WILLIAM L. MCCARTY, MIDN, USN
William McCarty '17
William Luther McCarty was admitted to the Naval Academy from Kentucky on June 26, 1913 at age 19 years 7 months. His death is recorded on August 15, 1915 in the Annual Register of the United States Naval Academy 1915-1916, but no details are given.
Lucky Bag
William has a page dedicated to his memory in the Class of 1917 Lucky Bag, though it provides no photograph or details beyond the date of his death.
Loss
William died of spinal meningitis on August 15, 1915, while aboard Ohio for the summer practice cruise.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
In a baseball game against Lancaster in May 1910, the newspaper reporter called him “Hal Chase” McCarty. He wrote that “McCarty was a wild man on the bases and batted like a fiend. Both of his hits were two baggers, and he worked a free pass in the eighth.” [Hal Chase played first base for the N.Y. Highlanders.]
William played left tackle for the Stanford High School football team in 1910 and 1911. He played basketball on the school’s first team in the fall of 1911. He was captain of the team that won the 1910 Central Kentucky baseball championship.
On December 22, 1911, William played Sir Lucius O’Trigger in the school play “The Rivals” by Richard Sheridan.
In February 1912, William attended the Jacksonian Literary Club party. All guests wore costumes representing the title of books. He and another classmate won the “booby,” a linen A. B. C. book.
His father’s soft drink stand burned to the ground in March, 1912. A gas generator of the gasoline lighting system exploded and spread rapidly. At the time, William was on a trip with schoolmates and teachers to Lexington where they saw the Shakespearean plays by Sothern and Marlowe.
In May that year, William was class prophet at class day exercises. He entered State College (now the University of Kentucky) in the fall of 1912. His father was James a merchant whose first wife Stella, a milliner, had died in 1901. William’s brothers Harry and Jesse died young, and his sister was Gertie Leach. In 1910 his father worked in a restaurant and had remarried Gertrude. Their son Fred was seven years old. William’s uncle W. L. was the President of the State Bank in Stanford.
The Ohio, the Missouri, and the Wisconsin were the first battleships to pass through the Panama Canal in August, 1915. T. Field Harris (’17) was his roommate at the Naval Academy and was on board with him on the Ohio. He said that William was a favorite among all, both in college and on the battleship.
The Lexington Leader newspaper reported that he “was given full military honors in the services on shore at San Francisco a week ago and two hundred officers and men accompanied the body. A salute of one hundred guns was fired from the batteries of the warship before the body started on its long trip across the continent to its resting place in Kentucky. Friends of Midshipman McCarty have given two beautiful floral wreaths which were made up by a local florist. One is a pillow of white asters and roses with the letters ‘U. S. S. Ohio’ across the face. The other is an anchor made from pink asters and lilies lettered ‘Classmates.’”
From the Lancaster Central Record on August 19, 1915, via Timothy Woodbury (Memorial Affairs Manager, USNA Alumni Association & Foundation):
YOUNG MIDSHIPMAN DIES.
William L. McCarty, a Midshipman of the second year class at Annapolis, stationed on board the Ohio at San Pedro, Cal., died of spinal meningitis Monday. McCarty was well known in Lancaster, having been born and reared in Stanford. He was an athlete of ability, having been Captain of the Stanford base ball team. His many friends here will learn of his death with the deepest grief.
He is buried in Kentucky.
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