JOHN G. DOWNING, LT, USN

John Downing '35

Date of birth: August 20, 1913

Date of death: November 13, 1942

Age: 29

Lucky Bag

From the 1935 Lucky Bag:

JOHN GREGORY DOWNING

St. Paul, Minnesota

"Jack" "Swede"

FIFTEEN minutes of study a day will bring a 2.5 in any college, but at times Jack struggles a bit the last month, and has been known to concentrate for a whole hour. Although women seldom worry him while around the Academy, he is a regular terror among the weaker sex on leave. Sleep—he loves it! Jack is always ready to turn in any time or any place. During spare moments, he boned business books and expounded his conceptions of the faults of modem business methods in every available bull session. Jack's sights are set high. Swede is ready at all times to help a friend. Although perpetually broke in terms of actual cash, his credit is good and he is generous even to the point of borrowing to stake a friend.

Class Lacrosse 4. 1 P.O.

JOHN GREGORY DOWNING

St. Paul, Minnesota

"Jack" "Swede"

FIFTEEN minutes of study a day will bring a 2.5 in any college, but at times Jack struggles a bit the last month, and has been known to concentrate for a whole hour. Although women seldom worry him while around the Academy, he is a regular terror among the weaker sex on leave. Sleep—he loves it! Jack is always ready to turn in any time or any place. During spare moments, he boned business books and expounded his conceptions of the faults of modem business methods in every available bull session. Jack's sights are set high. Swede is ready at all times to help a friend. Although perpetually broke in terms of actual cash, his credit is good and he is generous even to the point of borrowing to stake a friend.

Class Lacrosse 4. 1 P.O.

Loss

John was lost when USS Barton (DD 599) was sunk during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on November 13, 1942. The wartime service of Barton and her officers and crew are detailed in this wonderful history.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

“Jack” graduated from Central High School in St. Paul in 1931. “Happy am I; from care I’m free! Why aren’t they all contented like me?” (He didn’t have any clubs, etc., by his name.)
In December 1935, Ensign John and his brother midshipman Richard (’39) were guests of their parents Mr. and Mrs. Frederic Harding. Their mother was Herma who had married their father Robert L. Downing on February 26, 1907. Robert had died before 1920.

His wife was listed as next of kin.

Navy and Marine Corps Medal

From Hall of Valor:

The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Navy and Marine Corps Medal (Posthumously) to Lieutenant John G. Downing (NSN: 0-75099), United States Navy, for heroic conduct at the risk of life not involving conflict with an armed enemy in volunteering to organize two boats from the warship to which he was attached, to remove personnel from a wrecked plane, stranded deep inshore of the edge of a reef. Fighting a high wind and imperiled by treacherous swells breaking against jagged rocks, he personally directed operations which resulted in the successful rescue of 17 officers and men without injury to either survivors of the aircraft or members of the boat crew.
General Orders: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 316 (July 1943)
Action Date: 1942
Service: Navy
Rank: Lieutenant

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.