BACKGROUND TO US NAVY & COAST GUARD CASUALTIES

 

by Gordon Smith

 

Having lived and worked in the United States and with an American-born son living there, I have long wanted to honour the United States Navy in the same way I have tried to do for the Royal Navy (and indeed other Navies of the World). Few of the planned projects have yet come to fruition, but one of them has - US Navy and Coast Guard men and women lost in World War 1. As my own father was killed in action with the Royal Navy in 1943, my aim is also to honour all those lost in the service of their Navies.

Don Kindell, an American researcher who has contributed so much to Naval-History.Net, has uniquely compiled all Royal Navy and Royal Marine casualties from before 1914 to the present. Royal Navy historians and enthusiasts owe him a great deal. I hope this compilation of US Navy and Coast Guard casualties goes a little way to repaying him.

 

Scope and Sources

 

The majority of casualties listed are from the period April 1917 to November 1918 when the USA was formally at war. However, it has been possible to identify others lost in the years 1914-1917; an incomplete, but nevertheless representative list.

 

There are two main sources of information, both original US Government Printing Office publications. I am grateful to Don Kindell for locating the first, and to the US Coast Guard, Department of Homeland Security, for supplying a copy of the second:

"Officers and Enlisted Men of the United States Naval Service Who Died During the World War", prepared by the Bureau of Navigation of the Navy Department, 1920

 

"United States Coast Guard Roll of Honor, April 6, 1917 to November 30, 1918", supplement to Report of the Secretary of the Navy, 1919

For casualties in the period before April 1917, a variety of sources have been used, all from the internet, including the US Naval Historical Center, New York Times Archives, and On Eternal Patrol.

All images, unless otherwise stated, are courtesy the US Naval Historical Center or US Coast Guard: the actual contributor is noted where this information is given. It is believed that all those used are in the public domain, but if I have made any mistakes, please let me know.

 

The majority of ship information is from the US Naval Historical Center (NHC), Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), US Coast Guard and Wikipedia.

I am very grateful to all these sources. I also apologise for any scanning errors I have failed to pick up.

 

 

A Special Note on the Influenza Pandemic and Causes of Death

 

It is very sad to realise that the majority of US Navy casualties came about because of this dreadful event. Young men, many in their teens, joined the Navy, most no doubt to find adventure and travel the world, only to die, often within weeks of joining, in a Stateside hospital. Because of the impact of the pandemic, the main stages have been included in the date list, mainly from the "Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy, 1919 - Miscellaneous Reports, Influenza".

Note that even before the 1918 influenza pandemic and the respiratory disease deaths it often led to, many men died from those same non-influenza-linked, respiratory diseases that were common in those days, such as pneumonia.

Those who were not lost in action, died from a variety of illnesses and diseases, by accident and in some cases by their own hands. Rather than intrude on their privacy and that of their families, then and now, the actual causes are not identified. Instead, the general terms illness/disease or died or accident have been used. The only exception are deaths due to influenza or related respiratory diseases, so that the scale of losses from these causes can be appreciated. Recorded details of the causes of death can be found by locating the US Navy's "Officers and Enlisted Men" publication through an internet search.

The main Influenza Pandemic, starting in September/October 1918

 

Abbreviations and Comments

 

Main abbreviations are A - Aviation, F - Female, G - General, JG - junior grade, NNV - National Naval Volunteers, R - Radio, USNRF - US Naval Reserve Force, USNRC - United States Naval Reserve Corps.

When  information differs, the source is identified as the original Bureau of Navigation publication (BN), US Naval Historical Center (NHC), or Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

Sources frequently refer to World War 1 warships as BB for battleship, DD for destroyer, SS for submarine etc. The only abbreviations generally in use at this time were ID for Identification Number and SP for Section Patrol - respectively merchant ships and usually small civilian vessels taken into Naval service. The USN codes we are familiar with did not come into use until around 1920.

Especially when referring to naval bases, air stations and naval hospitals, different titles are used in the original Bureau of Navigation publication, often, it is believed for the same establishment. The same sometimes goes for the use of the terms Naval and Navy. Far more research is needed to clarify these establishments and so the original listings are used.

 

Duplicated Entries and Original Errors
 

By collecting the Bureau of Navigation lists into a database and sorting them by name and date, it has been possible to identify duplications and correct other surname errors. The duplicated names and surname errors are listed here, the rest of the corrections incorporated into the text:

 

ARTHUR, Rolland Bettisworth, Carpenter's Mate, 2nd class, USNRF, should read BETTISWORTH, Arthur Rolland

 

BONEY, Lucious Wimbric, Apprentice Seaman, also as RONEY

 

BEDDING, Orville Bradford, Seaman, 2nd class, also as REDDING

 

CONWAY, Otho Basil, landsman for Electrician (R) should probably be CONAWAY (father's name)

 

FALLETT, Ernest Linwood, Chief Machinist's Mate, USNRF, also as PALLETT

 

GERDON, Edward LeRoy, Apprentice Seaman, USNRF, also as GORDON

 

GORDON, Edward LeRoy, Apprentice Seaman, USNRF, also as GERDON

 

KAAUKEA, Herman, Musician, 2nd class, also as LAAUKEA

 

LAAUKEA, Herman, Musician, 2nd class, also as KAAUKEA

 

LEQUIN, Maurice Lentilhon, Ensign, USNRF (Officers list), also as Yeoman, 2nd class (Enlisted list)

 

MASSEE, Needham Jerome, Machinist's Mate, 2nd class, USNRF, also as NEEDHAM, Jerome Massee

 

MICKUM, Martin Wilem, Seaman, 2nd class, USNRF, also as NICKUM, Martin Wilen

 

NEEDHAM, Jerome Massee, Machinist's Mate, 2nd class, USNRF, should read  MASSEE, Needham Jerome

 

NICKUM, Martin Wilen, Seaman, 2nd class, USNRF, also as MICKUM

 

PALLETT, Ernest Linwood, Chief Machinist's Mate, USNRF,  also as FALLETT

 

REDDING, Orville Bradford, Seaman, 2nd class, also as BEDDING

 

RONEY, Lucious Wimbric, Apprentice Seaman, also as BONEY

 

ROSS, Bruce W, Machinist (Officers list), also as ROSS, Bruce Wallace, Chief Machinist's Mate (Enlisted list)

 

THOMA, Carl Robert, landsman for Electrician (R) should probably be THOMAS (father's name)

 

THOMA, John Phillip, landsman for Machinist's Mate (A) should probably be THOMAS (father's name)

 

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BACKGROUND TO US MARINE CORPS CASUALTIES

 

Scope

From 6 April 1917  to 10 September 1919, 131 officers and 3,489 enlisted men died, a total of 3,620 Marine Corps deaths from all causes.

The casualty lists in Naval-History.Net include some 1715 names from 17 January 1917 to 23 September 1921.

Sources

Most of the deaths are those recorded by the American Battle Monuments Commission in War Cemeteries and Memorials located in France.

Other sources for this incomplete list include Arlington Cemetery and State's lists from California, Kansas, Ohio and Wisconsin

We are grateful to the American Battle Monuments Commission and Library of Congress for use of the images.

USMC Casualties Missing from these Lists

by Don Kindell

At the end of the First World War, 75,640 United States Dead were buried in Europe. This included all services: Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Ambulance Services, YMCA, and others.

In January 1920, a plan was advanced by the U.S. Congress to bring all the American Dead home. This was projected to cost some $8,000,000. Immediately, a movement was mounted by parents of the Dead to allow them to rest in peace. The plan was scaled down to returning 45,000 and this was reduced further as time went on.

To further the pain of the survivors, there were reports of funeral directors and funeral homes profiteering from this movement. This misconduct affirmed many families not to have their dead returned. Measures were put into place to assure the remains would go only to the funeral directors of the families’ choice.

The steamship MERCURY arrived in the United States in April 1920 with 353 bodies (all but 80 who had been buried in France). Once the movement began in earnest some 2000 bodies reportedly arrived per week. In September 1920, 6281 bodies arrived in one transport.

When steamship WHEATON arrived at Hoboken, New Jersey, on 18 May 1921 with 5212 bodies (2800 received from Cherbourg and 1000 more from Antwerp) the total of dead was brought to 23,000. WHEATON made two other trips in 1921 carrying some 7600 dead.

CANTIGNY brought 2804 more in two trips in the fall of 1921.

This serves to explain the relatively "few" American graves in Europe, considering the sacrifices made.

The number of Dead repatriated was approximately 33,400 from all services or some 44 percent of the total buried in Europe.

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According to the American Battle Monuments Commission - "The Commission records do not include the roster of those World War I Dead whose remains were returned to the U.S. for permanent interment."

Therefore an unknown number of Marine Corps dead (a rough estimate suggests at least 1,500) are NOT included in the casualty lists, even though some are noted as having been repatriated on the SS Catigny (5) and SS Wheaton (27).

The U.S. Marine Corps University Archives at St. Quantico, VA might be able to advise.

see also, all World War 1:

United States Navy

Awards of the Medal of Honor 1915-18, including Marine Corps

Ranks of US Navy Commissioned Officers and Enlisted Men

On the Coast of France: U.S. Naval Forces in French Waters by Joseph Husband, Ensign, USNRF

The United States Marine Corps in the World War by Edwin N. McClellan,  Major, U. S. Marines

US Navy of 1915 - a fine 11 minute video

back to Naval-History.Net

revised 5/8/11