KARL F. BORDER, LT, USN

Karl Border '39

Date of birth: January 5, 1916

Date of death: October 11, 1942

Age: 26

Lucky Bag

From the 1939 Lucky Bag:

KARL FREDERICK BORDER

Long Beach, California

Roughsketch, Maximus

A year on a dude ranch started Roughsketch singing "The Strawberry Roan" to himself and whistling "Red River Valley," off key, to the world at large. A year of pre-law at University of Washington fostered his unbeatable, if illogical, argumentative power. Three years in China provided him a wealth of plebe baiting questions such as the exact population of Tsing-tao. And these four years at the Academy have made him a past master in the ways of the female. With this indoctrination, Karl points toward success in the Service; success well aided by a sense of humor, an ability to make and keep friends, and the determination that has served so well against those two crowning obstacles, Mechanical Drawing and Nav. P-Works.

Boxing 4, 3; Soccer 4; Wrestling 1; Boat Club 4, 3, 2, 1; 2 Stripes.

KARL FREDERICK BORDER

Long Beach, California

Roughsketch, Maximus

A year on a dude ranch started Roughsketch singing "The Strawberry Roan" to himself and whistling "Red River Valley," off key, to the world at large. A year of pre-law at University of Washington fostered his unbeatable, if illogical, argumentative power. Three years in China provided him a wealth of plebe baiting questions such as the exact population of Tsing-tao. And these four years at the Academy have made him a past master in the ways of the female. With this indoctrination, Karl points toward success in the Service; success well aided by a sense of humor, an ability to make and keep friends, and the determination that has served so well against those two crowning obstacles, Mechanical Drawing and Nav. P-Works.

Boxing 4, 3; Soccer 4; Wrestling 1; Boat Club 4, 3, 2, 1; 2 Stripes.

Loss

From Find A Grave:

While the stone says he died October 11, 1944, he actually died in an aircraft accident at Ewa Airfield, HI, on October 11, 1942. May he rest in peace in the knowledge of his devotion to his family, his service, and his country.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Karl graduated in 1932 from Bremerton High School in Washington: “The course of least resistance for me.” Entered from San Rafael Military Academy, California. Debate 2, 4; Honor Society 2, 3, 4; Science Club 2, 4; School Play 4; Senior Play 4; Student Council 4; Golf 4; Oratorical Contest 4. Aim: Undecided. Karl was prosecuting attorney for the Student Council. He participated in the plays “The Family Upstairs” and “Easy Pickings.”
He married Mary Dalton Chubbrick on June 20, 1942, in San Diego. His best man was Lt. Thomas Geary.
In 1920 the family lived in Vallejo, California, and in 1930 at the Navy Yard in Kitsap, Washington. His father Lee graduated from the Naval Academy in 1905.

His wife was listed as next of kin.

Karl's younger brother Robert also graduated with the class of 1939. According to WestPoint.org, the two brothers were roommates aboard USS Tennessee (BB 43). Karl was detailed to a flight school class that convened in September 1941. He received his wings from Pensacola Training School for Officers in April, 1942.

Photographs

From his high school yearbook
Captain (USN) Lee S. Border, USNA Class of 1905 (center), and his two sons, Ensigns Robert L. Border (left) and Karl F. Border, graduation day, 1 June 1939. Borders’ Collection
From the Lucky Bag

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.