ROBERT C. WINTERS, LCDR, USN
Robert Winters '27
Lucky Bag
From the 1927 Lucky Bag:
Robert Chalmers Winters
Brooklyn, New York
"Bob"
SOMEONE has said that the smaller the man, the more noise he makes. Bob disproves this rule for he is an out and out exception, even though some may say he does his bit in chapel on a quiet Sunday morning. Of all those we know he is the quietest, considering, too, that he has as much right as any to proclaim himself. Never yet have we heard him boast, although he surely has ample reason to do so.
Now, so far, you would imagine my subject to be rather anemic, with an angelic smile, and hands piously crossed in front of his periodically palpitating chest. That's where you are wrong; this little man has more activity per cubic inch than any other man in the Academy. When they took the Lucky Bag activity pictures, he sat on the terrace for one whole afternoon, while group after group arranged themselves about him. But of all his work he likes best to throttle his fellows with that lacrosse stick, and at the same time to sing rather softly the "Benedicto." He is a combination of the student, the athlete, and the musician, and we can readily understand the thrill that girls get when they know him. That this is true is proved by the fact that he gets more mail per day than any other of the pseudo "sheiks."
This activity of his is energized by his ambition, and we feel certain that he will make the name which he so earnestly is striving for.
Football: Class (3, 1); Lacrosse: A Squad (3) Class (2, 1) Navy Numerals (4) Plebe Varsity; Glee Club (4, 3, 2, 1) Assistant Leader (2) Leader (1): Choir (4, 3, 2, 1) Soloist (3, 2, 1); Gymkhana (1).
Robert Chalmers Winters
Brooklyn, New York
"Bob"
SOMEONE has said that the smaller the man, the more noise he makes. Bob disproves this rule for he is an out and out exception, even though some may say he does his bit in chapel on a quiet Sunday morning. Of all those we know he is the quietest, considering, too, that he has as much right as any to proclaim himself. Never yet have we heard him boast, although he surely has ample reason to do so.
Now, so far, you would imagine my subject to be rather anemic, with an angelic smile, and hands piously crossed in front of his periodically palpitating chest. That's where you are wrong; this little man has more activity per cubic inch than any other man in the Academy. When they took the Lucky Bag activity pictures, he sat on the terrace for one whole afternoon, while group after group arranged themselves about him. But of all his work he likes best to throttle his fellows with that lacrosse stick, and at the same time to sing rather softly the "Benedicto." He is a combination of the student, the athlete, and the musician, and we can readily understand the thrill that girls get when they know him. That this is true is proved by the fact that he gets more mail per day than any other of the pseudo "sheiks."
This activity of his is energized by his ambition, and we feel certain that he will make the name which he so earnestly is striving for.
Football: Class (3, 1); Lacrosse: A Squad (3) Class (2, 1) Navy Numerals (4) Plebe Varsity; Glee Club (4, 3, 2, 1) Assistant Leader (2) Leader (1): Choir (4, 3, 2, 1) Soloist (3, 2, 1); Gymkhana (1).
Loss
Robert was lost on May 6, 1942 when a Patrol Squadron (VP) 13 plane he was a passenger aboard crashed on takeoff from Ford Island, Hawaii.
From the VP-23 War Diary (via naval aviation historian Richard Leonard email on April 8, 2018):
In early May the squadron lost its executive officer, also at the time its acting commanding officer, Lt.Cdr. Robert C. WINTERS. He with six crews was to return to the United States and fly back new PBY-5 planes. Commander WINTERS was killed when the plane in which he was a passenger crashed on take off at Ford Island.
From the VP-13 War Diary, again via Richard Leonard:
When commencing a return fight to San Diego, Cal., about 1620 May 6, 1942, 13-P-5, BuAer #1633 crashed shortly after take off in the eastern end of the dry dock channel at Pearl Harbor, T.H. due to failure of No. 3 engine. The plane sank in 20 feet of water and was subsequently recovered by the Naval Air Station, Pearl Harbor, T.H., and was transferred to the A & R department of that station pending final disposition. A crew of ten and 13 passengers were aboard. Personnel injured as follows:
- Lt.Comdr. R. C Winters, U.S. Navy - - Drowned
- Lt.Comdr. J.C. Riggs, U.S. Navy - - Drowned
- Colonel F.P. Mulchay, U.S.M.C. - - Fracture, left humerus.
Other members of crew and passengers either uninjured or received minor cuts and bruises.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Robert was born in New Jersey.
He later belonged to Boy Scout troop 108 in Brooklyn. He received badges in carpentry, firemanship, and first-class cooking. Robert was patrol leader in 1920 and won 100 points for his board exhibit on knots. He also sang in one of the Scout programs.
He graduated from Brooklyn Technical high school in 1923.
The Standard Union, Brooklyn, January, 12, 1923, posted a Kings County Supreme Court notice that Robert’s mother changed her name and that of her two sons from Winternitz to Winters.
Robert’s wife was Margaret, and at his death, their children were Anne Hyde, 11 and Christine, 7. They witnessed the Pearl Harbor bombing and were evacuated by clipper shortly thereafter. His wife died on May 12, 1978, still living in Orinda, California.
Robert was also survived by his mother Elizabeth Arcularius Winters and brother Andrew Merrill Winters of Port Washington. His father was Eugene C. Winternitz, manager of the Manhattan Arms, who deserted her and paid $10/week support. He went to Massachusetts and filed for divorce. In Boston in 1916, he was charged a poll tax.
Robert was a descendant of Gurdon Saltonstall, Colonial Governor of Connecticut, and General Nathanael Greene of the Continental Army.
Robert was designated Naval Aviator #3562 in 1929.
His wife was listed as next of kin.
Photographs
From The Brooklyn Daily Eagle on May 29, 1921
Related Articles
John Riggs, Jr. '28 was the other passenger lost in this crash.
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.
July 1928
October 1928
January 1929
April 1929
LT LaRue Lawbaugh '20
LT James Carney '21
LT Francis Bridget '21
LT John Jones '21
LTjg William Davis '22
LT James Craig '22
LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24
LTjg Hubert Waters '25
LTjg Creighton Lankford '25
July 1929
LT LaRue Lawbaugh '20
LT James Carney '21
LT John Jones '21
LTjg William Davis '22
LT James Craig '22
LTjg Matthias Marple, Jr. '23
LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24
LTjg Walter Dey '24
LTjg Hubert Waters '25
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 Thomas Fisher '18 (Light Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 2B)
LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24 (Light Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 2B)
LTjg Charles McDonald '24 (USS Saratoga)
LTjg Charles Signer '26 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Claude Haman '26 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
ENS Henry Twohy '29 (USS Saratoga)
April 1930
LT Dixie Kiefer '19 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg Robert Larson '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg William Graham, Jr. '25 (USS Lexington)
ENS William Potts '27 (USS Lexington)
ENS John Yoho '29 (USS Lexington)
October 1930
January 1931
April 1931
LT James Carney '21 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 2B)
LT Francis Bridget '21 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LT Edwin Crouch '21 (USS Lexington)
LTjg Hilan Ebert '26 (USS Lexington)
LTjg Harold Richards '27 (USS Lexington)
LTjg Eugene Lindsey '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
ENS Baylies Clark '30 (USS Lexington)
July 1931
LT James Carney '21 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 2B)
LT Edwin Crouch '21 (USS Lexington)
LTjg John Waldron '24 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg Richard Downer '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg Harold Richards '27 (USS Lexington)
LTjg Eugene Lindsey '27 (USS Lexington)
ENS Baylies Clark '30 (USS Lexington)
ENS Cleon Felton '31 (USS Lexington)
ENS Walter Bailey '31 (USS Lexington)
ENS Edward Allen '31 (USS Lexington)
ENS Eugene Lytle, Jr. '31 (USS Lexington)
October 1931
LT James Carney '21 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 2B)
LT Edwin Crouch '21 (USS Lexington)
LTjg John Waldron '24 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg Richard Downer '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg Harold Richards '27 (USS Lexington)
LTjg Eugene Lindsey '27 (USS Lexington)
ENS Henry Twohy '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
ENS Baylies Clark '30 (USS Lexington)
ENS John Craig '30 (USS Lexington)
ENS Cleon Felton '31 (USS Lexington)
ENS Walter Bailey '31 (USS Lexington)
ENS Edward Allen '31 (USS Lexington)
ENS Eugene Lytle, Jr. '31 (USS Lexington)
January 1932
LT James Carney '21 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 2B)
LT Edwin Crouch '21 (USS Lexington)
LTjg John Waldron '24 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
1LT Donald Willis '24 (Scouting Squadron 15-M)
LTjg Richard Downer '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg Eugene Lindsey '27 (USS Lexington)
ENS Henry Twohy '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
ENS Baylies Clark '30 (USS Lexington)
ENS John Craig '30 (USS Lexington)
ENS Cleon Felton '31 (USS Lexington)
ENS Walter Bailey '31 (USS Lexington)
ENS Edward Allen '31 (USS Lexington)
ENS Eugene Lytle, Jr. '31 (USS Lexington)
April 1932
LT James Carney '21 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 2B)
LT Edwin Crouch '21 (USS Lexington)
LTjg John Waldron '24 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
1LT Donald Willis '24 (Scouting Squadron 15-M)
LTjg Richard Downer '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg Eugene Lindsey '27 (USS Lexington)
ENS John Yoho '29 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS Baylies Clark '30 (USS Lexington)
ENS John Craig '30 (USS Lexington)
ENS Walter Bailey '31 (USS Lexington)
ENS Eugene Lytle, Jr. '31 (USS Lexington)
October 1932
January 1933
April 1933
July 1933
October 1933
April 1934
July 1934
October 1934
January 1935
April 1935
October 1935
CDR Samuel Moore '13
LT William Gray '21
LT John French '22
LT Howard Healy '22
LT Edward Metcalfe '22
LT Eugene Elmore '22
LT Richard Gingras '25
LTjg Ralph Hickox '27
January 1936
CDR Samuel Moore '13
LT William Gray '21
LT John French '22
LT Howard Healy '22
LT Edward Metcalfe '22
LT Eugene Elmore '22
LT Richard Gingras '25
LTjg Ralph Hickox '27
April 1936
CDR Samuel Moore '13
LT William Gray '21
LT John French '22
LT Howard Healy '22
LT Edward Metcalfe '22
LT Eugene Elmore '22
LT Richard Gingras '25
LTjg Ralph Hickox '27
July 1936
April 1937
LT William Ault '22 (USS Yorktown)
ENS Milton Ricketts '35 (USS Yorktown)
September 1937
LT William Ault '22 (USS Yorktown)
LTjg James Averill '27 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 5)
LT John Collett '29 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 5)
ENS Hubert Harden '35 (USS Yorktown)
ENS Webster Johnson '36 (USS Yorktown)
ENS Bethel Otter '37 (USS Yorktown)
January 1938
LT William Ault '22 (USS Yorktown)
LTjg James Averill '27 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 5)
LTjg Gilbert Carpenter '30 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 6)
ENS Hubert Harden '35 (USS Yorktown)
ENS Webster Johnson '36 (USS Yorktown)
ENS Bethel Otter '37 (USS Yorktown)
July 1938
LT James McDonough '24 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 5)
LTjg James Averill '27 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 5)
ENS Ned Wentz '33 (Carrier Division 2)
LTjg Stuart Stephens '34 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 5)
ENS Milton Ricketts '35 (USS Yorktown)
ENS Bethel Otter '37 (USS Yorktown)
January 1939
LTjg James Averill '27 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 5)
LT Lloyd Greenamyer '29 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 5)
LTjg Ned Wentz '33 (Carrier Division 2)
LTjg Milton Ricketts '35 (USS Yorktown)
ENS Bethel Otter '37 (USS Yorktown)
October 1939
June 1940
November 1940
April 1941
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