JAMES F. MCDONOUGH, LT, USN

From USNA Virtual Memorial Hall

Jump to:navigation, search

James McDonough '24

Date of birth: January 14, 1904

Date of death: July 25, 1938

Age: 34

Lucky Bag

From the 1924 Lucky Bag:

1924 McDonough LB.jpg

JAMES FRANCIS McDONOUGH

Boston, Massachusetts

"Mac"

"HEY, 'Mac'! Ya sat?"

"Hell, no!"

Our hero fails to wear the stellar decoration which is so popular with the boys from the savvy state, but don't get the idea that it is because of his inability. Far be it from that! As he puts it, the Academic Department merely can't agree with his answers on the exams.

"Caulking" and "Workouts" are his delights. "Got to work out tonight," is his only comment after a hard drill.

Try to find him studying when there is a review lesson the next period.

"What have we got? Review? Fruit! Wake me up in time for the formation, will ya?"

He even goes to church before breakfast on Sundays, so that he can sleep all morning while the rest of us go to chapel.

"Mac" brandishes a potent lacrosse stick for '24. Even the workouts are given up when lacrosse season is on.

Although not absolutely a Red Mike, "Mac" seldom drags the femmes. However, he quite frequently drags a Springfield on pleasant afternoons.

It you want to see him smile, ask him about Youngster cruise and Christiania.

Class Lacrosse (3, 2); Numerals (2).

1924 McDonough LB.jpg

JAMES FRANCIS McDONOUGH

Boston, Massachusetts

"Mac"

"HEY, 'Mac'! Ya sat?"

"Hell, no!"

Our hero fails to wear the stellar decoration which is so popular with the boys from the savvy state, but don't get the idea that it is because of his inability. Far be it from that! As he puts it, the Academic Department merely can't agree with his answers on the exams.

"Caulking" and "Workouts" are his delights. "Got to work out tonight," is his only comment after a hard drill.

Try to find him studying when there is a review lesson the next period.

"What have we got? Review? Fruit! Wake me up in time for the formation, will ya?"

He even goes to church before breakfast on Sundays, so that he can sleep all morning while the rest of us go to chapel.

"Mac" brandishes a potent lacrosse stick for '24. Even the workouts are given up when lacrosse season is on.

Although not absolutely a Red Mike, "Mac" seldom drags the femmes. However, he quite frequently drags a Springfield on pleasant afternoons.

It you want to see him smile, ask him about Youngster cruise and Christiania.

Class Lacrosse (3, 2); Numerals (2).

Loss

James was lost when his torpedo bomber crashed on July 25, 1938, near Norfolk, Virginia. He was a member of Torpedo Squadron (VT) 5, operating from USS Yorktown (CV 5). Two other members of the squadron, William Drumtra '34 and Aviation Cadet John R. Patch, were also killed.

(Information via Press and Sun Bulletin on Monday, July 25, 1938; scan emailed on February 10, 2018 by a researcher providing information on Bill Drumtra '34.)

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Attached to the YT-5 USS Yorktown, James’ plane was en route to Squantum, Massachusetts when a rain squall trapped the plane and it plunged nose downward to earth. It dug a crater eight feet deep on the Carpenter farm in Woodbridge.
The plane had lost its way to the extent that it was seen over Seymour, 10 miles north of its course, and turned south and circled Woodbridge several times before crashing. The plane’s propeller was found in high indicating James in a final effort was to switch the propeller into low in an effort to reorient the plane’s direction.
About three months earlier, on May 7, 1938, James, his wife Hazel, and daughters Lida and Catherine sailed from Honolulu to Los Angeles. They had been in Honolulu since September 3, 1936, when Catherine was 6 months old.
James and Hazel Sullivan were married on December 31, 1931, at St. Margaret’s church in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Lida was born in 1933, in Florida, and Catherine was born in February, 1936, in California.
James’ father Lt. Col. John J. McDonough was born in Ireland in 1880, and he died in 1965. His mother Catherine A. was born in Massachusetts in 1882, and she died in February, 1923. Both parents were buried in St. Joseph’s Cemetery, West Roxbury. James’ sisters were Winifred and Rose, and their brother was John.
James was buried with a full military funeral on July 26, 1938, in St. Joseph’s cemetery. He was disinterred in March 1961, and removed to New Calvary Cemetery. He was reburied in Section 7, grave 1409B with his wife Hazel. Their daughter, now Lida Hawk, owned the plot. Additionally at this cemetery, his aunt Nora erected a monument to his mother Catherine and their brother Patrick. His other aunt was Mrs. Ethel Renehan.

He was survived by his wife and daughter in addition to his father, who was the Works Progress Administration head for Massachusetts.

James is buried in Massachusetts with his wife.

Related Articles

William Drumtra '34 was also lost in this crash.

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.

July 1924

Ensign, USS Arizona

Others at this command:

LT Warner Portz '15

ENS Augustus Mulvanity '23

ENS Hubert Hayter '24

September 1924

Ensign, USS Arizona

Others at this command:

LT Warner Portz '15
LT Robert Fleming '17

ENS Augustus Mulvanity '23

ENS Hubert Hayter '24

November 1924

Ensign, USS Arizona

Others at this command:

LT Warner Portz '15
LT Robert Fleming '17

ENS Augustus Mulvanity '23
ENS Hubert Hayter '24

ENS Richard Moss '24

January 1925

Ensign, USS Arizona

Others at this command:

LT Warner Portz '15
LT Robert Fleming '17

ENS Augustus Mulvanity '23
ENS Hubert Hayter '24

ENS Richard Moss '24

March 1925

Ensign, USS Arizona

Others at this command:

LT Warner Portz '15
LT Robert Fleming '17

ENS Augustus Mulvanity '23
ENS Hubert Hayter '24

ENS Richard Moss '24

May 1925

Ensign, USS Arctic

July 1925

Ensign, USS Arctic

October 1925

Ensign, USS Arctic

January 1926

Ensign, USS Arctic

October 1926

Ensign, under instruction, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida

Others at this command:

LT Robert Fleming '17
LT Paul Thompson '19
LT Dixie Kiefer '19
LT William Sample '19
LTjg William Butler, Jr. '20
LT Frederick Roberts '20
LTjg Rogers Ransehousen '21

LTjg Irving Wiltsie '21
LTjg Edward Curtis, Jr. '22
LTjg William McCord '23
2LT Horace Busbey '23
ENS Henry Harrison '24
ENS Fitzhugh Rhea '24

ENS Herbert Ballinger '24
ENS Walter Leach, Jr. '24
ENS Hallsted Hopping '24
ENS John Waldron '24
ENS Charles McDonald '24
ENS Richard Moss '24

January 1927

Ensign, under instruction, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida

Others at this command:

LCDR Thalbert Alford '09
LT Robert Fleming '17
LT Paul Thompson '19
LT Dixie Kiefer '19
LT William Sample '19
LTjg William Butler, Jr. '20

LT Frederick Roberts '20
LT Eugene Burkett '20
LTjg Rogers Ransehousen '21
LTjg Irving Wiltsie '21
LTjg Edward Frawley '22
LTjg William McCord '23

2LT Horace Busbey '23
ENS Fitzhugh Rhea '24
ENS Hallsted Hopping '24
ENS John Waldron '24
ENS Charles McDonald '24
ENS Richard Moss '24

April 1927

Ensign, under instruction, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida

Others at this command:

LCDR Thalbert Alford '09
LT Robert Fleming '17
LT Paul Thompson '19
LT Dixie Kiefer '19
LT William Sample '19

LT Frederick Roberts '20
LT Eugene Burkett '20
LTjg Irving Wiltsie '21
LTjg Edward Frawley '22
LTjg William McCord '23

ENS Fitzhugh Rhea '24
ENS Hallsted Hopping '24
ENS John Waldron '24
ENS Charles McDonald '24
ENS Richard Moss '24

October 1927

Lieutenant (j.g.), Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 9S

Others at this command:

LT John Gillon '20

January 1928

Lieutenant (j.g.), Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 9S

Others at this command:

LT John Gillon '20

LTjg Hallsted Hopping '24

LTjg John Waldron '24

April 1928

Lieutenant (j.g.), Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 9S

Others at this command:

LT John Gillon '20

LTjg Hallsted Hopping '24

LTjg John Waldron '24

July 1928

Lieutenant (j.g.), Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 9S

Others at this command:

LTjg Hallsted Hopping '24

LTjg John Waldron '24

October 1928

Lieutenant (j.g.), Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 9S

Others at this command:

LTjg Hallsted Hopping '24

LTjg John Waldron '24

January 1929

Lieutenant (j.g.), Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 9S

Others at this command:

LTjg Hallsted Hopping '24

LTjg John Waldron '24

April 1929

Lieutenant (j.g.), Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 9S

Others at this command:

LTjg Hallsted Hopping '24

LTjg John Waldron '24

July 1929

Lieutenant (j.g.), Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 9S

Others at this command:

LTjg Hallsted Hopping '24

LTjg John Waldron '24

October 1929

Lieutenant (j.g.), Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 9S

Others at this command:

LTjg Hallsted Hopping '24

January 1930

Lieutenant (j.g.), Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 5S, USS Memphis

Others at or embarked at USS Memphis:

LCDR Warner Portz '15 (USS Memphis)
LTjg Adolph Hede '25 (USS Memphis)

LTjg August Lentz, Jr. '26 (USS Memphis)

October 1932

Lieutenant (j.g.), Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida

Others at this command:

LT Jack Richardson '19
LTjg Charles McDonald '24
LTjg Arthur Farrell '25
LTjg Charles Signer '26
1LT Lofton Henderson '26
LTjg Oscar Pate, Jr. '27

LTjg Leonard Southerland '27
ENS Mack Vorhees '30
ENS Oliver White '30
ENS Victor Gaulin '30
2LT Paul Moret '30

ENS Cleon Felton '31
ENS James Murphy '31
ENS Alfred Tucker, III '31
ENS Charles Crommelin '31
ENS Harrington Drake '31

January 1933

Lieutenant (j.g.), Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida

Others at this command:

LTjg Charles McDonald '24
LTjg Charles Signer '26
1LT Lofton Henderson '26
LTjg Oscar Pate, Jr. '27

LTjg Leonard Southerland '27
ENS Mack Vorhees '30
2LT Paul Moret '30
ENS Cleon Felton '31

ENS James Murphy '31
ENS Alfred Tucker, III '31
ENS Charles Crommelin '31
ENS Harrington Drake '31

April 1933

Lieutenant (j.g.), Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida

Others at this command:

LTjg Charles McDonald '24
LTjg Charles Signer '26
1LT Lofton Henderson '26
LTjg Oscar Pate, Jr. '27
LTjg Leonard Southerland '27

ENS Frank Highley, Jr. '30
ENS Robert Patten '30
ENS Arthur Spring '30
ENS Cleon Felton '31

ENS James Murphy '31
ENS Alfred Tucker, III '31
ENS Eugene Lytle, Jr. '31
ENS James Kelsey, Jr. '31

July 1933

Lieutenant (j.g.), Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B, USS Lexington

Others at this command:

LTjg Arthur Farrell '25

LTjg Henry Twohy '29

Others at or embarked at USS Lexington:

LCDR Ryland Tisdale '15 (USS Lexington)
ENS John Yoho '29 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS Edwin Kelly '30 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 1B)
ENS Victor Gaulin '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS Lance Massey '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)

LTjg Charles Ostrom '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS John Fairbanks, Jr. '32 (USS Lexington)
ENS Daniel Gothie '32 (USS Lexington)
ENS William Thorn '32 (USS Lexington)

October 1933

Lieutenant (j.g.), Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B, USS Lexington

Others at this command:

LTjg Arthur Farrell '25

LTjg Henry Twohy '29

Others at or embarked at USS Lexington:

LCDR Ryland Tisdale '15 (USS Lexington)
LTjg John Yoho '29 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS Edwin Kelly '30 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 1B)
ENS Victor Gaulin '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS Lance Massey '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)

LTjg Charles Ostrom '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS John Fairbanks, Jr. '32 (USS Lexington)
ENS Daniel Gothie '32 (USS Lexington)
ENS William Thorn '32 (USS Lexington)

April 1934

Lieutenant (j.g.), Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B, USS Lexington

Others at this command:

LTjg Arthur Farrell '25

LTjg Henry Twohy '29

Others at or embarked at USS Lexington:

LCDR Ryland Tisdale '15 (USS Lexington)
LTjg John Yoho '29 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS Edwin Kelly '30 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 1B)
LTjg Victor Gaulin '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)

ENS Lance Massey '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS Daniel Gothie '32 (USS Lexington)
ENS William Thorn '32 (USS Lexington)

July 1934

Lieutenant (j.g.), Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B, USS Lexington

Others at this command:

LCDR William Sample '19

LTjg Walter Dey '24

LTjg Arthur Farrell '25

Others at or embarked at USS Lexington:

LCDR Ryland Tisdale '15 (USS Lexington)
LT James Carney '21 (USS Lexington)
LTjg Edwin Kelly '30 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
LTjg Victor Gaulin '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)

LTjg Lance Massey '30 (USS Lexington)
ENS Daniel Gothie '32 (USS Lexington)
ENS Edward Worthington '34 (USS Lexington)

October 1934

Lieutenant (j.g.), Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B, USS Lexington

Others at this command:

LCDR William Sample '19
LTjg Walter Dey '24

LTjg Arthur Farrell '25

LTjg Eugene Lytle, Jr. '31

Others at or embarked at USS Lexington:

LCDR Ryland Tisdale '15 (USS Lexington)
LT James Carney '21 (USS Lexington)
LTjg Edwin Kelly '30 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
LTjg Victor Gaulin '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg Baylies Clark '30 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)

LTjg Lance Massey '30 (USS Lexington)
ENS Philip Ashworth '31 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS Daniel Gothie '32 (USS Lexington)
ENS Edward Worthington '34 (USS Lexington)

January 1935

Lieutenant (j.g.), Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B, USS Lexington

Others at this command:

LCDR William Sample '19
LTjg Walter Dey '24

LTjg Arthur Farrell '25

LTjg Eugene Lytle, Jr. '31

Others at or embarked at USS Lexington:

LT William Eaton '21 (USS Lexington)
LT James Carney '21 (USS Lexington)
LTjg Edwin Kelly '30 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
LTjg Victor Gaulin '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg Baylies Clark '30 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)

LTjg Lance Massey '30 (USS Lexington)
ENS Philip Ashworth '31 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS Daniel Gothie '32 (USS Lexington)
ENS Edward Worthington '34 (USS Lexington)

April 1935

Lieutenant, Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B, USS Lexington

Others at this command:

LCDR William Sample '19
LTjg Walter Dey '24

LTjg Arthur Farrell '25

LTjg Eugene Lytle, Jr. '31

Others at or embarked at USS Lexington:

LT William Eaton '21 (USS Lexington)
LT James Carney '21 (USS Lexington)
LTjg Victor Gaulin '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg Baylies Clark '30 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)

LTjg Lance Massey '30 (USS Lexington)
LTjg Philip Ashworth '31 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS Daniel Gothie '32 (USS Lexington)
ENS Edward Worthington '34 (USS Lexington)

October 1935

Lieutenant, Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B, USS Lexington

Others at this command:

LTjg Walter Dey '24

LTjg Eugene Lytle, Jr. '31

Others at or embarked at USS Lexington:

LT William Eaton '21 (USS Lexington)
LT James Carney '21 (USS Lexington)
LTjg Baylies Clark '30 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
LTjg Philip Ashworth '31 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)

ENS George Fuller '35 (USS Lexington)
ENS John Eichmann '35 (USS Lexington)
ENS Richard McGowan '35 (USS Lexington)

January 1936

Lieutenant, Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B, USS Ranger

Others at this command:

LT Walter Dey '24

ENS William Widhelm '32

Others at or embarked at USS Ranger:

LT Robert Bedilion '22 (USS Ranger)
LT Hallsted Hopping '24 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 1B)
LTjg Ralph Smith '26 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
LTjg Seymour Johnson '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg James McRoberts '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg Baylies Clark '30 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
LTjg Lorenz Forbes '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)

LTjg William Freshour '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 5B)
LTjg Alden Irons '31 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg William Sisko '31 (USS Ranger)
LTjg Alfred Tucker, III '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
ENS Earle Schneider '33 (USS Ranger)
ENS Milton Ricketts '35 (USS Ranger)

April 1936

Lieutenant, Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B, USS Ranger

Others at this command:

LT Walter Dey '24

LTjg William Widhelm '32

Others at or embarked at USS Ranger:

LT Robert Bedilion '22 (USS Ranger)
LT Hallsted Hopping '24 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 1B)
LTjg Ralph Smith '26 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
LTjg Seymour Johnson '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg James McRoberts '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg Baylies Clark '30 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)

LTjg Lorenz Forbes '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg William Freshour '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 5B)
LTjg Alden Irons '31 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg Alfred Tucker, III '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
ENS Earle Schneider '33 (USS Ranger)
ENS Milton Ricketts '35 (USS Ranger)

July 1936

Lieutenant, Patrol Plane Squadron (VP) 1F, Naval Air Station Pearl Harbor

January 1937

Lieutenant, Patrol Plane Squadron (VP) 1F, Naval Air Station Pearl Harbor

April 1937

Lieutenant, Patrol Plane Squadron (VP) 1F, Naval Air Station Pearl Harbor

September 1937

Lieutenant, Patrol Squadron (VP) 1, Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii

Others at this command:

LT John Riggs, Jr. '28

January 1938

Lieutenant, Patrol Squadron (VP) 1, Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii

Others at this command:

LT John Riggs, Jr. '28

July 1938

Lieutenant, Torpedo Squadron (VT) 5, USS Yorktown

Others at this command:

LCDR James Craig '22

LTjg Stuart Stephens '34

Others at or embarked at USS Yorktown:

LT Robert Winters '27 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 5)
LTjg James Averill '27 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 5)
LT Henry Dozier '27 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 5)
LT Lloyd Greenamyer '29 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 5)
ENS Ned Wentz '33 (Carrier Division 2)

LTjg Edward Worthington '34 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 5)
LTjg Robert Donaldson '34 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 5)
ENS Milton Ricketts '35 (USS Yorktown)
ENS Bethel Otter '37 (USS Yorktown)

Class of 1924

James is one of 42 members of the Class of 1924 on Virtual Memorial Hall.

← Walter Dey '24

Neville McDowell '24 →

QR code

The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.

Retrieved from "http://usnamemorialhall.org/index.php?title=JAMES_F._MCDONOUGH,_LT,_USN&oldid=187291"