THOMAS B. JORDAN, CAPT, USMC

Thomas Jordan '26

Date of birth: September 10, 1902

Date of death: December 23, 1937

Age: 35

Lucky Bag

From the 1926 Lucky Bag:

Branch Jordan

Portsmouth, Virginia

"Buck" "Tom"

HE cometh from Portsmouth, Virginia—maybe you've heard of it. Way out in the great open spaces where a man's a man, etc.—and a dark man hasn't a chance at least so it's said. He cast off the shackles of restraint when a wee tot and he's been hitting on high ever since. Another good man gone wrong? Nothing like it. However, he has one or two faults. He's an awful talker. There's nothing he can't talk about and tell you more than you can believe, and yet, when you come to check up, he wins the marbles. That's just a little trick of his. He's about the biggest Red Mike in his class, yet he dragged every week-end. Figure it out, folks, I can't. He had a terrible habit of coming from recitations with a long tale—and face also—about a 2.0, but when the tree came up he was not on it. When the final result was posted he's way up, 3.2 at least in everything but Steam. That's the only thing in the world too hot for him and he cooled it off considerably. It beats all how he did it.

Folks, you all should meet this Virginia gentleman. He's simply irresistible, or so the girls say and far be it from us to doubt their word, out loud, anyway. Let's give him our blessing—he needs it—and best wishes for more and greater success.

Basketball Squad (4, 3); Class Basketball (2); Expert Rifleman.

Branch Jordan

Portsmouth, Virginia

"Buck" "Tom"

HE cometh from Portsmouth, Virginia—maybe you've heard of it. Way out in the great open spaces where a man's a man, etc.—and a dark man hasn't a chance at least so it's said. He cast off the shackles of restraint when a wee tot and he's been hitting on high ever since. Another good man gone wrong? Nothing like it. However, he has one or two faults. He's an awful talker. There's nothing he can't talk about and tell you more than you can believe, and yet, when you come to check up, he wins the marbles. That's just a little trick of his. He's about the biggest Red Mike in his class, yet he dragged every week-end. Figure it out, folks, I can't. He had a terrible habit of coming from recitations with a long tale—and face also—about a 2.0, but when the tree came up he was not on it. When the final result was posted he's way up, 3.2 at least in everything but Steam. That's the only thing in the world too hot for him and he cooled it off considerably. It beats all how he did it.

Folks, you all should meet this Virginia gentleman. He's simply irresistible, or so the girls say and far be it from us to doubt their word, out loud, anyway. Let's give him our blessing—he needs it—and best wishes for more and greater success.

Basketball Squad (4, 3); Class Basketball (2); Expert Rifleman.

Loss

Thomas died on December 23, 1937 due to complications (brain abscess and meningitis) following a surgery on December 21 in Philadelphia. (Death certificate, found by researcher Kathy Franz, states his death was not connected to his occupation.)

Other Information

He was married to Margaret Adams (1905 - 1989). They had one child, Thomas Jr. (Thomas Jr. was married in 1953.)

He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Navy Directories & Officer Registers

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.

October 1926

2nd Lieutenant, Marine Barracks, Navy Yard, Norfolk, Virginia

Others at this command:

1LT Stuart King '20

2LT Joseph Wolfe '26

January 1927

2nd Lieutenant, Marine Barracks, Navy Yard, Norfolk, Virginia

Others at this command:

1LT Stuart King '20

2LT Joseph Wolfe '26

April 1927

2nd Lieutenant, Marine Corps Schools, Navy Yard, Philadelphia

Others at this command:

2LT Joseph Wolfe '26

2LT Lofton Henderson '26

Others at or embarked at Navy Yard, Philadelphia:

CDR Walter Webster '11 (Naval Aircraft Factory)