KENNETH L. KOLLMYER, LTJG, USN

Kenneth Kollmyer '39

Date of birth: January 27, 1917

Date of death: March 1, 1942

Age: 25

Lucky Bag

From the 1939 Lucky Bag:

KENNETH LEON KOLLMYER

Keokuk, Iowa

Kenny

The far-reaching arm of the Navy dragged Kenny forth from the cornfields of Iowa. He began his naval career by reporting late for his physical exam. The reason — he overslept. Kenny is a potential star man but he is firmly convinced that eight hours sleep are insufficient and therefore his evening study hours becomes his evening siesta. His habitual smile, his thoughtful consideration and his bright and cheerful "good morning" make him a desirable roommate. His inherent good humor and seemingly endless knowledge of subjects of general interest make him an ideal addition to any bull session. When Kenny receives his commission the Navy will receive an officer and a gentleman who will be ready and willing to carry on the customs and traditions of the Service.

Golf 3, 1; 1 P.O.

KENNETH LEON KOLLMYER

Keokuk, Iowa

Kenny

The far-reaching arm of the Navy dragged Kenny forth from the cornfields of Iowa. He began his naval career by reporting late for his physical exam. The reason — he overslept. Kenny is a potential star man but he is firmly convinced that eight hours sleep are insufficient and therefore his evening study hours becomes his evening siesta. His habitual smile, his thoughtful consideration and his bright and cheerful "good morning" make him a desirable roommate. His inherent good humor and seemingly endless knowledge of subjects of general interest make him an ideal addition to any bull session. When Kenny receives his commission the Navy will receive an officer and a gentleman who will be ready and willing to carry on the customs and traditions of the Service.

Golf 3, 1; 1 P.O.

Loss

Kenneth was lost when USS Houston (CA 30) was sunk on on March 1, 1942 during the Battle of Sunda Strait.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Kenneth graduated in 1935 from Keokuk High School. “Kinda klever.” Class Will: “Kenneth willed that whack of his with a golf club to Jack Bierman. Use it on the ball, please.” Class Prophecy: “Kenneth is now commanding officer on a U. S. battleship.”
He was nominated to the Naval Academy by Representative Eicher.
Kenneth was survived by his parents, Albert and Margaret, two sisters, Helen and Grace, and a brother Harry. His father owned his own machine shop in Keokuk.

From the Class of 1939 column in the July-August issue of Shipmate:

Kenneth Leon Kollmyer was born 27 January 1917 in Keokuk, Iowa, the youngest son of Albert John and Margaret Lumsdon Kollmyer. He reported to duty aboard HOUSTON on 20 June 1939. His initial duty was B Division Officer in the Engineering Department along with Classmates Andy Frosch and Johnny Shepherd.
In 1940, when HOUSTON was designated Flagship Asiatic Fleet, Ensign Kollmyer and Classmate Fran Weiler volunteered for Asiatic duty and went to the Philippines with her.
During his 32 months of service aboard Houston, Ken Kollmyer had various duties in Communications, Gunnery, and Engineering. An avid golfer, he was given the task of organizing and running the last Asiatic Fleet Championship Golf Tournament in January 1941 held at the Wack Wack Golf Club in Manila. He was beginning a week’s leave at the mountain resort of Baguio when all members of HOUSTON personnel were recalled to the ship following CNO Admiral Stark’s war warning of 27 November 1941.
HOUSTON was long a favorite ship of President Roosevelt, who made several cruises on her while in office. The entire crew who took the ship to the Asiatic Station were volunteers. Consequently the ship, its material condition, its combat readiness and morale were of the highest. HOUSTON enjoyed a reputation that had very few equals and no superiors throughout the entire U.S. Fleet. In the engagement that followed the outbreak of war she fully measured up to this reputation. Just after midnight, 1 March 1942, HOUSTON made her last stand in Sundra Strait, alone against 16 cruisers and destroyers of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Lt (jg) Kenneth Leon Kollmyer, USN, vanished in that perilous pre-dawn darkness, Missing in Action like so many others, the time, the place, and manner of his death known only to God.
He was awarded the Purple Heart and a Presidential Unit Citation (USS HOUSTON). Forty years later, RADM Robert B. Fulton (USNA ’32) would write of his shipmate, Ken Kollmyer, "I do have a clear memory of him, the conscientious way in which he worked and the bright, cheerful attitude that he brought to situations, which at times were pretty bleak. He was most certainly a positive influence and an inspiration to others."

His parents were listed as next of kin. He has a memorial marker in Iowa.

Photographs

From his high school yearbook
From the Lucky Bag
"Ken Kollmyer, Rex Warner and Andy Frosch aboard HOUSTON. Andy left shortly after this photo was taken to join MONSSEN and died on 13 November ’42 when she was lost in the Battle of the Solomon Islands." Photo from Class of 1939 column in the July-August issue of Shipmate.
"Ken Kollmyer and Fran Weiler on Laa Island in the Tawi-Tawi Group, late summer of 1941." Photo from Class of 1939 column in the July-August issue of Shipmate.

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.