JAMES S. SMITH, JR., LCDR, USN
James Smith, Jr. '25
Lucky Bag
From the 1925 Lucky Bag:
James Stuart Smith, Jr.
Laconia, New Hampshire
"Smythe" "J. S."
EARLY in Plebedom Smythe cultivated a dislike for those of the gentler sex; but, girls, he's weakening now. There are pictures on his locker door, but "Say, Smythe, are all those your cousins?"
"Now I don't savvy this Dago, but just wait till we hit the professional subjects; that will tell whether or not I know my stuff."
And this man spoons on maple sugar and ice cream as Pussyfoot Johnson would on the leader of the W.C.T.U.
On the mat he is a regular Farmer of Burns, and he certainly reaped a lot for the Navy scoreboard. He has yet to acquire the ear that resembles the head of the college educated cabbage and which has the cry of tin.
Smythe doesn't smoke, chew, drink, or swear, and he has attained the age of twenty. Smith became "Smythe" after his seventy-yard charge for the lone touchdown on the Second Class team. It takes feet to make yards and feet travel; at least Smythe's did. Let's hope he travels that fast to relieve the officer on the bridge.
Class Football (4, 3, 2, 1); Football Squad (1); Wrestling Squad (4, 3, 2, 1); N (2); Class Lacrosse (4, 3, 1); Academy Middleweight Champion (2).
James Stuart Smith, Jr.
Laconia, New Hampshire
"Smythe" "J. S."
EARLY in Plebedom Smythe cultivated a dislike for those of the gentler sex; but, girls, he's weakening now. There are pictures on his locker door, but "Say, Smythe, are all those your cousins?"
"Now I don't savvy this Dago, but just wait till we hit the professional subjects; that will tell whether or not I know my stuff."
And this man spoons on maple sugar and ice cream as Pussyfoot Johnson would on the leader of the W.C.T.U.
On the mat he is a regular Farmer of Burns, and he certainly reaped a lot for the Navy scoreboard. He has yet to acquire the ear that resembles the head of the college educated cabbage and which has the cry of tin.
Smythe doesn't smoke, chew, drink, or swear, and he has attained the age of twenty. Smith became "Smythe" after his seventy-yard charge for the lone touchdown on the Second Class team. It takes feet to make yards and feet travel; at least Smythe's did. Let's hope he travels that fast to relieve the officer on the bridge.
Class Football (4, 3, 2, 1); Football Squad (1); Wrestling Squad (4, 3, 2, 1); N (2); Class Lacrosse (4, 3, 1); Academy Middleweight Champion (2).
Loss
James was lost when USS Atlanta (CL 51) was destroyed on November 13, 1942 during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. The ship was scuttled following damage from Japanese torpedoes and gunfire from USS San Francisco (CA 38).
He was the ship's navigator and was the conning officer during the engagement. From Neptune's Inferno, “The navigator, Lieutenant Commander James Stuart Smith, sat in the starboard bridge chair, dead without a mark on him.”
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
James married Tanya Rous at the sunset hour on October 11, 1941, at the Parke Memorial chapel, St. Andrew’s cathedral in Honolulu.
His father James was a retail merchant of a 5-10 store who died in 1944. Mother Ethel, and brother Samuel.
His wife was listed as next of kin.
American Legion Post
Wilkins-Smith American Legion Post 1, in Laconia, New Hampshire, is named for James.
From Hall of Valor:
The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Lieutenant Commander James Stuart Smith, Jr. (NSN: 0-59677), United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service in the line of his profession as Conning Officer of the Light Cruiser U.S.S. ATLANTA (CL-51), during an engagement with Japanese naval forces near Savo Island on the night of 12 - 13 November, 1942. With cool courage and utter disregard for his own personal safety, Lieutenant Commander Smith remained at his station and directed the course of the ship until he was mortally wounded. His conduct throughout was in keeping with the highest traditions of the Navy of the United States. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
Service: Navy
Division: U.S.S. Atlanta (CL-51)
General Orders: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 315 (June 1943)
Career
He was a Lieutenant (j.g.) aboard USS Eagle 58 in the late 1920s when he (and his commanding officer) was awarded a letter of commendation from the Secretary of the Navy for winning the Engineering Trophy and Greatest Improvement Prize for the Gunboat Class. (Per Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 138 (August 16, 1930)).
James was commanding officer of USS Trever (DMS 16) in 1940 until December 1941.
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 1925
October 1925
January 1928
October 1928
January 1929
April 1929
July 1929
October 1929
January 1930
April 1930
October 1930
July 1931
October 1931
January 1932
April 1932
October 1932
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT Robert Smith '20
LT Paul Register '21
LT Francis Bridget '21
LT George Brooke '21
LT William Hobby, Jr. '23
LTjg Neville McDowell '24
January 1933
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT Robert Smith '20
LT Paul Register '21
LT Francis Bridget '21
LT George Brooke '21
LT William Hobby, Jr. '23
LTjg Neville McDowell '24
April 1933
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT Robert Smith '20
LT Paul Register '21
LT Francis Bridget '21
LT George Brooke '21
LT William Hobby, Jr. '23
LTjg Neville McDowell '24
LTjg Hubert Hayter '24
July 1933
LCDR Lyman Swenson '16
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT Robert Smith '20
LT Paul Register '21
LT George Brooke '21
LT Howard Healy '22
1LT Charles Kail '23
LT Hallsted Hopping '24
LTjg Lawrence McPeake '24
LTjg Knowlton Williams '25
October 1933
LCDR Lyman Swenson '16
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT Robert Smith '20
LT Paul Register '21
LT George Brooke '21
LT Howard Healy '22
1LT Charles Kail '23
LT Hallsted Hopping '24
LTjg Lawrence McPeake '24
LTjg William Graham, Jr. '25
LTjg Andrew Harris '25
April 1934
LCDR Lyman Swenson '16
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT Robert Smith '20
LT Paul Register '21
LT William Gray '21
LT George Brooke '21
LT Howard Healy '22
1LT Charles Kail '23
LT Hallsted Hopping '24
LT Lawrence McPeake '24
LTjg William Graham, Jr. '25
July 1934
October 1934
January 1935
April 1935
October 1935
January 1936
April 1936
July 1936
January 1937
April 1937
September 1937
January 1938
July 1938
January 1939
October 1939
June 1940
November 1940
April 1941
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