MILLARD J. KLEIN, LCDR, USN

Millard Klein '31

Date of birth: July 25, 1908

Date of death: October 9, 1943

Age: 35

Lucky Bag

From the 1931 Lucky Bag:

Millard Jefferson Klein

Knoxville, Tennessee

"Mike"

Curly hair, a twinkling eye, a fluent tongue, can spell but one thing. Take a glance at the picture again, for Tennessee will, not often produce such as Alike. He comes to us from the great Smokies, and many are the tales with which he entertains us about that unusual country; its customs, traditions, and "just over the next hill" stories. Talking in a slow absorbing manner, he holds us by his words; but don't listen too long, for he will have you convinced that Neptune conquered Greece.

Perseverance is a quality unusually developed in Mike. Not many of us can take as many hard knocks as he has and spring back lightly to our feet. As a classmate we find in him congeniality and consideration that we have never met before. Quiet and unassuming, he picks his associates from a comparative few; but those enjoy a friendship which is really worth while. None can have a better pal than Mike—cheerful, patient and considerate—a gentleman!

Mike will make a good officer for Navy.

Radio Club 2, 1; Rifle Team 2, 1; Class Baseball 2, 1; 2 P. O.

Millard Jefferson Klein

Knoxville, Tennessee

"Mike"

Curly hair, a twinkling eye, a fluent tongue, can spell but one thing. Take a glance at the picture again, for Tennessee will, not often produce such as Alike. He comes to us from the great Smokies, and many are the tales with which he entertains us about that unusual country; its customs, traditions, and "just over the next hill" stories. Talking in a slow absorbing manner, he holds us by his words; but don't listen too long, for he will have you convinced that Neptune conquered Greece.

Perseverance is a quality unusually developed in Mike. Not many of us can take as many hard knocks as he has and spring back lightly to our feet. As a classmate we find in him congeniality and consideration that we have never met before. Quiet and unassuming, he picks his associates from a comparative few; but those enjoy a friendship which is really worth while. None can have a better pal than Mike—cheerful, patient and considerate—a gentleman!

Mike will make a good officer for Navy.

Radio Club 2, 1; Rifle Team 2, 1; Class Baseball 2, 1; 2 P. O.

Loss

"Mike" was lost when USS Buck (DD 420) was torpedoed by U-616 and sank near Salerno, Italy, on October 9, 1944. He was the ship's commanding officer.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Millard was born in Chappell Hill, Texas, as Millard Jefferson Klein, Jr. He graduated from Knoxville High School. Beside his yearbook picture, it was posted “It’s better to be meek than fierce.”
He was appointed to the Naval Academy by Congressman J. Will Taylor and passed the examinations without attending preparatory school. He won second place in the Dr. Henry Van Dyke essay contest for his essay “The Future of Naval Aviation.”
Millard married Jacqueline Coleman of Richmond, Virginia, on September 22, 1934, in Tia Juana, Mexico. They had three children: daughters Kathleen and Virginia and son Michael.
Millard received merits for participation in the Battle of Casablanca and honors for his part in the Sicilian campaign. His mother said he wanted a life at sea from the time he was ten years old.
Millard’s father was Millard Jefferson, Sr., a gifted musician and Director of Music at Chappell Hill Female College. He died in 1908. Millard’s mother was Martha, and his grandfather was Capt. W. T. Pritchett of Knoxville. Millard’s cousin was Jeter Isely (non-grad ’39).

From the New Orleans States newspaper, October 19, 1943:

[Lieutenant (j.g.) Joseph Raymond Samuel was aboard the Buck ten days before it was sunk. He was in charge of a photography unit. Millard told him the story of how they sunk the German submarine and rescued 45 of its crew.]
 “Shortly after 11 p.m. while escorting a convoy, we spotted a vessel on the surface of the sea several miles away. We immediately headed for the object.
“As we approached him we challenged with our blinker, and he submerged by crash-diving. We knew we were on the trail of a U-boat. Every man at battle stations strained his eyes through the darkness for some sight of the submarine’s position when our sound gear revealed him beneath us.
“I ordered depth charges fired. The exploding guns broke the stillness of a calm night as the “ash cans” went sailing out, followed by a splash as they hit the water. A few moments later they found their depths and the sea shook with violent explosions. We circled back and dropped some more, meanwhile following the track of his engines on our detectors.
“We circled for the third run, and I ordered still more fired. This was the death blow. The sub’s hull was ruptured, and suddenly all the lookouts excitedly reported the surfacing U-boat.
“The order to open fire was given and I have never seen such a display of shooting, as round after round of hot lead and steel were poured into the conning tower.
“We turned for the sub at a fast clip to ram, but we were too close at the time and the ship passed within 50 feet of the sub, as our machine guns kept up a withering fire on those exposed sections of the enemy vessel.
“Our big guns opened up and smashed the conning tower just about the time that two torpedoes were reported headed our way. One was observed passing to starboard. The other must have been a wider miss.
“We could hear men shouting in the water, and as our gunfire lit up the scene, we could observe others jumping into the sea from the conning tower. One burst opened up a big hole below the tower and started a fire.
“We continued to pump shells into the submarine until I was certain that it was out of the war for keeps. When last seen, it had turned over. Our whaleboat was put over and in three trips picked up 45 out of a crew of 51.”

Millard has a memory marker in Tennessee. His wife, Jacqueline, was listed as next of kin; he was also survived by his children Kathleen Brigham (aged 7), Virginia (6), and Michael (1).

Remembrances

His daughter, Kay [Kathleen], published a book about her father, "For Those Who Love, Time is Not: A World War II True Story of Unconquerable Love and Faith.".

Photographs

From his high school yearbook
From The Knoxville News Sentinel on May 31, 1931
From The Knoxville News Sentinel on June 7, 1937
From the Boston Herald on October 20, 1943

Navy Cross

From Hall of Valor:

The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Lieutenant Commander Millard Jefferson Klein, United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service in the line of his profession as Commanding Officer of the Destroyer U.S.S. BUCK (DD-420), during an attack on an enemy submarine while on convoy escort off the Island of Pantelleria in the Mediterranean Sea, on 3 August 1943. Contacting the hostile vessel which was preparing to attack the convoy, Lieutenant Commander Klein skillfully maneuvered for vigorous and aggressive action, depth charging the submarine and forcing her to the surface where the guns of the BUCK completed her destruction, resulting in the subsequent capture of prisoners. Lieutenant Commander Klein's inspiring leadership and the valiant devotion to duty of his command contributed in large measure to the outstanding success of this vital mission and reflects great credit upon the United States Naval Service.
General Orders: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 326 (May 1944)
Action Date: World War II
Service: Navy
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Company: Commanding Officer
Division: U.S.S. Buck (DD-420)

Wartime Service

Some of Mike's exploits are recounted in Samuel Elliot Morrison's History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Volume IX, Sicily — Salerno — Anzio, January 1943 — June 1944.

Note on Rank

Despite a report in the Knoxville News Sentinel on March 7, 1943 that Millard had been promoted to Captain, he was listed in the Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps of 1944 as a LCDR. This is likely when he was made "Captain" – the commanding officer – of Buck.

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.