LCDR AUGUST W. LENTZ, JR., USN
Lucky Bag Yearbook
From the 1926 Lucky Bag:
August William Lentz, Jr.
Football Squad (4, 3, 2, 1), N (4, 3, 2, 1), Captain (1); Boxing (4, 3, 2, 1), Navy Numerals (3), N(2, 1); Class Track (4, 3), Numerals (4, 3); Lacrosse Squad (3); Gymkhana (4, 3).
THE grand old man in person. Behold, then, one of the original hairless, super-editions of the Jersey variety. I say behold him, but you could hardly miss him. When he came to us late Plebe summer it was evident that our class had gained in size as well as number.
Gus first sought the higher knowledge in the halls of Rutgers, where he acquitted himself in noble style on the football field. Just to prove that brass buttons didn’t cramp his style, Gus made the varsity Plebe year and has been as permanent as the Navy Goat ever since. And as a Captain Gus further proved that age made no difference in football a la good. One would, offhand, fail to see anything pugnacious in so shy an appearing chap, but several of the gentlemen from colleges hereabouts can testify to his ring prowess.
Uncle Gus will always be remembered for his extra-size heart, and many are the fortunate lads adopted by this kindly paternal bulwark of good fellowship and radiant Dutch cheer. May Baldy’s cruises be as big as the ships it will take to hold him, and may his side of the line in the Big Game be counted upon.
Loss
August was lost when USS Wasp (CV 7) was sunk by a Japanese submarine on September 15, 1942. He was the ship’s aerographer since June; previously he was the aerographer for Fleet Air Wing (FAW) 5 in Norfolk, Virginia.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
August attended Stevens Prep, and in September 1920, he became a guard for the Rutgers football team. He was 200 lbs. and 6 feet tall. He attended Rutgers for two years where he belonged to Beta Theta Pi and the Varsity Club.
On September 6, 1928, in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, August married Grace Marie Nestle. Their son was named August, III.
On May 21, 1933, August traveled from Cristobal Canal Zone to New York City.
His father was August, a horse shoer who later owned his own blacksmith shop. His mother was Wilhemenia, sister Anna, and brother Henry. His parents were born in Germany.
His wife was listed as next of kin.
Photographs
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.
October 1926
January 1927
April 1927
October 1927
January 1928
April 1928
July 1928
October 1928
January 1929
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July 1929
October 1929
January 1930
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January 1931
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July 1931
October 1932
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October 1935
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July 1936
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September 1937
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July 1938
January 1939
October 1939
June 1940
November 1940
April 1941
Memorial Hall Error
August is a “Jr.” in the Lucky Bag, but this suffix is omitted on the class of 1926 panel and the killed in action panel in Memorial Hall.
August is one of 33 members of the Class of 1926 on Virtual Memorial Hall.
