LOVEMAN NOA, NAVAL CADET, USN
Loveman Noa '00
Lucky Bag
From the 1900 Lucky Bag:
Noa, Loveman
Chattanooga, Tennessee
A complicated combination of eccentricities of pugnacious propensities; the human interrogation point, possessed of a never-satisfied curiosity; the class mule.
Noa, Loveman
Chattanooga, Tennessee
A complicated combination of eccentricities of pugnacious propensities; the human interrogation point, possessed of a never-satisfied curiosity; the class mule.
Loss
Loveman was killed in action with Philippine insurgents on October 26, 1901.
Other Information
From Wikipedia:
He was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to the Jewish immigrants, Ismar Noa (1836–1906) of Breslau, Prussia, (now Wrocław, Poland), and Rose B. Loveman (1842–1923) of Hungary. His siblings were Ernestine Noa (1871–1951); Bianca Noa (1874–1945) who married Albert Hodges Morehead, Sr. (1852–1922); and Wallace Noa (1876–1908). His maternal uncle was David Barnard Loveman, who had moved to Chattanooga and started the Lovemans department store.
Noa was appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy as a naval cadet on September 5, 1896. He graduated in June 1900. He was ordered to the Asiatic Station in gunboat Mariveles. On the morning of October 26, 1901 Midshipman Noa, with an armed crew of six men, put off from the Mariveles in a small boat to watch for craft engaged in smuggling contraband from the island of Leyte to Samar. When ready to return to the Mariveles, they found the wind and the tide against them. The boat was taking on water, and they put into a small cove on the island of Samar. While scouting the adjacent jungle, Noa was attacked and stabbed five times by Filipino insurgents, three times in the abdomen, one in the chest, and one in his left shoulder. He was then given a blow to the head. He died after fifteen minutes, before aid could reach him.
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Loveman's father Ismar was in real estate and had a rental agency. He was one time officer in the Russian army. His mother was Rose, and his brother was Wallace.
His sister Bianca (Mrs. A. H. Morehead) helped establish the Southern Conservatory of Music in Chattanooga.
His sister Ernestine and Dr. Lillian Johnson of Memphis were in Europe in 1912 where they made a study of school and educational methods. They were especially impressed with the International Institute of Agriculture in Rome. On December 17, at a dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria, they met President-elect Woodrow Wilson and his family. They were invited by President Taft to attend a conference at the White House on cooperative credit systems. In 1919, she was instructor of sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She told the Chattanooga club women that her family would give a bronze tablet in memory of Loveman to the ship in his name. The club would give a Bible.
He is buried in Tennessee.
Loveman is listed on the killed in action panel in the front of Memorial Hall under the heading "PHILIPPINE INSURRECTION 1899-1901."
Photographs
Journal
He kept a journal, likely as an "under-instruction" for USS Kentucky's navigator, from from the time of his graduation until the month before his death. There was an accompanying "technical pages" portion of the log as well.
Remembrances
From Loveman Noa:
MEMORIAL TABLET TO LOVEMAN NOA.
Brilliant Young Chattanoogan Cut Off in Youth Remembered by Classmates.On May 28 a memorial tablet to the late Loveman Noa, of Chattanooga, was unveiled at the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md. Mr Noa was a United States naval cadet, who was ambushed by natives of the Island of Samar on Oct. 26, 1901. He was a son of Mrs. Ismar Noa, of this city.
The tablet, which is of bronze, has upon it the following inscription:
LOVEMAN NOA
Naval Cadet U. S. Navy,
Class of 1900.
Born Oct. 5, 1876, Died Oct. 26, 1901,
Fighting Single Handed.Ambushed by Natives of the Island of Samar While in Command of an Expedition During the Philippine Insurrection.
In Honor of His Memory This Tablet Is Erected by His Classmates.
The speech of presentation was delivered by Lieut. W. G. Mitchell, of the United States navy, and will be of interest to the many who remember Loveman Noa as one of the most promising young men of Chattanooga. Lieut. Mitchell said:
Ten years ago, at this time, the class of 1900 was absorbed with preparations for graduation from the academy. Each member was looking forward eagerly to active duties afloat—to the realization of his hopes of the past four years. Graduation day came with its feverish excitement and the growing impatience to be free from academic restraints and regulations and to get out into the world. On that beautiful spring morning, surrounded by many friends and much gaiety, little heed was given to the thought expressed by the secretary of the navy—that these young men were about to embark on a career which means a devotion of his life to one’s country’s honor and glory, and the sacrifice, if necessary, of life itself. The chance of ever being called upon to contribute so heavily seemed too remote for serious consideration at such a time.
Diplomas and orders were delivered and the class was scattered to the corners of the earth. Hardly more than a year later the impressive words of the graduation address were driven home to each heart when the news was received from the Philippines that a classmate—Loveman Noa— had forfeited his life in his country’s service. There is no doubt but that every graduate of this academy has at one time considered the possibility of being called upon to sacrifice his life for his country. In every case, I dare say, a little prayer has been offered that, if the call comes, it may find him in action and that he may fall fighting.
Every man who knew Loveman Noa knew of his courageous heart. His was a spirit of clear grit through and through, endowed with a tenacity of purpose that never permitted him to acknowledge defeat even to himself. The circumstances of his death show us that he carried out the predictions of his life. All who knew Noa know that he fought valiantly and that he fulfilled to the last the best traditions of the naval service. Our recollections of him go back to our undergraduate days, and we remember him with deep affection and brotherly good will. Maturer years have formed in our hearts and minds the profound respect felt for those who have given their lives for the advancement of civilization and the good of all mankind.
With the permission of the superintendent, the class of 1900 have placed this tablet on the walls of this sacred edifice as a tribute to the memory of Loveman Noa and as a symbol of their loyalty, in the hope that his name and noble sacrifice will be remembered by the succeeding graduates of this institution.
Chattanooga Times, May 28, 1904
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.
January 1901
Namesake
USS Noa (DD 343) was named for Loveman; the ship was sponsored by his sister. USS Noa (DD 841) was also named for him.
Memorial Hall Error
Loveman is listed as a Midshipman; but this rank was out of use for almost twenty years until July 1, 1902, well after his death. He was a "Naval Cadet." Also, on the killed in action panel in the front of Memorial Hall his first name is incorrectly spelled "Lovemon."
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
