IRVING D. WILTSIE, CAPT, USN
Irving Wiltsie '21
Lucky Bag
From the 1921 Lucky Bag:
Irving Day Wiltsie
Plainfield, New Jersey
"Ide" "Irve"
AH! Here he comes. Ladies, the devil's own answer to a maiden's prayer; slim, graceful, and able to dance any girl off her feet without half trying.
He came to us in the summer of '17 fully determined to leave his mark in the history of the Navy and the Naval Academy. Irve was no different from the rest of us, and three days after he entered, he, like all the Plebes, would have been willing to do anything to get out after being subjected to the tender mercies of '18. Now that he looks back on it he would not have missed that part of his training for anything.
His career while in the Academy has been rather uneventful, for he has never had any trouble Academically speaking, and except for Monday and Wednesday seances with the swimming Prof, he has breezed along easily.
Aside from dragging blind more times than any one else and receiving daily missives from Baltimore, he is, no doubt, the biggest Red Mike we've ever seen.
"Hey, Mr. Wiltsie, what is the armament of those sub chasers?"
Mr. W. promptly, "Six air rifles, sir!"
C.P.O. (1); Buzzard (2).
The Class of 1921 was the last of the wartime-accelerated classes. "1921A" was graduated on June 3, 1920; the second half, "1921B", was graduated on June 2, 1921. Irving was graduated with 1921B.
Irving Day Wiltsie
Plainfield, New Jersey
"Ide" "Irve"
AH! Here he comes. Ladies, the devil's own answer to a maiden's prayer; slim, graceful, and able to dance any girl off her feet without half trying.
He came to us in the summer of '17 fully determined to leave his mark in the history of the Navy and the Naval Academy. Irve was no different from the rest of us, and three days after he entered, he, like all the Plebes, would have been willing to do anything to get out after being subjected to the tender mercies of '18. Now that he looks back on it he would not have missed that part of his training for anything.
His career while in the Academy has been rather uneventful, for he has never had any trouble Academically speaking, and except for Monday and Wednesday seances with the swimming Prof, he has breezed along easily.
Aside from dragging blind more times than any one else and receiving daily missives from Baltimore, he is, no doubt, the biggest Red Mike we've ever seen.
"Hey, Mr. Wiltsie, what is the armament of those sub chasers?"
Mr. W. promptly, "Six air rifles, sir!"
C.P.O. (1); Buzzard (2).
The Class of 1921 was the last of the wartime-accelerated classes. "1921A" was graduated on June 3, 1920; the second half, "1921B", was graduated on June 2, 1921. Irving was graduated with 1921B.
Loss
Irving was lost on November 24, 1943 when USS Liscome Bay (CVE 56) was torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine. He was the ship's commissioning commanding officer, and was "last seen scouring the ship for survivors."
Per the Courier-News, Bridgewater, New Jersey, December 14, 1943 via researcher Kathy Franz:
Capt. John G. Crommelin, Jr., told the story of the next and final 20 minutes of the carrier’s career. . . .
“Deliberately, calmly, Wiltsie lowered himself to the hangar deck which was burning fiercely,” the officer related. “He conferred with the executive officer, then went into the flaming sectors to make a careful inspection, refusing to walk off his ship.”
Other Information
From Wikipedia:
Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Wiltsie graduated in the United States Naval Academy class of 1921. He then served at sea in a succession of ships, including Arizona (BB-39), Wyoming (BB-32), Raleigh (CL-7), and Cleveland (CL-21). Next he underwent flight instruction at NAS Pensacola, Florida, from 1925 to 1927 and was designated as a Naval Aviator. He subsequently served in seaplane aviation units embarked aboard Milwaukee (CL-5), Memphis (CL-13), and Texas (BB-35) before he returned to NAS Pensacola as an instructor. After another tour of sea duty—in Louisville (CA-28)—Wiltsie commanded the Naval Reserve Aviation Base at Minneapolis, Minnesota, from 29 June 1935 to 4 June 1937. He later commanded the bombing squadrons attached to Saratoga (CV-3) from June 1937 to June 1939, before he served at the Naval Air Station San Diego, California. He subsequently joined Yorktown (CV-5) as navigator on 27 June 1941 and received a promotion to commander on 1 July.
Wiltsie remained in Yorktown until her loss at the pivotal Battle of Midway from 4 to 6 June 1942. During the early stages of the action, Wiltsie displayed "outstanding professional ability" as he provided complete and accurate navigational information to air plot, thus enabling the carrier's air group to pinpoint their targets.
During the Japanese torpedo attacks on 4 June, when "Kates" from the carrier Hiryū located Yorktown and carried put a successful attack against her, Wiltsie, on instructions from the captain, conned the ship from his battle station in the conning tower and was later deemed directly responsible for the ship's evading a pair of torpedoes. When injuries sustained during the attack incapacitated the carrier's executive officer, Commander Wiltsie assumed these duties and directed the organization of a salvage party which fought valiantly to save the ship.
When Yorktown eventually succumbed to her damage and the coup de grace administered by Japanese submarine I-168, Wiltsie coolly and calmly directed the salvage party and the wounded to rescuing vessels alongside the doomed carrier.
Wiltsie promoted to Captain in September 1942 and commanded the seaplane tender Albemarle (AV-5) from 6 October 1942 to 12 June 1943. After this tour, he supervised the fitting-out of escort carrier Glacier (CVE-33) at the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Company and went on to supervise the same kind of activities of Liscome Bay (CVE-56). Wiltsie would command this escort carrier until the ship's loss off Makin, in the Gilbert Islands, in the autumn of 1943.
In the predawn darkness of 24 November 1943, I-175 torpedoed Liscome Bay—the flagship of Rear Admiral Henry M. Mullinnix—and started fires among bombs and ammunition. Fed by aviation gasoline, the flames spread rapidly, and the carrier rocked with explosions. Wiltsie immediately left the bridge and proceeded along the starboard gallery deck level to ascertain the damage to his ship, as communications had been severed early-on. Despite the tremendous structural damage and raging fires, the captain bravely headed aft to determine the full extent of the damage. Damage control efforts failed, however, and the carrier sank soon thereafter, carrying the intrepid Wiltsie, Admiral Mullinix, and 644 officers and men down with her.
The citation for Captain Wiltsie's posthumous Navy Cross noted his "calm, courageous action and valiant devotion to duty" which inspired the surviving members of the crew.
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Irving was born in Hartford, Connecticut.
In October 1916, he served as official fire tender and replenished the fire during the night for the 11 scouts from Troop 11 staying at Camp Ackerman.
Irving attended Plainfield high school and was in the Omega Literary Society.
In November 1929, his mother joined him in Philadelphia for the Pennsylvania-Navy game.
In 1930, Irving was the pilot of a plane successfully fired into the air from a catapult aboard a ship in a test of the apparatus.
In May 1930, his mother gave a dinner party for him and members of USS Texas (BB 35) at her home.
On December 15, 1931, Irving married Helene Marie Barry at the Church of St. Malachy in New York City. They had two children Ronald and Barbara.
In July 1933, Irving gave his post on the Akron to Lieut. George C. Calnan, an Olympic fencer. Irving was sent to USS Louisville on the West Coast.
His father Irving L. was a banker, mother Eleanor “Nellie,” and sister Gladys Marguerite (Mrs. Estes.)
The Courier-News, Bridgewater, New Jersey, October 27, 1923:
Irving Wiltsie Tells About Navy
To the Editor of the Courier-News:
This is Navy Day – dedicated to the purpose of stimulating the interest of citizens in their navy. The best method of accomplishing this is to have each person in the Naval service speak or write to the people of his home town. I hope, therefore, that those of this city who read this will take it as coming from the heart of a Plainfield man and not an aloof Naval officer. I lived in Plainfield for ten years prior to entering the Naval Academy; my family has continued to live there, and I have returned home every time my ship has been in port; therefore, I think I am entitled to claim it for my home town.
I am now on duty in connection with the fitting out of the U. S. S. Raleigh and shall be stationed on board that ship when she is completed. The Raleigh is one of the scout cruisers of the latest type. She was built, launched and is being fitted out at the Fore River plant of the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation at Quincy, Massachusetts. Of these ten cruisers, four have already been delivered to the Navy; three more of which the Raleigh is one, will be delivered by the first of the year, and the remainder will “join the Navy” before June 1, 1924.
A description of these cruisers seems pertinent. They are 550 feet long, 54 feet 10 inches wide at their widest part, and displace approximately 9,000 tons with a corresponding draft of 18 feet. They resemble the modern destroyer on an enlarged scale, because of their long, slim hulls, four stacks, flush deck from the bow aft for about three-quarters of their length, and their generally rakish, speed appearance. Their armament consists of twelve six-inch guns, four three-inch mounted on the main, or upper deck for protection against aircraft, and ten torpedo tubes equipped for firing the newest long-range torpedoes. They will carry mines and be able to lay them regardless of the speed the ship is making. They are propelled by Curtiss turbines, working on four shafts, and designed to develop 90,000 horse-power. This power is able to drive the ship at the rate of 35 knots, or 41 land miles per hour.
They carry fast scouting planes which may be launched while the ship is under way, sent ahead to scout or reconnoitre, and then returned to be picked up when their mission is completed. The radio apparatus, electric steering gear, method of fire-control, submarine signalling device, workshop with power tools, laundry, sick bay and galley (or kitchen) all embody lessons derived from experience in the World War and combine to make these ships the most efficient of their class.
An adequate Navy is necessary that we may exert our influence effectively, as a nation, for the general good of the world; that we may secure and maintain our national policies, to protect our own interests as a nation, and to insure our future prosperity and maintain our security.
Throughout 1902, Germany blockaded the ports of Venezuela, with the evident intention of securing a naval base there. President Roosevelt informed the German ambassador that, unless Germany agreed to arbitrate her financial claims, the United States fleet would proceed against the German fleet. They arbitrated, and the Monroe Doctrine still stood because our Navy had the force requisite to uphold it.
Except for Canada on the north and Mexico on the south, we are secure from invasion unless the enemy troops are transported to our shores by sea. If we were without a Navy, or possessed a Navy slightly inferior to that of the enemy, he could, without fear, bring his transports close to our coast and, once there, it would not be difficult to put troops ashore. But if we possessed a Navy equal or superior to the enemy fleet, he would be compelled to sweep our fleet from the seas before he would dare venture forth with his transports. The Navy, with respect to the other nations, is an investment in national insurance.
Under the provisions of the Limitation of Arms Treaty, battleships and aircraft carriers were the only classes of ships which were restricted as to number. Cruisers, destroyers, submarines, aircraft and auxiliaries are entirely unlimited.
Considering the United States, Great Britain and Japan, the naval strength of the three should stand, as you know, 5-5-3; that is, our Navy should be of equal strength with that of Great Britain and the Japanese Navy should be three-fifths as strong. Look at these figures! Great Britain has, or will have, 48 high-speed light cruisers. We will have ten and we now have four! A year ago we should have had 22 cruisers under construction, of a type slightly larger than the Raleigh, to have enabled us to maintain our ratio. They are still uncontracted for. In destroyers, we led the field until we were forced by shortage of personnel (both officers and enlisted men) and lack of funds to place two-thirds of what we had out of commission. We are still ahead in this type in numbers on paper but have lost our advantage in fighting units afloat. We are behind our quota in modern and important types of submarines, though some of these are being built. The enlisted personnel situation is critical. Something must be done soon. I am not trying to arouse your fears. This information is not “padded.” In the good old American slang, I’m “giving it to you straight.”
The chief object of the Naval warfare is to gain and exercise control of sea transportation. Destroyers are not large enough for this duty nor do these carry a sufficient crew to enable them to perform it satisfactorily. This type of service requires a fast ship, large enough to carry a sufficient crew to be able to provide prize crews for captured ships and, at the same time, to retain sufficient men to work efficiently herself. The result of the attempt to use submarines was evidenced in the collapse of Germany’s late submarine campaign. When once the control of sea transportation has been gained by the battleships, which are designated and designed to fight for it, cruisers are essential to exercise that control by protecting our merchant ships and denying the use of the sea to enemy merchantmen. Our need is an increased number of cruisers, submarines and aircraft carriers, and a sufficient personnel to man them efficiently.
The main trouble over the cost of the Navy is that the Navy apparently spends its money in huge lumps which are appalling to the layman. A new ship is contracted for and the cost appears in the papers – twelve millions! “Wow!” That ship has a life of from nine to twenty years and, at any time during that period, she stands ready to prove her value to the nation and to battle for the country if need be. That’s national insurance, and for this insurance the Navy uses two and one-half per cent, of the total average per capita taxes.
This article is intended to try to bring to your attention the needs of the Navy and the urgent need of the country for a highly efficient Navy.
Irving Wiltsie
His wife, Helene, was listed as next of kin. Irving has a memory marker in New York.
Photographs
via Heroes of the United States Naval Academy
Irving is officer in center; at commissioning ceremony of USS Liscome Bay (CVE 56). Via Heroes of the United States Naval Academy
From The Courier News on May 10, 1930
From The Courier News on January 8, 1941
From Hall of Valor:
The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Captain Irving Day Wiltsie (NSN: 0-57209), United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service in the line of his profession as Commanding Officer of the Escort Carrier U.S.S. LISCOME BAY (CVE-56), during operations at Makin Island in the Gilbert Islands on 24 November 1943. Captain Wiltsie's ship was struck by a Japanese torpedo in the predawn darkness, igniting fires among bombs and ammunition. Fed by aviation gasoline, the flames spread rapidly, and the carrier rocked with explosions. Captain Wiltsie immediately left the bridge and proceeded along the starboard gallery deck level to ascertain the damage to his ship, as communications had been severed early-on. Despite the tremendous structural damage and raging fires, the captain bravely headed aft to determine the full extent of the damage. Damage control efforts failed, however, and the carrier sank soon thereafter. The conduct of Captain Wiltsie throughout this action reflects great credit upon himself, and was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
General Orders: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 327 (June 1944)
Service: Navy
Division: U.S.S. Liscome Bay (CVE-56)
Silver Star
From Hall of Valor:
The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Commander Irving Day Wiltsie (NSN: 0-57209), United States Navy, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action against the enemy while serving as Navigator on board the Aircraft Carrier U.S.S. YORKTOWN (CV-5), in action during Battle of Midway, on 4 - 6 June 1942. Commander Wiltsie supplied air plot with such complete and accurate navigational information that the YORKTOWN Air Group units achieved complete success in making contact with their objectives; his expert control of the ship under the Captain's direction was responsible for avoiding two of the enemy's torpedoes. He also assumed the duties of Executive Officer when the latter was injured, and directed salvage operations. Commander Wiltsie's gallant actions and selfless devotion to duty, without regard for his own safety, were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
General Orders: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 312 (March 1943)
Service: Navy
Rank: Commander
Namesake
USS Wiltsie (DD 716) was named for Irving; the ship was sponsored by his widow.
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 1922
July 1923
November 1923
March 1924
May 1924
September 1924
July 1925
October 1925
January 1926
October 1926
January 1927
April 1927
October 1927
January 1928
April 1928
July 1928
October 1928
January 1929
April 1929
July 1929
October 1929
January 1930
April 1930
October 1930
LT Paul Thompson '19
LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23
LTjg Robert Larson '24
LTjg James McDonough '24
LTjg John Waldron '24
LTjg Charles McDonald '24
LTjg Richard Moss '24
1LT Donald Willis '24
January 1931
LT Paul Thompson '19
LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23
LTjg Robert Larson '24
LTjg James McDonough '24
LTjg John Waldron '24
LTjg Charles McDonald '24
LTjg Richard Moss '24
LTjg John Duke '26
LTjg James Averill '27
April 1931
LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23
LTjg Robert Larson '24
LTjg James McDonough '24
LTjg John Waldron '24
LTjg Charles McDonald '24
LTjg Richard Moss '24
LTjg John Duke '26
LTjg James Averill '27
LTjg William Potts '27
ENS Carl Lindgren '28
July 1931
LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23
LTjg Robert Larson '24
LTjg James McDonough '24
LTjg Charles McDonald '24
LTjg Richard Moss '24
LTjg Carlton Hutchins '26
LTjg Charles Signer '26
LTjg John Duke '26
LTjg William Potts '27
ENS Carl Lindgren '28
October 1931
LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23
LTjg Robert Larson '24
LTjg James McDonough '24
LTjg Charles McDonald '24
LTjg Arthur Farrell '25
LTjg Carlton Hutchins '26
January 1932
LT Jack Richardson '19
LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23
LTjg Robert Larson '24
LTjg James McDonough '24
LTjg Charles McDonald '24
LTjg Arthur Farrell '25
LTjg Carlton Hutchins '26
LTjg Charles Signer '26
April 1932
LT Jack Richardson '19
LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23
LTjg Robert Larson '24
LTjg James McDonough '24
LTjg Charles McDonald '24
LTjg Arthur Farrell '25
LTjg Carlton Hutchins '26
LTjg Charles Signer '26
2LT Lofton Henderson '26
October 1932
January 1933
April 1933
July 1933
October 1933
April 1934
July 1934
October 1934
January 1935
April 1935
October 1935
January 1936
April 1936
July 1936
January 1937
April 1937
September 1937
LT John Waldron '24 (USS Saratoga)
LT Gerald Dyson '27 (USS Saratoga)
LT William Pye, Jr. '28 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 3)
ENS Maurice Fitzgerald '35 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Paul Riley '37 (USS Saratoga)
ENS William Mason, Jr. '37 (USS Saratoga)
January 1938
LT John Waldron '24 (USS Saratoga)
LT Gerald Dyson '27 (USS Saratoga)
LT William Pye, Jr. '28 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 3)
ENS Paul Riley '37 (USS Saratoga)
ENS William Mason, Jr. '37 (USS Saratoga)
July 1938
LT Gerald Dyson '27 (USS Saratoga)
LT William Pye, Jr. '28 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 3)
LTjg John Spiers '32 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 3)
LTjg Albert Major, Jr. '32 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 3)
LTjg George Nicol '34 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 3)
ENS William Hulson '36 (Aircraft, Battle Force)
ENS William Mason, Jr. '37 (USS Saratoga)
ENS John Black '38 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Osborne Wiseman '38 (USS Saratoga)
ENS John Smith '38 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Keene Hammond '38 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Vincent Sim '38 (USS Saratoga)
January 1939
LT Gerald Dyson '27 (USS Saratoga)
LTjg John Spiers '32 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 3)
LTjg George Nicol '34 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 3)
ENS William Hulson '36 (Aircraft, Battle Force)
ENS Paul Riley '37 (USS Saratoga)
ENS John Black '38 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Osborne Wiseman '38 (USS Saratoga)
ENS John Smith '38 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Keene Hammond '38 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Vincent Sim '38 (USS Saratoga)
October 1939
June 1940
November 1940
April 1941
1LT Radford West '37 (Marine Bombing Squadron (VB) 2M)
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