WALTER H. LOUNEY, LT, USN
Walter Louney '41
Lucky Bag
From the 1941 Lucky Bag:
WALTER HOWARD LOUNEY
Brighton, Massachusetts
Boston Charlie, born in Milton, Massachusetts, soon moved to Boston which he now claims as his home. Living near the sea, Walter got slightly salty before he sailed the Severn. This, and a year at Boston College made him feel pretty much at ease around the old Academy. Endowed with a cynical sense of humor, he never worried but took things as they came—he bellowed long and loudly, but it was all in fun.
Walt's troubles at the Naval School quickly fell into three parts: getting himself up that awfully high rope, convincing Massachusetts girls that Annapolis wasn't too far away, and getting enough gravy in his dailies to hold up those exams. The fall months at the Academy found Walter playing battalion football and reading magazines during the winter it was more magazines; but in the spring the young man's fancy lightly turned to thoughts of sailboats—this was tops.
Whether Walter flys, dives, or punches a stadimeter is as yet undecided, but whatever branch, we wish him luck and know he'll do well.
Plebe Cross Country; Battalion Football 2; Boat Club 3, 2, 1; Sailing Team 2, 1.
The Class of 1941 was the first of the wartime-accelerated classes, graduating in February 1941.
WALTER HOWARD LOUNEY
Brighton, Massachusetts
Boston Charlie, born in Milton, Massachusetts, soon moved to Boston which he now claims as his home. Living near the sea, Walter got slightly salty before he sailed the Severn. This, and a year at Boston College made him feel pretty much at ease around the old Academy. Endowed with a cynical sense of humor, he never worried but took things as they came—he bellowed long and loudly, but it was all in fun.
Walt's troubles at the Naval School quickly fell into three parts: getting himself up that awfully high rope, convincing Massachusetts girls that Annapolis wasn't too far away, and getting enough gravy in his dailies to hold up those exams. The fall months at the Academy found Walter playing battalion football and reading magazines during the winter it was more magazines; but in the spring the young man's fancy lightly turned to thoughts of sailboats—this was tops.
Whether Walter flys, dives, or punches a stadimeter is as yet undecided, but whatever branch, we wish him luck and know he'll do well.
Plebe Cross Country; Battalion Football 2; Boat Club 3, 2, 1; Sailing Team 2, 1.
The Class of 1941 was the first of the wartime-accelerated classes, graduating in February 1941.
Loss
Walter was lost when USS Cisco (SS 290) was sunk, likely on September 28, 1943 by Japanese ships and aircraft.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Walter graduated from Boston Latin School in 1936. “Milt” . . . Annapolis. “Handsome is as handsome does.” Entered from Presentation School in 1931. Literary Club, 1931-32; Stamp Club, 1932-33; Le Cercle Francais, 1934-35; 1st Lieut., 8th Co., 2nd Reg.
His mother was listed as next of kin.
Walter is remembered at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial.
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.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
