WILLIAM J. DRUMTRA, LTJG, USN
William Drumtra '34
Lucky Bag
From the 1934 Lucky Bag:
WILLIAM JAMES DRUMTRA
Gloucester, Massachusetts
"Willie" "Bill"
BILL joined us late in Plebe Summer but it was not long before he was as completely accustomed to the new routine as the June "salts" themselves. Hailing from Gloucester, the sea was no mystery to him and his interest and knowledge in the new life we were to lead made him a good man to have around.
He took naturally to the routine and was soon the saltiest Plebe in the Battalion.
When "ac" Year arrived Bill received the shock of his life. It didn't seem possible to him that one person could be required to learn so many things. After the initial jolt, he learned that there is a method for all tasks. Although his encounters with the Academic Department were by no means few, he was present in first sections often enough to indicate that he was master of the situation at all times.
Bill drags from time to time but so far has pledged allegiance to no femme. Yet there is a certain somebody whose occasional telegrams and letters cause quite a stir.
As a roommate and a friend Bill has no equal. His even temperament is not disturbed by petty gripes. We are sure that he will fulfil the requirements of an officer and a gentleman. We wish you luck, in the fleet Bill—Bon Voyage.
Business Manager of Masqueraders and Musical Clubs 1; Asst. 4, 3, 2. Boxing 2. Baseball 4, 3. Class Football 4, 3. Choir. Expert Rifle. Two Stripes.
WILLIAM JAMES DRUMTRA
Gloucester, Massachusetts
"Willie" "Bill"
BILL joined us late in Plebe Summer but it was not long before he was as completely accustomed to the new routine as the June "salts" themselves. Hailing from Gloucester, the sea was no mystery to him and his interest and knowledge in the new life we were to lead made him a good man to have around.
He took naturally to the routine and was soon the saltiest Plebe in the Battalion.
When "ac" Year arrived Bill received the shock of his life. It didn't seem possible to him that one person could be required to learn so many things. After the initial jolt, he learned that there is a method for all tasks. Although his encounters with the Academic Department were by no means few, he was present in first sections often enough to indicate that he was master of the situation at all times.
Bill drags from time to time but so far has pledged allegiance to no femme. Yet there is a certain somebody whose occasional telegrams and letters cause quite a stir.
As a roommate and a friend Bill has no equal. His even temperament is not disturbed by petty gripes. We are sure that he will fulfil the requirements of an officer and a gentleman. We wish you luck, in the fleet Bill—Bon Voyage.
Business Manager of Masqueraders and Musical Clubs 1; Asst. 4, 3, 2. Boxing 2. Baseball 4, 3. Class Football 4, 3. Choir. Expert Rifle. Two Stripes.
Loss
Bill was lost when his torpedo bomber crashed on July 25, 1938, near Norfolk, Virginia. He was a member of Torpedo Squadron (VT) 5, operating from USS Yorktown (CV 5). Two other members of the squadron, James McDonough '24 (the pilot) and Aviation Cadet John R. Patch, were also killed.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Bill’s plane took off from Norfolk in the morning and stopped an hour at Floyd Bennett Field. It then headed for Boston at 1:50 p.m. The crash occurred at 2:25 p.m.
Bill graduated from Binghamton Central high school in New York state. He did one more year of post-graduate work there.
He was severely injured with another boy on February 16, 1929, when the car they were in skidded to avoid two oncoming cars and flipped over. The two were pinned under the car until rescuers arrived. The driver of the car was thrown clear.
Bill was “chief” of police at the Y.M.C.A. Camp Arrowhead one week in July 1929. The camp’s activities included nature study, woodcraft, airplane model building, athletics, archery, and swimming.
He was recommended to the Naval Academy by Representative John D. Clarke.
Bill was aboard USS Wyoming for navigation training when that ship went to the rescue of Sir Hubert Wilkins of the Arctic. The Wyoming towed the disabled Arctic submarine Nautilus to Queenstown, Ireland.
Bill completed flying training at Pensacola and was given his pilot’s wings in the winter of 1937.
In February 1938, Bill visited his friends in Binghamton shortly after he was promoted to a lieutenant and assigned to the aircraft carrier Yorktown.
When Bill’s family lived in Binghamton, his father Adam was manager of the New York Transit Co. in charge of the Southern Tier pipe lines.
Bill was survived by his parents and a brother.
He is buried in Massachusetts.
Photographs
From his high school yearbook
From the Press and Sun Bulletin on July 25, 1938
Related Articles
James McDonough '24 was piloting the aircraft.
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 1934
October 1934
January 1935
April 1935
October 1935
January 1936
April 1936
July 1936
January 1937
LT John Duke '26
CAPT Ernest Pollock '28
LTjg William Pennewill '29
LTjg Gilbert Carpenter '30
LTjg Lance Massey '30
LTjg William Sisko '31
1LT Harold Larson '31
LTjg Charles Crommelin '31
ENS Harold Von Weller '33
April 1937
CAPT Ernest Pollock '28
LTjg William Pennewill '29
LTjg Gilbert Carpenter '30
LTjg Lance Massey '30
1LT Harold Larson '31
LTjg Charles Crommelin '31
ENS Harold Von Weller '33
September 1937
CAPT Paul Moret '30
LTjg Samuel Dealey '30
1LT Harold Larson '31
LTjg Albert Gray '31
LTjg Charles Crommelin '31
LTjg John Spiers '32
LTjg John Phillips, Jr. '33
CAPT Ernest Pollock '28 (Training Squadron (VN) 2D8)
LT William Pennewill '29 (Training Squadron (VN) 1D8)
January 1938
CAPT Paul Moret '30
LTjg Samuel Dealey '30
1LT Harold Larson '31
LTjg Albert Gray '31
LTjg Charles Crommelin '31
LTjg John Spiers '32
LTjg John Phillips, Jr. '33
LTjg Robert Isely '33
CAPT Ernest Pollock '28 (Training Squadron (VN) 2D8)
LTjg Alden Irons '31 (Training Squadron (VN) 2D8)
William is one of 41 members of the Class of 1934 on Virtual 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.
