JOHN W. REEVES, III, LT, USN
John Reeves, III '41
Lucky Bag
From the 1941 Lucky Bag:
JOHN WALTER REEVES, III
Elizabeth, New Jersey
John came from his home town in New Jersey and China via prep schools in New York and Annapolis. When we first encountered him, lasting impressions were caused by his possession of a certain worldly wiseness and an evident artistic temperament. Raving one minute, laughing the next, serious the third, he is the true “artiste.”
His water colors, done as the mood strikes him, are ample proof of a great taste which places him in the realm of the temperamental artist. An ardent lover of music, his tastes range from Silhelvus’ composition of “Finlandia” to Barnet’s rendition of “Cherokee.” In picking his passage along the path of academics, John found a few difficulties, but surmounted them by virtue of his saving sense of humor plus an inherent common sense. He could have easily starred—if it had not been for ‘’Cosmo, Redbook, Colliers, Esquire,’’ and academics. Athletically, our hero badmintonned, boxed, held beautiful hands (also bridge), and made those amazing paintings.
Drum and Bugle Corps 4; Log Staff 4, 3; Boat Club 4, 3, 2; Battalion Boxing 2; Masqueraders 4.
The Class of 1941 was the first of the wartime-accelerated classes, graduating in February 1941.
JOHN WALTER REEVES, III
Elizabeth, New Jersey
John came from his home town in New Jersey and China via prep schools in New York and Annapolis. When we first encountered him, lasting impressions were caused by his possession of a certain worldly wiseness and an evident artistic temperament. Raving one minute, laughing the next, serious the third, he is the true “artiste.”
His water colors, done as the mood strikes him, are ample proof of a great taste which places him in the realm of the temperamental artist. An ardent lover of music, his tastes range from Silhelvus’ composition of “Finlandia” to Barnet’s rendition of “Cherokee.” In picking his passage along the path of academics, John found a few difficulties, but surmounted them by virtue of his saving sense of humor plus an inherent common sense. He could have easily starred—if it had not been for ‘’Cosmo, Redbook, Colliers, Esquire,’’ and academics. Athletically, our hero badmintonned, boxed, held beautiful hands (also bridge), and made those amazing paintings.
Drum and Bugle Corps 4; Log Staff 4, 3; Boat Club 4, 3, 2; Battalion Boxing 2; Masqueraders 4.
The Class of 1941 was the first of the wartime-accelerated classes, graduating in February 1941.
Loss
John was "fatally injured at Melbourne (Florida) in a plane crash” on October 29, 1943.
Other Information
His father, John Jr., was a member of the Class of 1910 and retired as a Vice Admiral. The May 1962 issue of Shipmate mentions he was "killed in a plane crash in 1943." (The Class of 1910's column was discussing his mother's death.)
He had recently received his wings and was married October 12, 1943 to the former Mrs. Kathryn Hendrix Allen of Pensacola, Florida. John is buried in New Jersey.
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.
April 1941
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