PHILLIP G. WILD, JR., LT, USN

Phillip Wild, Jr. '36

Date of birth: November 30, 1912

Date of death: March 1, 1942

Age: 29

Lucky Bag

From the 1936 Lucky Bag:

Phillip Grant Wild, Jr.

Spickard, Missouri

"P.G."

Being a loyal son of his native state, P.G. said, "I'm from Missouri and you'll have to show me," so not content with reading about the Naval Academy, he left Missouri U. and came to Bancroft on the Severn to get the inside dope on Uncle Sam's school for pampered pets. Never bothered by academics, Oscar turned toward Cosmo, Argosy, and the rest. A great lover of music and always singing, Phil, with his baritone voice, became official third Batt. crooner. Where you find him, chow is within arm's reach—a red mike yet has a locker door covered with femme's pictures—likes baseball and a teller of the tallest of tall fish stories. Phil is a welcome guest in every room, but you'll find him where the most is going on.

Baseball 4, 2, 1; Battalion C.P.O.

Phillip Grant Wild, Jr.

Spickard, Missouri

"P.G."

Being a loyal son of his native state, P.G. said, "I'm from Missouri and you'll have to show me," so not content with reading about the Naval Academy, he left Missouri U. and came to Bancroft on the Severn to get the inside dope on Uncle Sam's school for pampered pets. Never bothered by academics, Oscar turned toward Cosmo, Argosy, and the rest. A great lover of music and always singing, Phil, with his baritone voice, became official third Batt. crooner. Where you find him, chow is within arm's reach—a red mike yet has a locker door covered with femme's pictures—likes baseball and a teller of the tallest of tall fish stories. Phil is a welcome guest in every room, but you'll find him where the most is going on.

Baseball 4, 2, 1; Battalion C.P.O.

Loss

Phillip was lost when USS Edsall (DD 219) was sunk on on March 1, 1942 by Japanese surface and air forces. He was the ship's engineering officer.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Phillip attended Spickard schools and the Missouri School of Mines at Rolla.
Survivors included his mother, two sisters, a brother, and his two-year-old daughter Judith Lynn. His late father had served two terms as Grundy County’s representative in the State Legislature.

His wife was listed as next of kin. Phillip is remembered at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial.

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.