SAMUEL H. ARTHUR, LCDR, USN
Samuel Arthur '20
Lucky Bag
From the 1920 Lucky Bag:
Samuel Hyer Arthur
Lecoma, Missouri
"Annie"
BUST away there! Make some gangway! here is "Annie," the boy wonder all the way from Rolla.
Of course you have heard of Rolla because it is the first thing the "Old Woman" tells you about. And the big hulk taught school out there, too. Missouri was too small for him so he joined Uncle Sam's outfit as something a little better than a Mess Moke.
By the way, that's the Uncle he was named for
Does he drag? Well rather! I mean once. It is impossible to make an apt description for we studied refractory material only a few months. Besides that, he had the crust to say he didn't know who was sending him unmarked boxes of candy. Well—"A hae me doots."
In the lighter sports like football and crew "Annie" is there. When he didn't get his "N" after the Henley Youngster year he said: (deleted by censor). But anyway, he always said the Duke was all right. More than that, Youngster year he was playing football until injuries put him out of the game for the rest of the season.
"Annie" has been a good wife, swore moderately and smoked little.
The "Old Woman" has a heart almost as large as himself and nary an enemy.
He's just the kind he appears to be when he gives you his big broad smile and those "baby blue" eyes.
"Shake yuh to see who gets a letter."
"I'd like to be home on leave today."
"Where's m' mail?"
Honors: Buzzard; Football Squad, 4, 3, 1; Football N.
The Class of 1920 was graduated in June 1919 due to World War I. The entirety of 2nd class (junior) year was removed from the curriculum.
Samuel Hyer Arthur
Lecoma, Missouri
"Annie"
BUST away there! Make some gangway! here is "Annie," the boy wonder all the way from Rolla.
Of course you have heard of Rolla because it is the first thing the "Old Woman" tells you about. And the big hulk taught school out there, too. Missouri was too small for him so he joined Uncle Sam's outfit as something a little better than a Mess Moke.
By the way, that's the Uncle he was named for
Does he drag? Well rather! I mean once. It is impossible to make an apt description for we studied refractory material only a few months. Besides that, he had the crust to say he didn't know who was sending him unmarked boxes of candy. Well—"A hae me doots."
In the lighter sports like football and crew "Annie" is there. When he didn't get his "N" after the Henley Youngster year he said: (deleted by censor). But anyway, he always said the Duke was all right. More than that, Youngster year he was playing football until injuries put him out of the game for the rest of the season.
"Annie" has been a good wife, swore moderately and smoked little.
The "Old Woman" has a heart almost as large as himself and nary an enemy.
He's just the kind he appears to be when he gives you his big broad smile and those "baby blue" eyes.
"Shake yuh to see who gets a letter."
"I'd like to be home on leave today."
"Where's m' mail?"
Honors: Buzzard; Football Squad, 4, 3, 1; Football N.
The Class of 1920 was graduated in June 1919 due to World War I. The entirety of 2nd class (junior) year was removed from the curriculum.
Loss
Samuel "was killed in an experimental flight at Naval Air Station, Norfolk, Virginia, on 20 August 1936." (Quoted from now-broken link.)
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Samuel had been flying the plane for about an hour when, according to an eye witness, it suddenly began to sideslip and then plunged into the water. Robert Witbeck, a representative of the Chance-Vought Aircraft Corporation, was also killed in the crash.
On May, 5, 1923, in Los Angeles, California, Samuel married Helen Sheehan. They had 3 children: son Dennis and daughters Marion “Patsy” and Carolyn. In February, 1936, Patsy had just entered the St. Mary’s Academy in Alexandria. Helen remarried Mr. Fahrney. She died in 1989.
Per the Rolla Herald, August 27, 1936: In 1873 William Waller Rucker's son William J. was born in Salisbury, Missouri. Later, the family moved to Keytesville. William Waller became the U.S. Representative from Missouri from 1899 to 1923. He died on May 30, 1936. On August 21, 1936, William J. wrote from Charlottesville, Virginia: Please convey to the people of Phelps County my feeling of deepest sorrow at the tragic death of its gallant representative in the navy, Lieutenant Commander Samuel H. Arthur. He was a naval officer and a gentleman of the highest type of whom Phelps County will look back upon with feelings of solemn pride.
Samuel’s father was a physician; his mother was Josie. His brother Corrie L. Arthur married Mattie Bradford in 1908. His two sisters were Pearl (Mrs. Walter Bradford) and Blanche (Mrs. H. K. Bradford) of Lancaster, California.
He was survived by his wife, Helen. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Commendation
Arthur was one of three officers awarded a commendation for involvement in development and testing of the tailhook and arresting gear aboard aircraft carriers.
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 1920
January 1921
May 1923
July 1923
September 1923
November 1923
January 1924
March 1924
May 1924
July 1924
September 1924
November 1924
January 1925
March 1925
May 1925
July 1925
January 1926
October 1926
January 1927
April 1927
October 1927
January 1928
April 1928
July 1928
October 1928
January 1929
April 1929
July 1929
October 1929
January 1930
April 1930
October 1930
January 1931
April 1931
July 1931
LCDR Robert English '11
LT Joseph Severyns, Jr. '20
LT Robert Smith '20
LT Paul Slawson '20
LT John Jones '21
LT John French '22
LTjg William Hobby, Jr. '23
October 1931
January 1932
April 1932
CDR Robert English '11
LCDR Lyman Swenson '16
LT Robert Smith '20
LT Paul Slawson '20
LTjg William Hobby, Jr. '23
LT John Welch '23
LT Louis Drexler, Jr. '23
October 1932
January 1933
April 1933
July 1933
October 1933
April 1934
July 1934
LTjg William Pennewill '29 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg Bruce Van Voorhis '29 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 5B)
LTjg John Burgess '30 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 5B)
October 1934
LTjg Clair Miller '29 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg Robert Haven '30 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 5B)
LTjg Alden Irons '31 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
January 1935
LTjg Oscar Pate, Jr. '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 1B)
LTjg William Pennewill '29 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg Clair Miller '29 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg Robert Haven '30 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 5B)
LTjg Gilbert Carpenter '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 1B)
LTjg Lorenz Forbes '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg William Freshour '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 5B)
LTjg Alden Irons '31 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
April 1935
LTjg William Pennewill '29 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg Clair Miller '29 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg Gilbert Carpenter '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 1B)
LTjg William Freshour '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 5B)
LTjg Alden Irons '31 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
October 1935
January 1936
April 1936
Namesake
Arthur Road, aboard NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, is named for him.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
