CDR KNOWLTON WILLIAMS, USN
Lucky Bag Yearbook
From the 1925 Lucky Bag:
Knowlton Williams
Class Lacrosse (4, 3, 2, 1); Numerals (3, 2, 1); Company Representative (3).
“SOUND off, mister.”
“Midshipman Williams, K., Fourth Class, Annapolis, Maryland, sir.”
Thus, with an appropriate “Oh, my God!"—Another crab was received into the midst of the upperclassmen, the latest offspring of Crabtown to try to make the world a better place in which to live.
Possessed of a wonderful ability to say little in a great many words, Knowlton, early in Plebe summer, cast his lot with the Federation of Mexican Athletes. Whether by virtue of his being a star member of that clique, or simply due to natural endowments, the advent of academic year soon found him the center of many circles of amusement-seeking upper-classmen who affectionately rechristened him “Bull.”
His favorite sport, in fact, his only one, is class lacrosse. To date, his list of indoor sports includes two—reading and eating. In the former, his favorite events are long-distance runs in Whiz Bang, Breezy Stories, La Vie, and the other famous modern works. In the latter, all we dare say is that he is a champion.
Loss
Knowlton was lost when USS Juneau (CL 52) was sunk at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on November 13, 1942. He was the ship’s damage control officer.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Knowlton was born in Illinois.
His wife Frances Hendrickson received his Purple Heart award in Erie, Pennsylvania. Frances answered the call for married women to return to active duty, and she became a nurse at a Baltimore hospital.
His father Hilary (Naval Academy, Class of 1897) was a commander in the Navy. He died in January 1928 and is buried at the Naval Academy with Knowlton’s mother Edith.
His wife was listed as next of kin.
Career
He was commanding officer of USS Grebe (AM 43) from 19 March 1934 - 25 March 1935.
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.
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Memorial Hall Error
Knowlton was promoted to Commander (temporary) on December 15, 1942. Memorial Hall has LCDR.
Knowlton is one of 26 members of the Class of 1925 on Virtual Memorial Hall.
