RENWICK S. CALDERHEAD, LCDR, USN
Renwick Calderhead '27
Lucky Bag
From the 1927 Lucky Bag:
Renwick Silas Calderhead
Alaska
"Polar" "Eskimo"
POLAR made a roaring good start on his Naval career, and you can take that literally. His talent in impersonating Tarzan was discovered early Plebe year, and the Mess Hall hasn't been the same since. His main pastimes Plebe year were scaring people, driving imaginary dog teams around the tables in the Mess Hall, and shaking the roof with his howls.
Youngster year was survived by dint of some hard boning, and another defeat for the Academic Department was chalked up. Polar's spare moments were spent in the wrestling loft, breaking bones (other peoples'), and his ability on the mat soon won him a regular berth on the squad.
But 158 pounders aren't the only things that Polar can throw. His fame as a Mexican athlete has spread far and wide, and many a bull contest has seen him emerge top-side. His tales of the North Country have chilled the blood of many gatherings, and oft has he told the quaint story of "What They Do in Alaska in the Winter."
In spite of his rare yarns. Polar really means well. He is a man that we are very glad to have as a classmate, and we hope that we'll have him as a shipmate some day.
Wrestling: A Squad (3, 2, 1) Plebe (4) Navy Numerals (4, 2); Gym Class Numerals (3).
Renwick Silas Calderhead
Alaska
"Polar" "Eskimo"
POLAR made a roaring good start on his Naval career, and you can take that literally. His talent in impersonating Tarzan was discovered early Plebe year, and the Mess Hall hasn't been the same since. His main pastimes Plebe year were scaring people, driving imaginary dog teams around the tables in the Mess Hall, and shaking the roof with his howls.
Youngster year was survived by dint of some hard boning, and another defeat for the Academic Department was chalked up. Polar's spare moments were spent in the wrestling loft, breaking bones (other peoples'), and his ability on the mat soon won him a regular berth on the squad.
But 158 pounders aren't the only things that Polar can throw. His fame as a Mexican athlete has spread far and wide, and many a bull contest has seen him emerge top-side. His tales of the North Country have chilled the blood of many gatherings, and oft has he told the quaint story of "What They Do in Alaska in the Winter."
In spite of his rare yarns. Polar really means well. He is a man that we are very glad to have as a classmate, and we hope that we'll have him as a shipmate some day.
Wrestling: A Squad (3, 2, 1) Plebe (4) Navy Numerals (4, 2); Gym Class Numerals (3).
Loss
From Find A Grave:
A 39 year old American male from Dawson, Canada, serving on active duty as a Lieutenant Commander (Aviation), U.S. Navy during World War II. He died on August 20, 1942 from an airplane crash at Manzanilla Bay [Panama]. He was buried at Mt. Hope Cemetery then re-interred at Corozal [Panama] American Cemetery in 1979.
Renwick was piloting a PBY-5 Catalina. Three others were also killed; four were injured. He was commanding officer of Patrol Squadron (VP) 34 from the squadron's establishment on April 16, 1942 until his death.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Renwick was known as Rennie or “Si,” In June 1913, Renwick was one of the escorts for the queen in the Festival of the Midnight Sun parade.
Per the Fairbanks Daily Times, June 22, 1913:
He was born in Dawson on July 29, 1903. He moved with his parents from one camp to another in the interior of Alaska.
When but a few months old, he became a resident of Circle, on the upper Yuken, and later lived on Mastodon creek, some distance from the river port. Until the spring of 1905, the Calderheads were on Mastodon, stampeding to the Kantishna that fall when other fortune-seekers rushed into that remote section, in the foothills of the Alaskan range. While there “Si” was playing on a sandbar on the river one day, when a big bull moose ran down from the woods. “Si” was taken completely by surprise and took to the water. His cries attracted the attention of his father and others, who frightened the moose back into the wilderness whence he had come.
In 1906, when Mr. and Mrs. Calderhead moved to Hot Springs, in the lower Tanana district, “Si” was privileged to see his first cow and first chickens. In 1910, Fairbanks attracted the Calderheads, and since that time “Si” has numbered among his friends the healthy, lusty-lunged youth of the interior Alaska’s biggest mining camp.
He is in the fifth grade at school, likes to play ball and is a lover of the outdoor. He has never been outside and has never seen a street car.
In October, 1913, Renwick had a case of typhoid fever. In May, 1914, he played right field for the Rip Van Curlers baseball team in the junior baseball championship in Fairbanks.
Renwick wrestled his classmate at the Fraternal Order of Eagles luncheon and program in October, 1915. “They went three rounds of five minutes each and worked hard to secure a fall, but neither was successful. Both showed great knowledge of the finer points of the game.”
In November, 1941, he was promoted, and in April, 1942, his family sailed from Honolulu to San Francisco. His wife was Pauline.
In 1910 Hot Springs, Alaska, his father Renwick Wallace was a freighter, his mother was Josephine, and his brother was Wallace.
Renwick was survived by his wife and two sons, Dickie and Renwick Jr., as well as a brother, Wallace.
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.
January 1928
April 1928
July 1928
October 1928
January 1929
April 1929
July 1929
October 1929
LT John Jones '21
LTjg William Davis '22
LT James Craig '22
LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23
LTjg Walter Dey '24
LTjg Hubert Hayter '24
LTjg John Waldron '24
LTjg Hubert Waters '25
ENS Henry G'Sell '26
January 1930
LT John Jones '21
LTjg William Davis '22
LT James Craig '22
LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23
LTjg Theodore Marshall '24
LTjg Walter Dey '24
LTjg John Waldron '24
April 1930
LT James Carney '21
LT John Jones '21
LTjg William Davis '22
LT James Craig '22
LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23
LTjg Theodore Marshall '24
LTjg Walter Dey '24
LTjg James McDonough '24
LTjg John Waldron '24
October 1930
LT Thomas Fisher '18 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LT Van Moore '19 (USS Saratoga)
LT Dixie Kiefer '19 (USS Saratoga)
LT William Sample '19 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Creighton Lankford '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
LTjg Carlton Hutchins '26 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Charles Signer '26 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Claude Haman '26 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Warren Graf '27 (USS Saratoga)
LTjg Julian Greer '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
ENS Jacob Britt '29 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Charles Hart '30 (USS Saratoga)
ENS James Clarkson '30 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Dudley Morton '30 (USS Saratoga)
ENS John Craig '30 (USS Saratoga)
ENS James Kyes '30 (USS Saratoga)
January 1931
LT Thomas Fisher '18 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LT Van Moore '19 (USS Saratoga)
LT Dixie Kiefer '19 (USS Saratoga)
LT William Sample '19 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Creighton Lankford '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
LTjg Carlton Hutchins '26 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Charles Signer '26 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Claude Haman '26 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Warren Graf '27 (USS Saratoga)
LTjg Julian Greer '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
ENS Jacob Britt '29 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Charles Hart '30 (USS Saratoga)
ENS James Clarkson '30 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Dudley Morton '30 (USS Saratoga)
ENS John Craig '30 (USS Saratoga)
ENS James Kyes '30 (USS Saratoga)
April 1931
LT Thomas Fisher '18 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LT Van Moore '19 (USS Saratoga)
LT Dixie Kiefer '19 (USS Saratoga)
LT William Sample '19 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Creighton Lankford '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
LTjg Carlton Hutchins '26 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Claude Haman '26 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg John Eldridge, Jr. '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Warren Graf '27 (USS Saratoga)
LTjg Julian Greer '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
ENS Jacob Britt '29 (USS Saratoga)
ENS James Clarkson '30 (USS Saratoga)
ENS James Kyes '30 (USS Saratoga)
July 1931
LT Thomas Fisher '18 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LT Van Moore '19 (USS Saratoga)
LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Claude Haman '26 (USS Saratoga)
LTjg Eugene Davis '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg John Eldridge, Jr. '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Julian Greer '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
ENS Jacob Britt '29 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Lloyd Greenamyer '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
ENS James Clarkson '30 (USS Saratoga)
ENS James Kyes '30 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Leo Crane '31 (USS Saratoga)
ENS George Stone '31 (USS Saratoga)
October 1931
LCDR Oscar Erickson '16 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LT Van Moore '19 (USS Saratoga)
LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Claude Haman '26 (USS Saratoga)
LTjg Eugene Davis '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Julian Greer '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
ENS William Arthur '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
ENS Jacob Britt '29 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Lloyd Greenamyer '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
ENS James Clarkson '30 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Byron Newell '30 (USS Saratoga)
ENS James Kyes '30 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Leo Crane '31 (USS Saratoga)
ENS George Stone '31 (USS Saratoga)
January 1932
LT Van Moore '19 (USS Saratoga)
LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Claude Haman '26 (USS Saratoga)
LTjg Eugene Davis '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Julian Greer '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
ENS William Arthur '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
ENS William Oliver '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
ENS Lloyd Greenamyer '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
ENS James Clarkson '30 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Byron Newell '30 (USS Saratoga)
ENS James Kyes '30 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Leo Crane '31 (USS Saratoga)
ENS George Stone '31 (USS Saratoga)
April 1932
LT Van Moore '19 (USS Saratoga)
LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Eugene Davis '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Julian Greer '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
ENS William Arthur '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
ENS Mathias Wyatt '29 (Aircraft Squadrons, Battle Force)
ENS William Oliver '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
ENS Lloyd Greenamyer '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
ENS James Clarkson '30 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Byron Newell '30 (USS Saratoga)
ENS James Kyes '30 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Leo Crane '31 (USS Saratoga)
ENS George Stone '31 (USS Saratoga)
October 1932
LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Eugene Davis '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg William Arthur '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
LTjg Mathias Wyatt '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg William Oliver '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Jacob Britt '29 (USS Saratoga)
LTjg Lloyd Greenamyer '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
ENS Byron Newell '30 (USS Saratoga)
ENS James Kyes '30 (Aircraft Squadrons)
ENS Leo Crane '31 (USS Saratoga)
ENS George Stone '31 (USS Saratoga)
ENS George Ottinger '32 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Frank Latta '32 (USS Saratoga)
January 1933
LT Van Moore '19 (USS Saratoga)
LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Eugene Davis '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg William Arthur '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
LTjg Mathias Wyatt '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg William Oliver '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Jacob Britt '29 (USS Saratoga)
ENS James Clarkson '30 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Byron Newell '30 (USS Saratoga)
ENS James Kyes '30 (Aircraft Squadrons)
ENS Leo Crane '31 (USS Saratoga)
ENS George Stone '31 (USS Saratoga)
ENS George Ottinger '32 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Frank Latta '32 (USS Saratoga)
April 1933
LT Matthias Marple, Jr. '23 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Eugene Davis '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg William Arthur '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
LTjg Mathias Wyatt '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg William Oliver '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Jacob Britt '29 (USS Saratoga)
LTjg Lloyd Greenamyer '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
ENS James Clarkson '30 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Byron Newell '30 (USS Saratoga)
ENS James Kyes '30 (Aircraft Squadrons)
ENS Leo Crane '31 (USS Saratoga)
ENS George Stone '31 (USS Saratoga)
ENS George Ottinger '32 (USS Saratoga)
ENS Frank Latta '32 (USS Saratoga)
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
LT John Duke '26 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 2)
LTjg George Ottinger '32 (Bombing Squadron (VB) 2)
LTjg William Kane '33 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 2)
ENS John Eichmann '35 (USS Lexington)
ENS Thomas Edwards, Jr. '37 (USS Lexington)
January 1938
LT John Duke '26 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 2)
LTjg John Speer '32 (USS Lexington)
LTjg George Ottinger '32 (Bombing Squadron (VB) 2)
LTjg Thompson Guthrie, Jr. '34 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 2)
ENS Thomas Edwards, Jr. '37 (USS Lexington)
July 1938
LTjg Samuel Dealey '30
LTjg John Huntley '31
LTjg Albert Gray '31
LTjg George Ottinger '32
LTjg William Widhelm '32
ENS Glenn Dunagan '33
ENS Norman Ostergren '35
January 1939
LT Samuel Dealey '30
LTjg John Huntley '31
LTjg Albert Gray '31
LTjg William Thorn '32
LTjg Glenn Dunagan '33
LTjg Norman Ostergren '35
CAPT Paul Moret '30 (Training Squadron (VN) 3D8)
LT Alden Irons '31 (Training Squadron (VN) 3D8)
LTjg William Widhelm '32 (Training Squadron (VN) 5D8)
2LT Ralph Haas '36 (Marine Barracks)
October 1939
LT John Huntley '31
LTjg George Bellinger '32
LTjg Martin Koivisto '32
LTjg Daniel Gothie '32
LTjg Albert Major, Jr. '32
LTjg John McCormack, Jr. '33
LTjg Archibald Stone, Jr. '34
LTjg Wendell Froling '34
1LT James Crowther '35
LT John Yoho '29 (Training Squadron (VN) 5D8)
CAPT Paul Moret '30 (Training Squadron (VN) 3D8)
LTjg Robert Strickler '32 (Training Squadron (VN) 5D8)
LTjg George Ottinger '32 (Training Squadron (VN) 5D8)
LTjg Dewitt Shumway '32 (Training Squadron (VN) 1D8)
LTjg William Widhelm '32 (Training Squadron (VN) 5D8)
November 1940
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