ROBERT F. DWYER, LT, USN
Robert Dwyer '41
Lucky Bag
From the 1941 Lucky Bag:
ROBERT FRANKLIN DWYER
Eastland, Texas
Sometime in Bobby's life he acquired a craving for the best of everything. If he is buying a golf bag, he wants the best. If he is shining his shoes that too must be done in the best way.
Coupled with this craving is an admirable willingness to work hard and do well. This trait was probably acquired through military training of which he had his share at Kemper.
His life is not at all dull for "Moonbeam" plays as ardently as he works. His theory of thorough relaxation over the weekend leaves him zealous to cope with the next week's work.
He drags frequently but not consistently. Although he does not openly admit it, he is faithful to a hometown "One and only."
For a shipmate who will give his all for you as well as with you, who is capable of keen enjoyment as well as hard work "Bobby" is hard to beat.
To make the most of his good qualities there is only one thing that Bobby demands. That is absolute silence before breakfast.
Plebe Golf; Battalion Boxing; Radio Club 4, 3; Plebe Rifle Manager.
The Class of 1941 was the first of the wartime-accelerated classes, graduating in February 1941.
ROBERT FRANKLIN DWYER
Eastland, Texas
Sometime in Bobby's life he acquired a craving for the best of everything. If he is buying a golf bag, he wants the best. If he is shining his shoes that too must be done in the best way.
Coupled with this craving is an admirable willingness to work hard and do well. This trait was probably acquired through military training of which he had his share at Kemper.
His life is not at all dull for "Moonbeam" plays as ardently as he works. His theory of thorough relaxation over the weekend leaves him zealous to cope with the next week's work.
He drags frequently but not consistently. Although he does not openly admit it, he is faithful to a hometown "One and only."
For a shipmate who will give his all for you as well as with you, who is capable of keen enjoyment as well as hard work "Bobby" is hard to beat.
To make the most of his good qualities there is only one thing that Bobby demands. That is absolute silence before breakfast.
Plebe Golf; Battalion Boxing; Radio Club 4, 3; Plebe Rifle Manager.
The Class of 1941 was the first of the wartime-accelerated classes, graduating in February 1941.
Loss
From VPNavy! USN, USMC, USCG and NATS Patrol Aircraft Lost or Damaged During World War II - Listed by Bureau Number by Douglas E. Campbell:
On 8 December 1944 LT Dwyer was assigned to VPB-2 Operational Training Unit #2 (OTU#2) and had taken BuNo 29760 out of NAS Lake City, FL, for bounce instruction at NAS Lake Butler, FL. In a seaplane, once the pilot has sufficient speed to raise the plane onto its step, the seaplane can begin to bounce from one wave crest to the next, raising its nose higher with each bounce, so that each successive wave is struck with increasing severity. To correct this situation and to prevent a stall, smooth elevator pressures is used to set up a fairly constant pitch attitude that allows the seaplane to skim across each successive wave as speed increases - or skim from crest to crest. LT Dwyer stalled in his turn during the landing approach and crashed and burned approximately 3 miles ESE of Lake Butler. The crew were killed: Pilot LT Robert F. Dwyer; ENS John L. Birong; ENS John M. Archambeault; and AMM3c Robert D. Hegfener.
Robert is buried in Texas; he was survived by his wife, the former Maxine Stenberg, father Franklin "Frank", and mother Leona.
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.
April 1941
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