Lucky Bag Yearbook

From the 1939 Lucky Bag:

FRANK HARTFORD KOLB, JR.

Harty, Elmer, Oswald

Football 4, 3; Basketball 4, 3, 2, 1; Company Cross Country 1; Radio Club 4, 3, 2 1; 1 Stripe.

“Now I’m not one for the brag, but let’s not study today—let’s just talk, huh?” The usual day’s start, however, means little, for Harty never once lets up in that determination and perseverance to win—in spite of all the snares and pitfalls set by the Academic Department. Whether it be in academics or in play—that will to win manifests itself in his every undertaking. His ready cheerful smile and helpful attitude have won him many true friends. Although his time for the fair sex is rather limited, when he does “splurge” the drags never forget! Considerate, helpful, honorable, he will find no difficulty in obtaining success. Sincerest best wishes to you, chum, from the entire gang of your well-wishers.

Loss

From Arizona Republic:

Two Navy Fliers Killed In Crash JACKSONVILLE. Fla., July 12 (AP) Two naval airmen are known dead and a third missing as a result of a crash near here during a training flight July 5, the naval air station public relations office announced today. Wreckage of the plane was discovered Saturday and two bodies were identified as those of Lt. Frank H. Kolb, 25 years old, United States Navy, of Chicago, and Harvey Lyman Wiley, 19, aviation machinist third class, United States Naval Reserve, of Fairview. Mass.

He was survived by his parents, who lived in Chicago. Frank is buried in Chicago, Illinois.

Photographs

From the Lucky Bag

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.