LUDWELL R. PICKETT, JR., LTJG, USN

Ludwell Pickett, Jr. '33

Date of birth: September 23, 1911

Date of death: April 6, 1937

Age: 25

Lucky Bag

From the 1933 Lucky Bag:

LUDWELL RECTOR PICKETT

Pocahontas, Arkansas

"Pick" "Lud"

Pick may not be Arkansas' favorite son but his favorite stomping ground is the razor-back state, of which he is duly proud and which he upholds with all of his youthful enthusiasm. The first impression Pick gives one is that of being perfectly satisfied with everything and vividly interested in it. He loves to rant on about how the Academy should be run, or on politics, finance or any other issues which may interest him. He takes a firm stand and backs it to the limit.

His first ambition was to be a lawyer, but the sea interceded, so he compromised and became a sea lawyer of the first water.

He has a keen sense of humor and is always ready to take a hand; be it bridge, feminine or what not, preferably feminine. With one of someone else's "skags," someone else's match, and the latest "sweet nothings" of love from the current sweet thing, he spent many dreamy-eyed hours in reverie.

Pick is Navy throughout and the ship that gets him will get an officer who has a manner of meeting every situation with ease and positive results. With his ideals, intellect, individuality, interest, and integrity, he should land safely in the port of success.

Boxing 4; 2 P. O.

LUDWELL RECTOR PICKETT

Pocahontas, Arkansas

"Pick" "Lud"

Pick may not be Arkansas' favorite son but his favorite stomping ground is the razor-back state, of which he is duly proud and which he upholds with all of his youthful enthusiasm. The first impression Pick gives one is that of being perfectly satisfied with everything and vividly interested in it. He loves to rant on about how the Academy should be run, or on politics, finance or any other issues which may interest him. He takes a firm stand and backs it to the limit.

His first ambition was to be a lawyer, but the sea interceded, so he compromised and became a sea lawyer of the first water.

He has a keen sense of humor and is always ready to take a hand; be it bridge, feminine or what not, preferably feminine. With one of someone else's "skags," someone else's match, and the latest "sweet nothings" of love from the current sweet thing, he spent many dreamy-eyed hours in reverie.

Pick is Navy throughout and the ship that gets him will get an officer who has a manner of meeting every situation with ease and positive results. With his ideals, intellect, individuality, interest, and integrity, he should land safely in the port of success.

Boxing 4; 2 P. O.

Loss

From Find A Grave:

Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Pickett was designed naval aviator #4273 in 1936. Graduate US Naval Academy, Class of 1933. Killed, along with three others, following launching from the aircraft carrier USS Lexington (CV-2) off San Diego, Ca., in a midair collision between two scout bombers.

The aircraft were Vought SBU Corsair biplanes. He was a member of Scouting Squadron (VS) 3B, embarked in USS Lexington (CV 2).

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Ludwell’s father was a bank cashier. In 1920, his older sister was Dortha, and his older brothers were James and Marvin.

From the 1953 edition of the book "Double Three Roundup," published by the class of 1933:

Most of the class will recall that Lud was killed in a plane crash off San Diego on 6 April 1937. Prior to his death, Lud had served for two years aboard the WEST VIRGINIA, undergone flight instruction at Pensacola, and had served with Scouting Squadron Three aboard the LEXINGTON.
Lud and Clayton Estes from Memphis, Tennessee, were married on June 12, 1935 in El Paso, Texas. Clayton writes that in 1942 she married Doctor William D. Scanlon who volunteered for duty as a Naval flight surgeon during the war and served overseas with the Fleet Marine Force. Doctor Scanlon has now returned to private practice and resides with Clayton at 322 Abbey Road, Manhasset, Long Island, New York.

He has a memory marker in Arkansas. He was survived by his mother, sister, and brother. (His brother graduated with the Class of 1938 and retired as a Rear Admiral.)

Photographs

From the Santa Cruz Sentinel on April 9, 1937

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.