THOMAS E. FRASER, CDR, USN

Thomas Fraser '24

Date of birth: February 6, 1901

Date of death: November 15, 1942

Age: 41

Lucky Bag

From the 1924 Lucky Bag:

THOMAS EDWARD FRASER

Boston, Massachusetts

"Tommy"

HE is a concoction of all ages, all races and all men. In him art-combined, none too harmoniously, it is true, the fatalism of the Orient, the "joie de vivre" of the French, the American's weakness for "Best Sellers" and the blarney of Erin.

He delights in disorder, and is contemptuous of method.

He early learned the futility of making love on strictly truthful principles, yet frankly admits that he is not susceptible to flattery.

He is somewhat of a literateur, but modesty alone prevents the publication of "My Ascent of Mount Pelee", or "The Value of Stimulants to the Explorer", and " Perfect Behavior for the Bacchant".

Second Class Christmas leave caused him to take more than a professional interest in art, in fact, he maintains that the expression "Art for art's sake" should be changed to "Art for the artist's sake".

Suggest a game of bridge and he proudly points to the crossed spades on the family crest. His expression, "Labor ipse voluptas", will always be reminiscent of his industry.

Probation (4); P.A. List (3); Extra Duty Squad (4, 3, 2, 1).

THOMAS EDWARD FRASER

Boston, Massachusetts

"Tommy"

HE is a concoction of all ages, all races and all men. In him art-combined, none too harmoniously, it is true, the fatalism of the Orient, the "joie de vivre" of the French, the American's weakness for "Best Sellers" and the blarney of Erin.

He delights in disorder, and is contemptuous of method.

He early learned the futility of making love on strictly truthful principles, yet frankly admits that he is not susceptible to flattery.

He is somewhat of a literateur, but modesty alone prevents the publication of "My Ascent of Mount Pelee", or "The Value of Stimulants to the Explorer", and " Perfect Behavior for the Bacchant".

Second Class Christmas leave caused him to take more than a professional interest in art, in fact, he maintains that the expression "Art for art's sake" should be changed to "Art for the artist's sake".

Suggest a game of bridge and he proudly points to the crossed spades on the family crest. His expression, "Labor ipse voluptas", will always be reminiscent of his industry.

Probation (4); P.A. List (3); Extra Duty Squad (4, 3, 2, 1).

Loss

Thomas was lost when USS Walke (DD 416) was sunk on November 15, 1942 during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. He had been the ship's commanding officer since November 10, 1941.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Thomas was born in Stafford Springs, Connecticut. After his father’s death in 1908, his mother Delia took in four boarders from the woolen mill. At times, Thomas lived with his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Hugh J. Welsh, on Maple Street. He graduated from the local high school
In February 1917, Thomas was interviewed by the State of Connecticut. He was a student, age 16, 5’ 10” tall, weight 140 lbs. He could ride a horse and was a good swimmer. In the 1920 census, he was in the merchant marine doing marine engineering.
He married Bernardine in 1924. Born in Maryland, she was an artist and photographer in Philadelphia. In August, 1927, she sailed from Havre, France, to New York City. In December 1934, she sailed from Rio de Janeiro to New York City.
At times, Thomas’ last name was spelled Frazer or Frazier. He was named for his father who was born in Scotland. His sister was Mary, and his stepfather was Edward Kelly.

Bernardine was listed as next of kin. Thomas has a memory marker in Connecticut.

Navy Cross

From Hall of Valor:

The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Commander Thomas Edward Fraser (NSN: 0-58890), United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service in the line of his profession as Commanding Officer of the Destroyer U.S.S. WALKE (DD-416), and Acting Division Commander of the destroyers in the task force during an engagement with Japanese naval forces near Savo Island on the night of 14 - 15 November 1942. Captain Fraser led his ships into action against a numerically superior force of Japanese vessels and succeeded in diverting a torpedo attack against our heavy ships while at the same time inflicting grave damage to the Japanese forces. His inspiring leadership and the valiant devotion to duty of his command contributed in large measure to the outstanding success of these vital missions and reflect great credit upon the United States Naval Service.
Service: Navy
Division: U.S.S. Walke (DD-416)
General Orders: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 318 (September 1943)

Biography

From Wikipedia:

Born in Stafford Springs, Connecticut, Fraser was appointed to the United States Naval Academy on 3 September 1920. After graduating on 4 June 1924, he served in USS Wyoming (BB-32) for nearly a year and studied torpedo warfare at the Naval Torpedo Station, Newport, Rhode Island, before reporting for duty on board USS Worden (DD-288) on 17 January 1926. He served on that destroyer until 1 May 1930. Following assignments on USS Ellis (DD-154) and at the New York Navy Yard, Fraser reported on 1 March 1934 for duties in connection with the fitting out of USS Tuscaloosa (CA-37). Assignments to the Philadelphia and Portsmouth Navy Yards followed in the late 1930s.
During 1940 and 1941, he briefly commanded, in turn, destroyers USS Yarnall (DD-143), USS Claxton (DD-140), and USS Broome (DD-210). On 10 November 1941, he became commanding officer of USS Walke (DD-416) and on 20 August 1942, he was appointed to the temporary rank of commander.

Namesake

USS Thomas E. Fraser (DD 736) was named for Thomas; the ship was sponsored by his widow.

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.

July 1924

Ensign, under instruction, Bureau of Ordnance, Washington, D.C.

Lieutenant (j.g.), engineering officer, USS Ellis

Others at this command:

LTjg Adolph Hede '25

ENS John Bermingham '29