ROBERT J. DURETTE, LCDR, USN
Robert Durette '41
Lucky Bag
From the 1941 Lucky Bag:
ROBERT JOSEPH DURETTE
New Hampshire
His friends call him Frenchie. A few of his very close ones, whenever they wish to attract his attention, call him "Frog" whereupon Bob is seen to cringe ever so slightly. From deep in the White Mountains, Bob staggered into Washington looking for an appointment. The big city sort of stumped this mountain lad, but he got the appointment and there ended his happy days. From that day on his favorite and most consistent phrase has been, "I don't like it here." His good looks have attracted much attention and recently an officer was heard to remark, "Just what do you do with that cold cream, Mr. Durette?"
When not complaining about the system, he can be found either playing football or getting in shape and meanwhile muttering such nothings as, "I think I'll cut down on the skags"—which he never does. Frenchie's ambition is to be subjected to some more of that Parisian culture and—oh, yes—his pet peeve don't call him sailor—that is if you don't want 185 pounds of wildcat all over you.
Football.
The Class of 1941 was the first of the wartime-accelerated classes, graduating in February 1941.
ROBERT JOSEPH DURETTE
New Hampshire
His friends call him Frenchie. A few of his very close ones, whenever they wish to attract his attention, call him "Frog" whereupon Bob is seen to cringe ever so slightly. From deep in the White Mountains, Bob staggered into Washington looking for an appointment. The big city sort of stumped this mountain lad, but he got the appointment and there ended his happy days. From that day on his favorite and most consistent phrase has been, "I don't like it here." His good looks have attracted much attention and recently an officer was heard to remark, "Just what do you do with that cold cream, Mr. Durette?"
When not complaining about the system, he can be found either playing football or getting in shape and meanwhile muttering such nothings as, "I think I'll cut down on the skags"—which he never does. Frenchie's ambition is to be subjected to some more of that Parisian culture and—oh, yes—his pet peeve don't call him sailor—that is if you don't want 185 pounds of wildcat all over you.
Football.
The Class of 1941 was the first of the wartime-accelerated classes, graduating in February 1941.
Loss
Robert was lost on September 11, 1950 when his jet went missing from Pomona Naval Air Station, New Jersey. He was a member of Air Development Squadron (VX) 3.
From the Cumberland News on September 14, 1950:
Stanley Burke’s Son-In-Law Is Still Missing
Word has been received here that Lt. Comdr. Robert J. Durette, 33, a Navy combat veteran and jet plane pilot, has been missing since Monday on a flight from Pomona Naval Air Station near Atlantic City, N. J.
Comdr. Durette is the husband of the former Miss Mary Jean Cox, step-daughter of Stanley Burke, 12 Fifth Street, and daughter of Mrs. Burke. She is a graduate of Pennsylvania Avenue School, class of 1936 and met her husband while modeling in San Francisco, Calif.
The couple has been residing at Pleasantville. N. J., since Comdr. Durette was stationed at Pomona. They have two small daughters, Toni Ann Durette, age five, and Roberta Jean Durette, age four.
Comdr. Durette is a native of New Hampshire and attended the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis prior to World War Il. He served in the Pacific Theater for several years.
Mrs. Burke went to Pleasantville as soon as word was received that her son-in-law was missing. No details are available: however authorities said the missing veteran was on a routine flight with two other jet planes. He failed to return although the other planes landed safely.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Robert was a Laconia High School football star who would play right end at the Naval Academy.
He married Mary Jean Cox in March 1942. In January 1943, after visiting family in Maryland and Massachusetts, they went to Dallas for a month and then Pensacola for his eight month pilot training course.
His father Aimee was a carpenter who later was an automobile salesman, mother Annie, sister Reita, and brother Richard. Although his father was born in Massachusetts, his grandparents were born in Canada and spoke French.
Robert was involved in two aircraft incidents in 1944, both while in a F4U Corsair with Fighting Squadron (VF) 84. The first was on October 3, 1944 near San Clemente Island, California; the second while conducting carrier landing qualifications aboard USS Takanis Bay (CVE 89) on November 27, 1944.
Robert's Find A Grave page is here.
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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