Lucky Bag Yearbook

From the 1935 Lucky Bag:

KEATS EDMUND MONTROSS

Monty

Class Lacrosse 4. 1 Stripe.

SAGINAW sent forth this native son, and he certainly has done well by her. In fact, we’ve been hearing the virtues (?) of that city for the past four years. Monty’s other weaknesses consist of brunettes and lecturing to us young fellows on the pitfalls of life. Scholastically, he has hit the heights and the depths but manages to stand well in the upper half. Plebe Year, he started out as a ham and egger, but increasing social activities soon forced him to drop it. However, by dint of constant effort, he has developed into a Carvel athlete of no mean ability. An upstanding sandblower, dark, handsome, a good friend, and a better wife—that’s Monty.

Loss

Keats was lost when USS Swordfish (SS 193) was sunk, probably by enemy vessels, off the Ryukyu Islands on January 12, 1945. He was the boat’s commanding officer.

Other Information

His wife was listed as next of kin.

Keats is remembered at the Courts of the Missing in Hawaii.

Photographs

Source

Career

From the now-broken link http://www.fleetorganization.com/subcommandersclassyear3.html:

• Duty Submarine Squadron Five 1 Jul 1939 - Apr 1940
• Executive Officer USS S-41 (SS-146) 1 Apr 1940 - 31 Mar 1941
• Executive Officer USS O-4 (SS-65) Apr 1942
• Captain USS O-4 (SS-65) 31 May 1942 - 31 Aug 1943
• Captain USS Swordfish (SS-193) 8 Feb 1944 - Jan 1945

• Lieutenant (j.g.) 6 Jun 1938
• Lieutenant 8 Dec 1941
• Lieutenant Commander (T) 1 May 1943
• Commander (T) 1 Mar 1944

Wartime Service

He was commanding officer of USS O-4 (SS 65) from 31 May 1942 - 31 Aug 1943 while the boat was used to train submariners (per the now-broken link http://www.fleetorganization.com/subcommanders1a.html). As commanding officer of Swordfish he had completed two war patrols.

Silver Star

From Hall of Valor:

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Lieutenant Commander Keats Edmund Montross (NSN: 0-75109), United States Navy, for gallantry and intrepidity in action in the performance of his duties as Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. SWORDFISH (SS-193) during the TWELFTH War Patrol of that Submarine from 30 May 1944 to 28 June 1944. With courage, skill and determination, he aggressively delivered torpedo attacks against enemy convoys successfully sinking on FUBUKI Class destroyer of 1,700 tons and one freighter of 4,800 tons. His daring and excellent seamanship during three surface gun attacks resulted in the sinking of two trawlers totaling 500 tons and damage to one other of 400 tons. By skillful evasive tactics he was able to successfully evade severe enemy countermeasures and avoid damage to his ship. His conduct throughout was an inspiration to his officers and men, and was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

General Orders: Commander in Chief Pacific: Serial 05480 (October 9, 1944)
Action Date: May 30, 1944 - June 28, 1944
Service: Navy
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Company: Commanding Officer
Division: U.S.S. Swordfish (SS-193)

Bronze Star

On Eternal Patrol also lists him as a recipient of the Bronze Star; unable to find a citation for this award.

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.