NEVILLE L. MCDOWELL, LCDR, USN
Neville McDowell '24
Lucky Bag
From the 1924 Lucky Bag:
NEVILLE LIVINGSTON McDOWELL
Columbia, South Carolina
"Dowgal"
YES, it was a slight fixness with him—in fact he has been "gitting" it ever since South C. turned him loose Plebe year. Hubhel and the boys used to say, "'Doogh,' pull out your chair," quite often but infinity never bothered him—he got used to it.
While at the Academy "Dowgal" made a multitude of friends. Making friends wasn't all he did, for he played left end on '24's football team in first string fashion—and in his Second Class year was a big factor in winning the championship.
On the cruise he never worked, but at places like the Hotel de Paris and at Kelly's, "Doogh" would report at any minute that he was the most fixed man in the service.
Ask him about the time Plebe year that he said, "Who-o-o-o-w, Skag. I'm glad that's over."
NEVILLE LIVINGSTON McDOWELL
Columbia, South Carolina
"Dowgal"
YES, it was a slight fixness with him—in fact he has been "gitting" it ever since South C. turned him loose Plebe year. Hubhel and the boys used to say, "'Doogh,' pull out your chair," quite often but infinity never bothered him—he got used to it.
While at the Academy "Dowgal" made a multitude of friends. Making friends wasn't all he did, for he played left end on '24's football team in first string fashion—and in his Second Class year was a big factor in winning the championship.
On the cruise he never worked, but at places like the Hotel de Paris and at Kelly's, "Doogh" would report at any minute that he was the most fixed man in the service.
Ask him about the time Plebe year that he said, "Who-o-o-o-w, Skag. I'm glad that's over."
Loss
Neville died on September 11, 1939 at 3:45 pm of a "pistol wound" to his heart, sustained in the engine room of the battleship USS Idaho (BB 42). The ship was in San Pedro, California at the time. On the death certificate (found by researcher Kathy Franz) the "accident, suicide, or homicide" section gives "undetermined."
Other Information
Neville entered the Naval Academy with the class of 1923 on July 3, 1919. On October 4, 1920 he was "deficient in studies" and rolled into the Class of 1924.
From researcher Kathy Franz:
In May 1931 he was at the Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland.
He married Harriet Wyatt Washington on July 2, 1932, in Washington, D. C. They along with his sister Jane and her new husband Dr. Theodore Hopkins attended the Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia in December.
Neville’s brother Robert was a colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps.
He was survived by his wife, Harriett. They were married in 1932.
He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
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.
November 1924
January 1925
October 1925
October 1929
January 1930
April 1930
October 1930
January 1931
April 1931
July 1931
LCDR Robert English '11
LT Joseph Severyns, Jr. '20
LT Samuel Arthur '20
LT Robert Smith '20
LT Paul Slawson '20
LT John Jones '21
LT John French '22
October 1931
January 1932
April 1932
CDR Robert English '11
LCDR Lyman Swenson '16
LT Samuel Arthur '20
LT Robert Smith '20
LT Paul Slawson '20
LTjg William Hobby, Jr. '23
LT John Welch '23
October 1932
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT Robert Smith '20
LT Paul Register '21
LT Francis Bridget '21
LT George Brooke '21
LT William Hobby, Jr. '23
LTjg Hubert Hayter '24
January 1933
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT Robert Smith '20
LT Paul Register '21
LT Francis Bridget '21
LT George Brooke '21
LT William Hobby, Jr. '23
LTjg Hubert Hayter '24
April 1933
LCDR Charles Cecil '16
LT Robert Smith '20
LT Paul Register '21
LT Francis Bridget '21
LT George Brooke '21
LT William Hobby, Jr. '23
LTjg Hubert Hayter '24
LTjg Lawrence McPeake '24
July 1933
October 1933
April 1934
July 1934
October 1934
January 1935
April 1935
October 1935
January 1936
April 1936
July 1936
January 1937
April 1937
September 1937
January 1938
July 1938
January 1939
Memorial Hall Error
Neville's death was due to suicide, or perhaps murder. Neither case is a criteria for inclusion in Memorial Hall.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
