LCDR CYRUS S. RADFORD, JR., USN

Class 1940

Born October 19, 1917

Died April 4, 1946

Age 28

Hometown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Lucky Bag Yearbook

From the 1940 Lucky Bag:

CYRUS SUGG RADFORD, JR.

Wrestling N.A., 4, 3, 2; Lacrosse 4; Battalion 2; Boat Club 3, 2, 1; Radio Club 4; 2 Stripes.

To some he is Snuggles, to the wrestling coach he is Irish — everyone knows Cy. Whether you want a fourth at bridge, a game of golf, stock market news, a ketch cleaned, or a radio modernized, he is the man you are looking for. Cy, as a Marine junior making a fighting start, calls Philadelphia home and Admiral Farragut Academy, Alma Mater. A varsity wrestler, he is still fighting. If ever you chance to differ with Cy in an argument, do not risk the dime: he inevitably wins. Being extremely practical, he does not look for a soft spot on which to land, but anticipates any opportunity and always produces.

Loss

Cy was lost on April 4, 1946 when a US Navy aircraft accidentally bombed the observation post he was in at Culebra, Puerto Rico. Eight other officers and men were killed.

Other Information

He was survived by his wife and a four-year-old son, Thomas Arthur; a brother, Lieutenant F. M. Radford, USN, and two sisters. He was also survived by his father, who was former Quartermaster of the Marine Corps.

Cyrus Jr. is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Photographs

From the Lucky Bag

Dewitt Shumway ‘32 was also lost in this incident.

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.