WILLIAM M. FRESHOUR, LTJG, USN
William Freshour '31
Lucky Bag
From the 1931 Lucky Bag:
William McKee Freshour
Piqua, Ohio
"Mac" "Fresh"
STRAIGHT from the heart of old Ohio, more specifically the Miami Valley, Mac came to us in the summer of '27. Rosy cheeks and a winning smile soon crumbled all barriers of strangeness, and Mac won a place in our hearts Plebe Summer which each succeeding year has only served to make more secure.
Blessed with a superb physique, this boy has taken full advantage of natures endowments by his activities on the athletic field.
How well we remember the struggles of Plebe Year, when things looked black, who was it made us see the light? Was he ever down? Perhaps, but never out!
A sincere fun-loving chum, Mac has naturally a large following among the fair sex. His most familiar phrase is "Another little girl made happy!"
The Naval Service has found in Mac a man possessing a magnetic personality combining all the qualities of real leadership. Coolness under fire? His grit on the football field is merely an indication of wonderful "staying power" in all phases of life!
Football 3, 2, 1 '"31"; "NA" Basketball 4, 3, 2, 1; "N" Captain 1 Track 4, 3, 2, 1; "NA" 2 P. O.
William McKee Freshour
Piqua, Ohio
"Mac" "Fresh"
STRAIGHT from the heart of old Ohio, more specifically the Miami Valley, Mac came to us in the summer of '27. Rosy cheeks and a winning smile soon crumbled all barriers of strangeness, and Mac won a place in our hearts Plebe Summer which each succeeding year has only served to make more secure.
Blessed with a superb physique, this boy has taken full advantage of natures endowments by his activities on the athletic field.
How well we remember the struggles of Plebe Year, when things looked black, who was it made us see the light? Was he ever down? Perhaps, but never out!
A sincere fun-loving chum, Mac has naturally a large following among the fair sex. His most familiar phrase is "Another little girl made happy!"
The Naval Service has found in Mac a man possessing a magnetic personality combining all the qualities of real leadership. Coolness under fire? His grit on the football field is merely an indication of wonderful "staying power" in all phases of life!
Football 3, 2, 1 '"31"; "NA" Basketball 4, 3, 2, 1; "N" Captain 1 Track 4, 3, 2, 1; "NA" 2 P. O.
Loss
William was lost on August 23, 1937 when the plane he was aboard crashed in San Diego. He was a member of Fighting Squadron (VF) 2B.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
William, who was known as Mac, graduated from Piqua high school in 1927. He played the horn in band, and in track, he did the 120 yard hurdles, the 250 low hurdles and the high jump (best 5’ 6 1/4”.) As sports editor, he wrote his own description for Letter Men who Graduate: “Mac is another of Piqua’s all around athletes. He acquitted himself very well in football, playing end and sometimes fullback. Mac was one of the mainstays in basketball this season and on the track he has won many a point for Piqua by his high jumping ability. Mac has not only been Jack of all sports but also master of them and has been a big factor in winning victories for his high school.
The Class Prophecy was titled Tablets Unearthed: “To be a salesman you must have the gift of gab”, was the title for the next picture. It showed Skipper Mac Freshour, who, I believe, was now the Secretary of the Navy. I could not understand all of this tablet, but I did make out that Mac was supposed to be signing a bill of sale for a large piece of land in New Mexico.
His mother was Eva, and his sisters were Martha and Marion (Mrs. Arthur Jessop.) His father William was an attorney and an executive at the Piqua Cap company. He died in July, 1931.
He earned his wings as naval aviator #4064 on October 24, 1934.
He is buried in Ohio.
Obituary
From Find A Grave:
Piqua Daily Call August 20, 1937
FINAL TRIBUTE PAID TO LIEUT. FRESHOUR
Approximately 1,000 Persons Gather at Forest Hill Cemetery to Witness Touching Burial
Lasting tribute was paid late yesterday afternoon to Junior Lieutenant William McKee Freshour, one of six naval men killed in a plane crash at San Diego last Monday night, when approximately 1,000 friends, acquaintances and others who had followed his rising career with pride, gathered in Forest Hill cemetery for the impressive military burial services.
The cemetery rites followed funeral services at the home of the grief-stricken mother, Mrs William McD Freshour, 333 West High street in charge of Rev Raymond G Clark.
At the cemetery the flag-draped casket was borne to the grave in the family plot amid a veritable sea of beautiful floral pieces by six reserve naval officers from Tippecanoe City, Dayton and surrounding territory, who volunteered their services with a seventh ex-enlisted man who followed immediately to the rear.
Honorary pallbearers were Richard Seifried, Samuel Heitzman, Britton Wood, George Rundle, Daniel Stickler and Dr Hugh Wellmeier.
An American Legion detail of color guard and firing squad was under command of Major John Reymiller with JM Patton, Paul Schnell post chaplain speaking the military service lines following a prayer by Rev Clark.
A wall of humanity stood at respectful attention around the edges of the burial area as the sharp echoes of the firing squad's three rounds in "salute to the dead" gave way to the clarion call of "taps" in turn followed by the plaintive notes of the "echo" as the casket was lowered into its final resting place.
Photographs
From his high school yearbook
From his high school yearbook
From the Dayton Daily News on February 17, 1927
Related Articles
Ford Wallace '31 and Walter Dey '34 were also lost in this crash.
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 1931
October 1931
January 1932
April 1932
October 1933
April 1934
LTjg Oscar Pate, Jr. '27
LTjg Leonard Southerland '27
LTjg Frank Highley, Jr. '30
LTjg Robert Patten '30
LTjg Claud Hughes '30
LTjg Baylies Clark '30
July 1934
LT James Craig '22
LTjg John Duke '26
LTjg Ralph Smith '26
LTjg Baylies Clark '30
ENS Charles Palmer, Sr. '31
ENS Lorenz Forbes '31
ENS Ford Wallace '31
October 1934
LTjg John Duke '26
LTjg Ralph Smith '26
LTjg Lorenz Forbes '31
LTjg Ford Wallace '31
LTjg Vernon Hain '31
LTjg Thomas Ashworth, Jr. '31
January 1935
LT Samuel Arthur '20 (USS Ranger)
LT Robert Bedilion '22 (USS Ranger)
LT Hallsted Hopping '24 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 1B)
LTjg Oscar Pate, Jr. '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 1B)
LTjg William Pennewill '29 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg Clair Miller '29 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg John Burgess '30 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg James Kyes '30 (USS Ranger)
LTjg Lorenz Forbes '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg Alden Irons '31 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
ENS William Sisko '31 (USS Ranger)
1LT Robert Brown '31 (USS Ranger)
ENS Earle Schneider '33 (USS Ranger)
April 1935
LT Samuel Arthur '20 (USS Ranger)
LT Robert Bedilion '22 (USS Ranger)
LT Hallsted Hopping '24 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 1B)
LTjg William Pennewill '29 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg Clair Miller '29 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg Lorenz Forbes '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg Alden Irons '31 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
ENS William Sisko '31 (USS Ranger)
ENS Earle Schneider '33 (USS Ranger)
October 1935
LT Hallsted Hopping '24 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 1B)
LTjg Seymour Johnson '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg James McRoberts '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg Lorenz Forbes '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg William Sisko '31 (USS Ranger)
ENS Earle Schneider '33 (USS Ranger)
ENS Milton Ricketts '35 (USS Ranger)
January 1936
LT Walter Dey '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LT James McDonough '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LT Hallsted Hopping '24 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 1B)
LTjg Ralph Smith '26 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
LTjg Seymour Johnson '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg James McRoberts '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg Baylies Clark '30 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
LTjg Alden Irons '31 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg William Sisko '31 (USS Ranger)
LTjg Alfred Tucker, III '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
ENS William Widhelm '32 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
ENS Earle Schneider '33 (USS Ranger)
ENS Milton Ricketts '35 (USS Ranger)
April 1936
LT Walter Dey '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LT James McDonough '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LT Hallsted Hopping '24 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 1B)
LTjg Ralph Smith '26 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
LTjg Seymour Johnson '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg James McRoberts '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg Lorenz Forbes '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg Alden Irons '31 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg Alfred Tucker, III '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
LTjg William Widhelm '32 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
ENS Earle Schneider '33 (USS Ranger)
ENS Milton Ricketts '35 (USS Ranger)
July 1936
LCDR Lyman Swenson '16 (USS Lexington)
LT William Eaton '21 (USS Lexington)
LTjg Vernon Hain '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg Philip Ashworth '31 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg Joseph Loughlin, Jr. '32 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS George Fuller '35 (USS Lexington)
ENS John Eichmann '35 (USS Lexington)
ENS Richard McGowan '35 (USS Lexington)
ENS Webster Johnson '36 (USS Lexington)
January 1937
LT William Eaton '21 (USS Lexington)
LTjg Lloyd Greenamyer '29 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg Vernon Hain '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg Philip Ashworth '31 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg Joseph Loughlin, Jr. '32 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg Truman Carpenter '32 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg Ludwell Pickett, Jr. '33 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg William Kane '33 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 5B)
ENS John Eichmann '35 (USS Lexington)
ENS Richard McGowan '35 (USS Lexington)
ENS Webster Johnson '36 (USS Lexington)
April 1937
LT William Eaton '21 (USS Lexington)
LTjg Lloyd Greenamyer '29 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg Vernon Hain '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg Philip Ashworth '31 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg Joseph Loughlin, Jr. '32 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg George Ottinger '32 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 5B)
LTjg Ludwell Pickett, Jr. '33 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg William Kane '33 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 5B)
ENS John Eichmann '35 (USS Lexington)
ENS Richard McGowan '35 (USS Lexington)
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
