy. He passed the mental and physical examinations with a high grade but stood fourth on the list. The youth obtaining the highest average was designated by Congressman Mark Wilcox, with the youngster making the second highest average being designated as alternate.
Disappointed but not ready to give up his ambition to become an officer in the United States Navy, Carter enlisted in the navy as a third class seaman. He was sent to the navy training station at Hampton Roads, Va., and with the completion of that intense course in drilling in formation, signal drills, the manual of arms, knot tying and the many other activities, including a brief period on duty as one of the detail on “kitchen police,” he was transferred to the USS. Tuscaloosa, 10,000-ton new cruiser, when that ship was placed in commission in August, 1934, under command of Capt. J. N. Ferguson.
It may be interesting to note that under a ruling adopted by Josephus Daniels, secretary of the navy during the administration of the late President Woodrow Wilson, it was made possible for 100 enlisted men to gain appointment to Annapolis through competitive examinations each year.
Carter knew of this ruling and with his ambition ever before him continued his studies.
The Tuscaloosa took a “shakedown” cruise to South American cities and ports in the West Indies in September, 1934, and then proceeded through the Panama Canal to the Pacific Coast. It was designated the flagship of the cruiser division when it participated in the recent maneuvers in the Pacific Ocean simulating war practices.
The Miami youth returned with his ship to the base at San Diego, Calif., on April 15. Two days later he again took the examinations for Annapolis, and passed them with a high grade.
Not knowing that he had passed and was eligible to appointment as a midshipman, he went through what was perhaps the most “anxious” period of his life. Then word came to him through his commanding officer that he had won through and would enter Annapolis on July 8.
He was given a furlough until the date of his entrance to the naval academy and returned to Miami to spend the time with his family.
He was born in Tillman, Fla. He is nearly six feet in height and weighs 175 pounds.
His wife was listed as next of kin.
Hubert is remembered at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial.
Photographs
From The Miami News on June 23, 1935
From The Miami News on June 23, 1935
From The Miami News on June 11, 1939
From The Miami News on June 11, 1939
From the Lucky Bag
From The Miami Herald on September 13, 1944
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.
October 1939
June 1940
November 1940
April 1941
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
