LT CHARLES E. SIGNER, USN
Lucky Bag Yearbook
From the 1926 Lucky Bag:
Charles Edward Signer
Basketball Squad (4, 3, 2, 1); N (3, 1); Numerals (2).
SIG should never play poker—for there’s a characteristic mannerism manifest in his facial expression that instantly betrays amazement, registers excitement, and serves to punctuate animated conversation.
An individual of persistent effort, quiet, and unassuming—but slightly susceptible to the comfort and pleasure afforded by a good book and easy chair with the result of assuming an attitude of, never do today what can be done tomorrow, when academic annoyances present themselves. But, in this matter, his keen judgment and favorable fortune have seldom failed him. There’s a conscientious push behind all of his endeavors, due to which he usually gets whatever he starts after and succeeds in coming out on top.
Sig’s a basketball player of no mean ability, as is evidenced by the way he is accustomed to “pop ’em” in. Consistent hard work has won for him no little honor in this field of aerial activity.
At one time, he was a true champion of the cause of Red Mikes. But, after all, he’s only human and is not immune to all the weaknesses that flesh is heir to. Hence, time saw a decline and fall, just as definite as that of Rome—that of Sig from the free and easy heights of Red Mikedom to the same level as the rest of us.
Loss
Charles was lost on March 30, 1938 when the patrol bomber he was aboard crashed during fleet exercises in the Pacific Ocean. He was a member of Patrol Squadron (VP) 18.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Charles entered the preparatory school at Annapolis in November 1921 for three months.
He married Barbara Isabella Edmundson on December 24, 1928, in Pensacola. Their daughter was Joanna Isabella. The family sailed to Honolulu in June, 1936.
His mother was Mary, and sister was Harriet (Mrs. Ray Davis.) His father Ira was a building contractor who died in 1926.
From Find A Grave:
Ensign C. E. Signer, USN, was designated Naval Aviator #3427 in 1929. Graduated U.S. Naval Academy, Class of 1926.
Son of Ira Grant & Mary (Billings) Signer; married the former Miss Barbara Isabella Edmundson, of Pensacola, Fla., in 1928.
Lieutenant Signer was lost at sea, with his entire crew, when his patrol seaplane crashed during the 1938 annual fleet exercise held in the Pacific.
He has a memorial marker in Illinois. Charles was survived by his wife, Barbara.
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
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July 1928
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September 1937
January 1938
Charles is one of 33 members of the Class of 1926 on Virtual Memorial Hall.
