JAMES E. BULLOCK, LT, USN

James Bullock '33

Date of birth: October 5, 1910

Date of death: July 6, 1942

Age: 31

Lucky Bag

From the 1933 Lucky Bag:

JAMES EARL BULLOCK

Cincinnati, Ohio

"Jim" "Ox" "Bobo"

Doomed to a musician's lot for life, Jim, in order to escape, left the Queen City down on the beautiful Ohio; and in search of a better and more serious profession, entered the school of naval science. But having music on his brain he could not place that calling aside. He continued to toot his horn until he was almost threatened with ostracism. His efforts bore fruit, however, and Jim became an integral part of those music-makers, the N.A. Ten, being their skipper during his First Class Year.

Music is not the only interest of this talented young man. Building models, making art books, living in warm climates with a hot, shining sun, and "scoffing pogey-bait," are some of his other occupations. His greatest and most ardent ambition is to be a perfect physical specimen. A passionate delight of his is finding errors in text books. Academics never caused him any worry. For him they were just an easy burden to help pass away the time.

Not much taken with the ladies, he has avoided hops and the joys (also the sorrows) of dragging.

Good natured, easy-going, and generous, Bobo cannot help but make innumerable friends wherever he goes.

Class Gym 3; N.A. Ten 3, 2, 1; 1 Stripe

Jim was Bugle Corps Sub-Commander

JAMES EARL BULLOCK

Cincinnati, Ohio

"Jim" "Ox" "Bobo"

Doomed to a musician's lot for life, Jim, in order to escape, left the Queen City down on the beautiful Ohio; and in search of a better and more serious profession, entered the school of naval science. But having music on his brain he could not place that calling aside. He continued to toot his horn until he was almost threatened with ostracism. His efforts bore fruit, however, and Jim became an integral part of those music-makers, the N.A. Ten, being their skipper during his First Class Year.

Music is not the only interest of this talented young man. Building models, making art books, living in warm climates with a hot, shining sun, and "scoffing pogey-bait," are some of his other occupations. His greatest and most ardent ambition is to be a perfect physical specimen. A passionate delight of his is finding errors in text books. Academics never caused him any worry. For him they were just an easy burden to help pass away the time.

Not much taken with the ladies, he has avoided hops and the joys (also the sorrows) of dragging.

Good natured, easy-going, and generous, Bobo cannot help but make innumerable friends wherever he goes.

Class Gym 3; N.A. Ten 3, 2, 1; 1 Stripe

Jim was Bugle Corps Sub-Commander

Loss

James was executed by Japanese forces on July 6, 1942 while he was a prisoner of war; he had been captured when the Philippines fell.

Other Information

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

Who will ever forget Jim's musical accomplishments with the NA Ten? He was commissioned Ensign in the Supply Corps on graduation and assigned to the CALIFORNIA as assistant to The Supply Officer. After a year in this battleship and eight months in the HOUSTON, Jim became Disbursing Officer of Mine Division One. In August 1936, he began a two years' cruise at the Naval Supply Depot, Norfolk, and then two more years as Disbursing Officer for various destroyer divisions.
In June 1940 he went to the Naval Prison at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, but he stayed outside the bars, for he was Supply, Disbursing and Commissary Officer. In October 1941 he went to the Sixteenth Naval District at Cavite in the Philippines. When the Japs took the islands he became a prisoner and died at their hands in June of 1942.
Jim is survived by his widow the former Ellen Francis Rogers of Cincinnati, Ohio, and their daughter, Norma May Bullock. Their address is 3579 Sutton Street in Cincinnati.

His wife was listed as next of kin; he was also survived by his mother and daughter. James is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Photographs

From "Double Three Roundup"

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.