WALTER L. SHAFFER, LCDR, USN
Walter Shaffer '40
Lucky Bag
From the 1940 Lucky Bag:
WALTER LEVIS SHAFFER
Reading, Pennsylvania
Shaff
From a moderately sized town nestled in one of Pennsylvania's valleys came Walt to commence his career in the Navy. A young man of ability there, he has not changed in the transplanting. His interests are of a varied nature, and his forte, athletics. In entering the Navy, he has diverted his tenacious and energetic personality into a field wherein it is bound to flourish. Possessed of a fiery yet commanding loquaciousness and a pen of flowing expertness, his capacity for self-expression should lead him far in the attainment of his ambitions, which are as abundant and as well founded as his abilities.
Basketball N, 2, 1; Basketball N.A., 3; Lacrosse N.A., 3, 2; Lacrosse 1, 1; Moving Gang 4, 3, 2, Chief Operator 1; Trident 3, 2, Editor Calendar 1; Excellence in Great Guns; 3 Stripes.
WALTER LEVIS SHAFFER
Reading, Pennsylvania
Shaff
From a moderately sized town nestled in one of Pennsylvania's valleys came Walt to commence his career in the Navy. A young man of ability there, he has not changed in the transplanting. His interests are of a varied nature, and his forte, athletics. In entering the Navy, he has diverted his tenacious and energetic personality into a field wherein it is bound to flourish. Possessed of a fiery yet commanding loquaciousness and a pen of flowing expertness, his capacity for self-expression should lead him far in the attainment of his ambitions, which are as abundant and as well founded as his abilities.
Basketball N, 2, 1; Basketball N.A., 3; Lacrosse N.A., 3, 2; Lacrosse 1, 1; Moving Gang 4, 3, 2, Chief Operator 1; Trident 3, 2, Editor Calendar 1; Excellence in Great Guns; 3 Stripes.
Loss
Walt was lost when USS Scamp (SS 277) was sunk, possibly by a Japanese surface craft or mine, south of Tokyo Bay, probably on November 16, 1944.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
His father was Albert, mother Caroline, sisters Frances and Evelyn.
His wife was listed as next of kin. Walter has a memory marker in Pennsylvania.
Legion of Merit
On Eternal Patrol says he was twice awarded the Legion of Merit, but unable to those find citations.
Photographs
From the Lucky Bag
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.
