Lucky Bag Yearbook

From the 1925 Lucky Bag:

Edward John Trumble

Red Rojo Leatherneck

Rifle (4); Class Swimming (2); Lucky Bag Staff; Class Soccer (4, 1); Star (2).

YES, another son of old Erin. One would never be forgiven for mistaking the nationality of this beaming young Irishman. He happens to be one of the select few who are permitted to choose their own nicknames, for that wavy mass of extraordinary red hair eliminates all other possibilities, however promising.

He fell into the Navy’s pond direct from the Gyrene’s 5th Regiment of Chateau-Thierry fame. While always an ardent Navy supporter, he has remained loyal to the Corps and—Oh, well; the Navy’s loss is the Marines’ gain!

For convincing testimony of his versatility as a linguist, embark with me to the quaint old city of Copenhagen. While the majority of us after a losing struggle decreed it impossible to converse in Danish, he got along surprisingly well indeed with even the fairest Danish maidens.

Hailing from the old Dominion state and proud of it, he’ll soon convince you that the world revolves around Alexandria!

“Now when I get in the Corps.”

“Let’s all sing an old Scotch Ballad.”

“Boys, she’s Irish.”

Loss

Edward was lost on February 18, 1937 when a secondary gun battery exploded aboard the demilitarized battleship USS Wyoming (BB 32) during training. Six other men were also lost.

His last words were reportedly “Get a doctor for the men. I’m afraid they’re hurt.”

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Edward was born in Charlestown, Maryland. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1920.

In January, 1929, Edward sailed from Taku Bar, China, to San Diego. In December, 1932, he was patrol commander in Nicaragua that killed five bandits and wounded 15.

He married Mary Ellington on October 12, 1933, in Alexandria, Virginia.

While stationed at Judge-Advocate-General’s office, Edward earned a law degree at George Washington University. He was on the Board of Student Editors for the George Washington Law Review in 1936.

His father Edward John was a locomotive fireman, mother Hannah, and sister Agnes.

He was survived by his wife and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Photographs

From the 1936 yearbook of George Washington University

From The Morning Call on February 20, 1937

Career

Edward served in Nicaragua during that country’s civil war; he was “decorated for service” during the earthquake of March 31, 1931.

Contemporary accounts also cite him as the “founder” of the Nicaraguan National Military Academy. He seems to have been the director of the first version of the academy, which graduated their first class in two months. (via now-broken link https://www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck/1932/10/national-military-academy-nicaragua)

Navy Directories & Officer Registers

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.