JOHN F. WOODRUFF, LTJG, USN

John Woodruff '38

Date of birth: January 20, 1916

Date of death: March 1, 1942

Age: 26

Lucky Bag

From the 1938 Lucky Bag:

JOHN FORD WOODRUFF

Berkeley, California

Woof-woof, Jawn

"Hail fellow" prevails when Woof appears on the scene. His presence is usually announced by one of those shrill outbursts which come only from his throat; they defy description. Our Jawn is popular and amiable, he triumphs in all his social contacts as well as in the fields of music and sport. He uses track each spring as a means for spending long lazy moments stretched on the turf, but his unquestioned prowess on the field warrants this indulgence. With all his carefree airs, however, Woof has the real stuff; he hangs on and digs in again in the face of set-backs until he sees his task complete. He has always been a Navy man, John has; and it's unanimous, he's a mighty fine one.

Track 4, 3, 2, 1, N*; Batt. Cross Country 4, 3, 2, 1; Winter Track 4, 3, 2, 1; Lieutenant (j.g.).

JOHN FORD WOODRUFF

Berkeley, California

Woof-woof, Jawn

"Hail fellow" prevails when Woof appears on the scene. His presence is usually announced by one of those shrill outbursts which come only from his throat; they defy description. Our Jawn is popular and amiable, he triumphs in all his social contacts as well as in the fields of music and sport. He uses track each spring as a means for spending long lazy moments stretched on the turf, but his unquestioned prowess on the field warrants this indulgence. With all his carefree airs, however, Woof has the real stuff; he hangs on and digs in again in the face of set-backs until he sees his task complete. He has always been a Navy man, John has; and it's unanimous, he's a mighty fine one.

Track 4, 3, 2, 1, N*; Batt. Cross Country 4, 3, 2, 1; Winter Track 4, 3, 2, 1; Lieutenant (j.g.).

Loss

John was lost when USS Houston (CA 30) was sunk on on March 1, 1942 during the Battle of Sunda Strait. He was the ship's assistant damage control officer.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

John was born in New York. His father was Captain John Williams Woodruff (‘1902), a naval officer. His mother was Jeannette, his sister Virginia, and grandparents George and Sarah Ford. In 1930, his father served in the Naval Constructors, Member of the board of inspection and survey, Pac Coast sec, San Francisco. He died on July 25, 1944.

John's wife was listed as next of kin. He has a memory marker in Michigan.

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.