MACDONALD THOMPSON, LCDR, USN

Macdonald Thompson '37

Date of birth: December 13, 1914

Date of death: September 21, 1944

Age: 29

Lucky Bag

From the 1937 Lucky Bag:

MacDONALD THOMPSON

Prosser, Washington

"Tommy" "Mac" "Don"

Here we have that silent, stern-faced man from the wilds of the state of Washington. The longing he acquired for aviation while in flying school caused Don to take to the Navy as a means of fulfilling his desires. Many have admired the way Tommy handles himself in the boxing ring. Hardly an afternoon passes during the season that he isn't over in the gym working out. When in his thoughtful moods, we never knew whether he was thinking about spring or the next time he would drag. Conscientious and determined as he is, we are sure that Tommy will succeed in whatever he undertakes.

Boxing 4, 3, 2, 1. Two Stripes.

MacDONALD THOMPSON

Prosser, Washington

"Tommy" "Mac" "Don"

Here we have that silent, stern-faced man from the wilds of the state of Washington. The longing he acquired for aviation while in flying school caused Don to take to the Navy as a means of fulfilling his desires. Many have admired the way Tommy handles himself in the boxing ring. Hardly an afternoon passes during the season that he isn't over in the gym working out. When in his thoughtful moods, we never knew whether he was thinking about spring or the next time he would drag. Conscientious and determined as he is, we are sure that Tommy will succeed in whatever he undertakes.

Boxing 4, 3, 2, 1. Two Stripes.

Loss

MacDonald was lost when his Grumman TBF Avenger crashed while operating from USS Hancock (CV 19) on September 21, 1944 in the vicinity of Hawaii. He was commanding officer of Torpedo Squadron (VT) 7.

Other Information

MacDonald reported to NAS Pensacola for flight training on June 30, 1939 as an Ensign. He was promoted to LTJG on June 3, 1940; on July 22, 1940 he was designated naval aviator #6563. He was promoted to LT on January 2, 1942. On October 25, 1942 he was assigned to Torpedo Squadron (VT) 10, aboard USS Enterprise (CV 6). A few weeks later, on November 15, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross while flying from Marine Corps Air Base Guadalcanal. He was promoted to LCDR on July 1, 1943; he became commanding officer of Torpedo Squadron (VT) 7 on July 3, 1944, operating from USS Hancock (CV 19). The squadron was reassigned to NAS Kahului on September 1, 1944. (Information from Richard Leonard, naval aviation historian.)

From USS Saratoga Museum:

Our father Lt. Commander MacDonald Thompson a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy 1937 served on the U.S.S. Idaho BB-42; U.S.S. Saratoga CV-3; U.S.S. Enterprise CV-6 and U.S.S. Hancock CV-19. He was a Naval Pilot who flew the Avenger Torpedo planes ( TBF & TBM ) in VT-3; VT-10 and VT-7. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross; The Presidential Commendation; The Navy Commendation Medal and others. He was killed in his plane on September 21, 1944 while serving his country! Don & Bill Thompson, [email protected] Garden Grove, California USA - Saturday, December 29, 2007 at 8:32 PM.

MacDonald is mentioned several times in the book Pacific Air by David Sears.

From USS Idaho Photo Album:

MacDonald Thompson graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1937. While there at the Naval Academy he was on the boxing team. Upon graduation he was stationed on the USS Idaho BB-42. He then went on to the aircraft carriers in 1940. He flew the TBD-TBF-TBM Avengers in VT-3; VT-7 and in the Buzzard Brigade VT-10. His service was on the USS Saratoga CV-3 out of N.A.S. North Island in San Diego, California. Then he served on the U.S.S. Hancock and the U.S.S. Enterprise CV-6. He was indeed an officer and a gentleman!

His wife was listed as next of kin. He has a memory marker in Washington.

Photographs

Distinguished Flying Cross

From Hall of Valor:

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Lieutenant MacDonald Thompson, United States Navy, for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as leader of a division of Torpedo Planes attached to a United States Aircraft Carrier during an engagement with Japanese naval forces off Guadalcanal on 13 to 15 November 1942. Lieutenant Thompson launched a devastating attack against a Japanese battleship of the KONGO class, in spite of heavy anti-aircraft fire and an umbrella of enemy fighters. He and his comrades scored three torpedo hits, stopping the enemy vessel and preventing her from shelling the aircraft installations on Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, thereby contributing in great part to the outstanding success of this engagement. Lieutenant Thompson then took part in repeated attacks on major enemy forces.
General Orders: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 316 (July 1943)
Action Date: November 13 - 15, 1942
Service: Navy
Rank: Lieutenant
Company: Torpedo Squadron

Another brief account of this action is here.

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.