WILLIAM C. GRAY, CDR, USN
William Gray '21
Lucky Bag
From the 1921 Lucky Bag:
William Cary Gray
Boise, Idaho
"Scotty"
HERE'S part two to the Mutt-Jeff combination and as Cary says, "The real asset." Ever since he took upon himself the obligation of caring for his big Berkserker roommate, Scotty has been in hot water. For he says he is not appreciated, and being the little half, he can not forcibly assert himself. Upon the publication of the monthly unsat trees his mark usually stands out clearly, and at such times Buxom sees red. Then it is, with the additional provocation of resigning, that he evokes a little sympathy from his savvier roommate.
After one trip to the barber shop Scotty saw a chance for a coup. His father makes those electric lawn mowers, whereupon we have them installed, saving much time for Brown and Company.
Nor could we let this opportunity pass without mentioning something of Cary's managerial qualities. In spite of the hard schedules he arranged. Manager Gray's two teams, the gym, and wrestling came through the season with flying colors, neither having a blot on its perfect record. He attributes this partly to the fact that he held the watch on Tiny during practice and invariably forgot when time was up.
One Stripe; Manager Wrestling; Gym (2, 1).
The Class of 1921 was the last of the wartime-accelerated classes. "1921A" was graduated on June 3, 1920; the second half, "1921B", was graduated on June 2, 1921. William was graduated with 1921B.
William Cary Gray
Boise, Idaho
"Scotty"
HERE'S part two to the Mutt-Jeff combination and as Cary says, "The real asset." Ever since he took upon himself the obligation of caring for his big Berkserker roommate, Scotty has been in hot water. For he says he is not appreciated, and being the little half, he can not forcibly assert himself. Upon the publication of the monthly unsat trees his mark usually stands out clearly, and at such times Buxom sees red. Then it is, with the additional provocation of resigning, that he evokes a little sympathy from his savvier roommate.
After one trip to the barber shop Scotty saw a chance for a coup. His father makes those electric lawn mowers, whereupon we have them installed, saving much time for Brown and Company.
Nor could we let this opportunity pass without mentioning something of Cary's managerial qualities. In spite of the hard schedules he arranged. Manager Gray's two teams, the gym, and wrestling came through the season with flying colors, neither having a blot on its perfect record. He attributes this partly to the fact that he held the watch on Tiny during practice and invariably forgot when time was up.
One Stripe; Manager Wrestling; Gym (2, 1).
The Class of 1921 was the last of the wartime-accelerated classes. "1921A" was graduated on June 3, 1920; the second half, "1921B", was graduated on June 2, 1921. William was graduated with 1921B.
Loss
William was lost when USS Quincy (CA 39) was sunk early in the morning of August 9, 1942 by Japanese surface forces at the Battle of Savo Island. His billet aboard Quincy is unclear.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
William met his wife Carolyn Mae Emmons while he was stationed at the Naval Training Station in Great Lakes, Shields, Illinois, and she was a nurse at the naval hospital. Their first child William Jr. was born on December 5, 1932, in the Philippine Islands when William was stationed on the USS Pecos. Daughter Susan was born in Maryland in 1936. The family lived in Annapolis in 1940, and Carolyn died in Los Angeles in 1962.
William’s father died on April 18, 1929, at the Alexandria Hotel in Chicago where William was living. His father was buried in the Rose Hill Cemetery in Mount Ayr, Iowa. William’s mother was Mayme (Smith.) William was born in West Telluride, Colorado, where his father was a bookkeeper. (The house, 501 W. Columbia, is listed on the city's historic homes.) By 1910 the family lived in Boise, Idaho, where his father was working construction on an irrigation project. In 1916 William was announced in the local newspaper as an alternate to the Naval Academy.
His wife was listed as next of kin. He is listed 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.
July 1923
September 1923
November 1923
January 1924
March 1924
May 1924
July 1924
September 1924
November 1924
January 1925
March 1925
May 1925
October 1927
January 1928
April 1928
July 1928
October 1928
January 1929
April 1929
July 1929
October 1929
January 1930
April 1930
October 1930
January 1931
April 1931
July 1931
October 1931
January 1932
April 1932
October 1932
January 1933
April 1933
July 1933
October 1933
April 1934
LCDR Lyman Swenson '16\
LCDR Charles Cecil '16\
LT Robert Smith '20\
LT Paul Register '21\
LT George Brooke '21\
LT Howard Healy '22\
1LT Charles Kail '23\
LT Hallsted Hopping '24\
LT Lawrence McPeake '24\
LTjg William Graham, Jr. '25\
LTjg Andrew Harris '25
July 1934
LCDR Albert Rooks '14\
LCDR Charles Cecil '16\
LT Paul Register '21\
LT George Brooke '21\
LT Howard Healy '22\
LT Edward Metcalfe '22\
LT Eugene Elmore '22\
1LT Charles Kail '23\
LTjg William Graham, Jr. '25\
LTjg John Graff '26
October 1934
LCDR Albert Rooks '14\
LCDR Charles Cecil '16\
LT Paul Register '21\
LT George Brooke '21\
LT John French '22\
LT Howard Healy '22\
LT Edward Metcalfe '22\
LT Eugene Elmore '22\
1LT Charles Kail '23
January 1935
LCDR Albert Rooks '14\
LCDR Charles Cecil '16\
LT Paul Register '21\
LT George Brooke '21\
LT John French '22\
LT Howard Healy '22\
LT Edward Metcalfe '22\
LT Eugene Elmore '22\
1LT Charles Kail '23
April 1935
LCDR Albert Rooks '14\
LCDR Charles Cecil '16\
LT Paul Register '21\
LT George Brooke '21\
LT John French '22\
LT Howard Healy '22\
LT Edward Metcalfe '22\
LT Eugene Elmore '22\
LTjg Heywood Edwards '26\
LTjg John Reybold '26
October 1935
CDR Samuel Moore '13\
LT John French '22\
LT Howard Healy '22\
LT Edward Metcalfe '22\
LT Eugene Elmore '22\
LT Richard Gingras '25\
LTjg Ralph Hickox '27\
LTjg Robert Winters '27
January 1936
CDR Samuel Moore '13\
LT John French '22\
LT Howard Healy '22\
LT Edward Metcalfe '22\
LT Eugene Elmore '22\
LT Richard Gingras '25\
LTjg Ralph Hickox '27\
LTjg Robert Winters '27
April 1936
CDR Samuel Moore '13\
LT John French '22\
LT Howard Healy '22\
LT Edward Metcalfe '22\
LT Eugene Elmore '22\
LT Richard Gingras '25\
LTjg Ralph Hickox '27\
LTjg Robert Winters '27
July 1936
January 1937
April 1937
September 1937
January 1938
July 1938
January 1939
October 1939
June 1940
November 1940
April 1941
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