JOHN F. WALLING, CDR, USN

John Walling '35

Date of birth: February 2, 1912

Date of death: April 9, 1945

Age: 33

Lucky Bag

From the 1935 Lucky Bag:

JOHN FRANKLIN WALLING

Nantucket Island, Massachusetts

"John" "Jack" "Willie"

SQUARE that cap, mister! Have you been around the Horn?" "Yes, sir!" came John's triumphant reply to '32. And furthermore born on Nantucket Island, whence came many a whaling captain, John has brine in his blood, and is no mean fisherman. He spent summers teaching the art of sailing to young ladies of Nantucket's summer colony. Graduating from Exeter, he shipped aboard a freighter, went around South America to Calcutta via Suez, and returned to enter the Academy. Here, John has boxed, fenced and played tennis; sidelines include sailing, pipe smoking, and philanthropy to perpetually hungry classmates. His ambitions are Travel and the Navy; with visits to five continents behind and a naval officer's life ahead, we believe he will realize them.

Tennis 4, 3, 2, 1, Numerals. Fencing 2. 2 Stripes.

JOHN FRANKLIN WALLING

Nantucket Island, Massachusetts

"John" "Jack" "Willie"

SQUARE that cap, mister! Have you been around the Horn?" "Yes, sir!" came John's triumphant reply to '32. And furthermore born on Nantucket Island, whence came many a whaling captain, John has brine in his blood, and is no mean fisherman. He spent summers teaching the art of sailing to young ladies of Nantucket's summer colony. Graduating from Exeter, he shipped aboard a freighter, went around South America to Calcutta via Suez, and returned to enter the Academy. Here, John has boxed, fenced and played tennis; sidelines include sailing, pipe smoking, and philanthropy to perpetually hungry classmates. His ambitions are Travel and the Navy; with visits to five continents behind and a naval officer's life ahead, we believe he will realize them.

Tennis 4, 3, 2, 1, Numerals. Fencing 2. 2 Stripes.

Loss

John was lost when USS Snook (SS 279) was sunk, sometime after April 9, 1945 while on her 9th war patrol. He had been commanding officer since December 5, 1944 and taken her on a previous patrol of 54 days.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

In January 1932 during bad storms, John was on leave in Nantucket. He was picked up by a Coast Guard patrol boat CG 291 so as to avoid being A. W. O. L.
In March 1932, he took first place in a student contest on the knowledge of domestic and foreign current events at the Naval Academy.

His wife was listed as next of kin. He has a memory marker in Massachusetts.

John's mother was the sponsor for USS Snook (SSN 592) in 1961.

Photographs

Career

From the now-broken link http://www.fleetorganization.com/subcommandersclassyear3.html:

Duty Submarine Squadron Five 1 Jul 1939

Duty USS S-37 (SS-142) 1 Oct 1939

(Acting??) Executive Officer USS S-37 (SS-142) 1 Jul 1940

Engineering Officer USS S-37 (SS-142) 1 Nov 1940

Diving Officer USS Flying Fish (SS-229) 1942

Executive Officer USS Flying Fish (SS-229) Sep 1942

Captain USS S-48 (SS-159) 2 Jul 1943 - 1 Apr 1944

Captain USS Marlin (SS-205) 31 May 1944 - 31 Oct 1944

Captain USS Snook (SS-279) 5 Dec 1944 - Apr 1945

Lieutenant (j.g.) 6 Jun 1938

Lieutenant 14 Sep 1941

Lieutenant Commander (T) 1 May 1943

Commander (T) 1 Mar 1944

Silver Star

From Hall of Valor:

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Lieutenant John Franklin Walling (NSN: 0-75090), United States Navy, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action in the line of his profession as Diving Officer of the U.S.S. FLYING FISH (SS-229), during successful attacks against one enemy KONGO Class battleship and one enemy patrol vessel. One attack against a patrol vessel was followed by a severe enemy counter-attack during which the FLYING FISH was severely damaged. With a badly leaking after trim tank, with an up angle of eighteen degrees and with depth charges exploding very close aboard, it was only by his skill and calm courage that proper depth was maintained and the boat was capable of returning to port. His courage and skill were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
Action Date: World War II
Service: Navy
Rank: Lieutenant
Company: Diving Officer
Division: U.S.S. Flying Fish (SS-229)

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.