WARREN F. GRAF, LCDR, USN

Warren Graf '27

Date of birth: June 8, 1905

Date of death: November 13, 1942

Age: 37

Lucky Bag

From the 1927 Lucky Bag:

Warren Frederick Graf

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

"Bimbo"

THE French word, gauche, hardly applies to this sailor, even though he is a left-hander. How many times have you seen his port crane toss a basket or southpaw a hot one into the catcher's mitt? Lady Luck rarely smiles when he is looking. She usually laughs, and as a result her laughter has of late been met with indifference. Whether it be basketball, baseball, Academics, or the game of life, Bim goes places and does things without the help of that fickle lady.

Part of his life has been spent in the subways, and part in the northern frontier of Washington. He starts to tell you of how he helped supply the family larder with venison, and ends with an account of the World Series in Philly.

"I see by the Oraville Gazette that they have killed another cougar near the town pump. Now that reminds me of the time — —" and he is off with some of the weirdest tales that ever came out of the West. And he vouches for every one of them.

Contact with the throngs coupled with experiences in the far West, where they keep mountain lions for house pets, have given to Bim an unusually clear-sighted and enduring philosophy. His main code of life is activity, and who was it that said, "Actions speak louder than words"? That is our Bimbo.

Basketball: A Squad (3, 2, 1) N* Block N (2); Baseball: A Squad (3, 2, 1) Navy Numerals (3, 2): Water Polo: Class (3) Class Numerals (3); Star (4, 2).

Warren Frederick Graf

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

"Bimbo"

THE French word, gauche, hardly applies to this sailor, even though he is a left-hander. How many times have you seen his port crane toss a basket or southpaw a hot one into the catcher's mitt? Lady Luck rarely smiles when he is looking. She usually laughs, and as a result her laughter has of late been met with indifference. Whether it be basketball, baseball, Academics, or the game of life, Bim goes places and does things without the help of that fickle lady.

Part of his life has been spent in the subways, and part in the northern frontier of Washington. He starts to tell you of how he helped supply the family larder with venison, and ends with an account of the World Series in Philly.

"I see by the Oraville Gazette that they have killed another cougar near the town pump. Now that reminds me of the time — —" and he is off with some of the weirdest tales that ever came out of the West. And he vouches for every one of them.

Contact with the throngs coupled with experiences in the far West, where they keep mountain lions for house pets, have given to Bim an unusually clear-sighted and enduring philosophy. His main code of life is activity, and who was it that said, "Actions speak louder than words"? That is our Bimbo.

Basketball: A Squad (3, 2, 1) N* Block N (2); Baseball: A Squad (3, 2, 1) Navy Numerals (3, 2): Water Polo: Class (3) Class Numerals (3); Star (4, 2).

Loss

Warren was lost when USS Juneau (CL 52) was sunk at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on November 13, 1942.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Born in Buffalo, New York, Warren graduated as valedictorian from Philadelphia's Northeast High School in 1923.
He married Janet Warren Rodney in San Mateo, California, on June 3, 1929. Their daughter Katharine was born in 1931.
In October, 1936, Warren attended The Chemical Warfare School at Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland.
His father was Herman, a physician and private nurse, and his mother was Nellie.

His wife was listed as next of kin. He is included at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial.

Photographs

From the Lucky Bag
Warren's Immigration card from Brazil 1940. His daughter Katharine also went to Brazil twice as an adult.

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.

January 1928

Ensign, USS West Virginia

Others at this command:

ENS Ralph Smith '26

ENS Cyrus Clendening '27

ENS Wendell Osborn '27

Others at or embarked at this command:

LTjg Herbert Ballinger '24 (Observation Squadron (VO) 2B)

April 1928

Ensign, USS West Virginia

Others at this command:

ENS Ralph Smith '26

ENS Cyrus Clendening '27

ENS Wendell Osborn '27

Others at or embarked at this command:

LTjg Herbert Ballinger '24 (Observation Squadron (VO) 2B)

July 1928

Ensign, staff, United States Fleet, USS Texas

Others at or embarked at USS Texas:

LT Irving Wiltsie '21 (USS Texas)

ENS Joseph Flynn '27 (USS Texas)

October 1928

Ensign, staff, United States Fleet, USS Texas

Others at or embarked at USS Texas:

LT Irving Wiltsie '21 (USS Texas)
ENS Joseph Flynn '27 (USS Texas)

ENS William Pye, Jr. '28 (USS Texas)

January 1929

Ensign, staff, United States Fleet, USS Texas

Others at or embarked at USS Texas:

LT Irving Wiltsie '21 (USS Texas)
ENS Joseph Flynn '27 (USS Texas)

ENS William Pye, Jr. '28 (USS Texas)

April 1929

Ensign, staff, United States Fleet, USS Texas

Others at or embarked at USS Texas:

LT Irving Wiltsie '21 (USS Texas)
ENS Joseph Flynn '27 (USS Texas)

ENS William Pye, Jr. '28 (USS Texas)

July 1929

Ensign, staff, United States Fleet, USS Texas

Others at or embarked at USS Texas:

LT Irving Wiltsie '21 (USS Texas)
ENS Joseph Flynn '27 (USS Texas)
ENS William Pye, Jr. '28 (USS Texas)

ENS Edwin Martin '29 (USS Texas)
ENS John Collett '29 (USS Texas)

October 1929

Ensign, staff, United States Fleet, USS Texas

Others at or embarked at USS Texas:

LT Paul Thompson '19 (USS Texas)
LT Irving Wiltsie '21 (USS Texas)
ENS Joseph Flynn '27 (USS Texas)

ENS Edwin Martin '29 (USS Texas)
ENS John Collett '29 (USS Texas)

January 1930

Ensign, staff, United States Fleet, USS Texas

Others at or embarked at USS Texas:

LT Paul Thompson '19 (USS Texas)
LT Irving Wiltsie '21 (USS Texas)
ENS Joseph Flynn '27 (USS Texas)

ENS Edwin Martin '29 (USS Texas)
ENS John Collett '29 (USS Texas)

April 1930

Ensign, staff, United States Fleet, USS Texas

Others at or embarked at USS Texas:

LT Paul Thompson '19 (USS Texas)
LT Irving Wiltsie '21 (USS Texas)

ENS Joseph Flynn '27 (USS Texas)
ENS John Collett '29 (USS Texas)

October 1930

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Saratoga

Others at this command:

CDR Melville Brown '10
LT Van Moore '19
LT Dixie Kiefer '19

ENS Jacob Britt '29
ENS Charles Hart '30
ENS James Clarkson '30

ENS Dudley Morton '30
ENS John Craig '30
ENS James Kyes '30

Others at or embarked at this command:

LT Thomas Fisher '18 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LT William Sample '19 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Creighton Lankford '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
LTjg Carlton Hutchins '26 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Charles Signer '26 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)

LTjg Claude Haman '26 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Robert Symes '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Renwick Calderhead '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg John Eldridge, Jr. '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Julian Greer '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
ENS Weldon Hamilton '28 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)

January 1931

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Saratoga

Others at this command:

CDR Melville Brown '10
LT Van Moore '19
LT Dixie Kiefer '19

ENS Jacob Britt '29
ENS Charles Hart '30
ENS James Clarkson '30

ENS Dudley Morton '30
ENS John Craig '30
ENS James Kyes '30

Others at or embarked at this command:

LT Thomas Fisher '18 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LT William Sample '19 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Creighton Lankford '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
LTjg Carlton Hutchins '26 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Charles Signer '26 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)

LTjg Claude Haman '26 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Robert Symes '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Renwick Calderhead '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg John Eldridge, Jr. '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Julian Greer '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
ENS Weldon Hamilton '28 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)

April 1931

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Saratoga

Others at this command:

CDR Melville Brown '10
LT Van Moore '19

LT Dixie Kiefer '19
ENS Jacob Britt '29

ENS James Clarkson '30
ENS James Kyes '30

Others at or embarked at this command:

LT Thomas Fisher '18 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LT William Sample '19 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Walter Leach, Jr. '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Creighton Lankford '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 1B)
LTjg Carlton Hutchins '26 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
LTjg Charles Signer '26 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)

LTjg Claude Haman '26 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Robert Symes '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg Renwick Calderhead '27 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)
LTjg John Eldridge, Jr. '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 2B)
LTjg Julian Greer '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 6B)
ENS Weldon Hamilton '28 (Torpedo and Bombing Plane Squadron (VT) 2B)

July 1931

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Talbot

Others at this command:

CDR Franklin Van Valkenburgh '09

LTjg Francis Black '26

October 1931

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Talbot

Others at this command:

CDR Franklin Van Valkenburgh '09

LTjg Francis Black '26

January 1932

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Talbot

Others at this command:

CDR Franklin Van Valkenburgh '09

LTjg Francis Black '26

April 1932

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Talbot

Others at this command:

LTjg Francis Black '26

October 1932

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Talbot

January 1933

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Talbot

April 1933

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Buchanan

July 1933

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Buchanan

October 1933

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Buchanan

April 1934

Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Buchanan

Others at this command:

LCDR Theodore Chandler '15

July 1934

Lieutenant (j.g.), under instruction, Naval Academy

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at this command:

CDR James Logan '10 (Post Graduate School, Naval Academy)

October 1934

Lieutenant (j.g.), under instruction, Naval Academy

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at this command:

CDR James Logan '10 (Post Graduate School, Naval Academy)

January 1935

Lieutenant (j.g.), under instruction, Naval Academy

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at this command:

CDR James Logan '10 (Post Graduate School, Naval Academy)

April 1935

Lieutenant (j.g.), under instruction, Naval Academy

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at this command:

CDR James Logan '10 (Post Graduate School, Naval Academy)

October 1935

Lieutenant (j.g.), under instruction, Naval Academy

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at this command:

CDR James Logan '10 (Post Graduate School, Naval Academy)

1LT John Heil '28 (Receiving Ship)

January 1936

Lieutenant (j.g.), under instruction, Naval Academy

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at this command:

CDR James Logan '10 (Post Graduate School, Naval Academy)

1LT John Heil '28 (Receiving Ship)

April 1936

Lieutenant (j.g.), under instruction, Naval Academy

Others at this command:

Others at or embarked at this command:

CDR James Logan '10 (Post Graduate School, Naval Academy)

1LT John Heil '28 (Receiving Ship)

July 1936

Lieutenant (j.g.), under instruction, Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.

Others at this command:

LCDR Mark Crouter '20

LT John Hollowell, Jr. '22

LT Henry Batterton '23

Others at or embarked at Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.:

LCDR Elmer Kiehl '20 (Naval Gun Factory)
LT William France '24 (Naval Gun Factory)

LT Julian Jordan '25 (Receiving Station)

January 1937

Lieutenant, under instruction, Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.

Others at this command:

LT Henry Batterton '23

Others at or embarked at Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.:

LCDR Elmer Kiehl '20 (Naval Gun Factory)
LT John Hollowell, Jr. '22 (Experimental Diving Unit)

LT William France '24 (Naval Gun Factory)
LT Julian Jordan '25 (Receiving Station)

April 1937

Lieutenant, under instruction, Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.

Others at this command:

LT Henry Batterton '23

LT William France '24

Others at or embarked at Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.:

LCDR Elmer Kiehl '20 (Naval Gun Factory)
LT John Hollowell, Jr. '22 (Experimental Diving Unit)

LT Julian Jordan '25 (Receiving Station)

September 1937

Lieutenant, for assignment, Destroyer Squadron 5, USS Black Hawk

Others at this command:

ENS Joel Davis, Jr. '35

January 1938

Lieutenant, staff, Destroyer Squadron 5, USS Black Hawk

July 1938

Lieutenant, staff, Destroyer Squadron 5, USS Black Hawk

January 1939

Lieutenant, staff, Destroyer Squadron 5, USS Black Hawk

October 1939

Lieutenant, staff, Destroyer Squadron 5, USS Black Hawk

Others at or embarked at USS Black Hawk:

LT Joshua Nix '30 (USS Black Hawk)

June 1940

Lieutenant, Bureau of Ordnance, Washington, D.C.

Others at this command:

CAPT Mervyn Bennion '10

November 1940

Lieutenant, Bureau of Ordnance, Washington, D.C.

Others at this command:

CAPT Mervyn Bennion '10

April 1941

Lieutenant, Bureau of Ordnance, Washington, D.C.

Others at this command:

CAPT Mervyn Bennion '10

Class of 1927

Warren is one of 43 members of the Class of 1927 on Virtual Memorial Hall.

← Arthur Loeser '27

Wendell Osborn '27 →

The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.