LT GEORGE L. BELLINGER, USN
Lucky Bag Yearbook
From the 1932 Lucky Bag:
GEORGE LIEINBERGER BELLINGER
Plebe Football; B Squad; Plebe Crew; Class Swimming; 2 P. O.
One whom his classmates found exceedingly quiet—a little fellow also —“six-foot one in his stockin’ feet,” upholding the dignity of both the Naval Academy and the home State. Of his early life little is known, and it cannot, therefore, be “treated within the scope of this book.”
His ship of destiny sailed up and down the courses of Plebe year and Youngster year, threatening to break up on the rocks and shoals of the Steam Department, finding peaceful waters only when on the home stretch of Youngster year.
Now was to come his failing moment, his bugbear—a handful of all that is bad, twenty-five feet of rope. Endless days of tireless effort to drag his 190 pounds to the top seemed in vain. When all other methods had failed, however, he just up and climbed it and got his much cherished Christmas leave. There being no more worlds to conquer, he had only to wait for that bright sunny day in June, 1932.
Loss
George was lost on February 1, 1942 when his SBD-3 Dauntless was shot down near Jaluit during the Marshalls–Gilberts raids.
He was a member of Bombing Squadron (VB) 5, temporarily designated as Scouting Squadron (VS) 5; he flew from USS Yorktown (CV 5).
Raid on the Marshall Islands
On February 1, 1942, Task Force 17, led by VADM William Halsey, Jr. (USNA '04) struck Jaluit, Mili, and Makin (Butaritari) islands. The Task Force was centered on USS Yorktown (CV 5), with USS Louisville (CA 28) among her escorts.
George Bellinger '32, Francis Maher, Jr. '35, and Jack Moore '36 were all flying from Yorktown and were all lost that day. George Bellinger's plane simply "failed to return;" he had last been seen in the vicinity of Jaluit as the leader of a bombing section. Jack Moore's plane also "failed to return;" no other information was given in the after-action report. Francis Maher may have been the pilot of the plane observed in the water approximately 20 miles astern of the carrier, presumably having crashed due to a lack of fuel. The crew were seen getting into rubber rafts, and "a destroyer was immediately sent back but failed to make contact."
A fourth graduate, Edward Worthington '34, was lost when his float plane, launched from Louisville, went missing and was possibly shot down by a Japanese patrol bomber.
Separately, Task Force 8 was raiding other islands in the group. Hallsted Hopping '24, commanding officer of Scouting Squadron (VS) 6, was flying from USS Enterprise (CV 6). His aircraft was shot down by a Japanese fighter and he and his gunner were both killed.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
George graduated from Oneida High School.
On July 30, 1932, he married the former Lois Robinson, at the Baptist chapel in Long Beach, California. She was a graduate of nearby Glen Falls High School.
Their son John was born September 24, 1934. The Post-Star newspaper of Glen Falls, New York, on November 16, 1934 reported “how modern means of travel many be utilized to solve unusual transportation problems.” Mother and son flew home to Long Beach, California, in 18 hours from Albany, New York, with a plane change in Chicago, thus avoiding a train trip of four days and nights.
Their second son was Richard. After a visit to her parents in June, 1941, Lois and the boys returned to Pensacola, Florida.
His wife was listed as next of kin.
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 1932
January 1933
April 1933
July 1933
October 1933
April 1934
July 1934
October 1934
January 1935
April 1935
October 1935
January 1936
April 1936
July 1936
January 1937
April 1937
September 1937
January 1938
July 1938
January 1939
October 1939
June 1940
November 1940
April 1941
George is one of 52 members of the Class of 1932 on Virtual Memorial Hall.
