Lucky Bag Yearbook

From the 1957 Lucky Bag:

JOHN ROBERT WORRELL, JR.

Although a Hoosier by birth. Johnny spent most of his life in Danville, Illinois, where he was a standout in basketball. He continued to pound the hardwoods for the Navy team and also played lacrosse in the spring. John never took any girl seriously, so he must have broken the hearts of many of them. His motto, “‘57 or bust,” carried him through his four dark ages at Navy. One of Usnay’s biggest promoters of “locker hockey,” Johnny was always leading the pack when they took off for a weekend. Although he took plebe year to heart, he was always to be found raring to “have a ball.”

Loss

John was killed on May 22, 1961 when he bailed out of the T-37 he was aboard as an instructor pilot. He was flying from Moody Air Force Base, Georgia. His student pilot survived.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

John married Polly Williford Williams on September 6, 1958, in the St. James Methodist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.

In September 1960, he was stationed at Greenville Air Force Base in Mississippi.

John was survived by his wife and their two daughters, Charlotte Lee and Martha Louise.

From Find A Grave:

Johnny was born in Indiana, but grew up in Danville, Illinois, where he was a standout in basketball. Entering the U.S. Naval Academy in 1953, he played on both the basketball and lacrosse teams. An outgoing guy – Johnny livened up any gathering. Upon graduation in 1957 he chose a career in the U.S. Air Force and won his pilot’s wings shortly thereafter. While on active duty he lost his life in an aircraft accident in 1961.

Photographs

From the Herald and Review on March 16, 1951

From his 1951 high school yearbook

From his 1951 high school yearbook

From his 1951 high school yearbook

From The Montgomery Advertiser on October 5, 1958

Remembrances

From Find A Grave:

John, my friend at USNA, lost his life in an aircraft accident while serving his country as an officer in the United States Air Force. Rest in peace, John, til we meet again when I, too, have crossed the bar. Frank Parker, June 29, 2016

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Alfred Senior ‘57, Redmond Jensen ‘57, and Gardner Brewer ‘57 were also in 8th Company.