Lucky Bag Yearbook

From the 1938 Lucky Bag:

HOWARD BURTON BERRY, JR.

Pete, Butch

Water Polo 4; Football 4, 3; Lacrosse 3, 2, 1; Soccer 2, 1; Boat Club; Lieutenant (j.g.) (Reg. Commissary)

JUNIOR was groomed Plebe year by “da Virg” who did a 4.0 job. Pedro usually has a war going on with another room but he always knocks-off when study hour busts to bone the next day’s lesson. Although Pete is no savoir he is usually well above the border line. When he is close, however, he worries so much that the rest of the Regiment can secure. There is a good reason for his concern; Junior is a Navy man by birth and he wants to carry on. Athletics to him are good fun and his variety is great, from “B” squad football to bucket lacrosse. Serious at the right time but always ready for a good time, Peter makes a good Navy man. He leaves us with many lasting friends.

Loss

Howard was lost when USS Cisco (SS 290) was sunk, likely on September 28, 1943 by Japanese ships and aircraft.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Howard was born in Long Beach, California; his mother was Hilda (Heiniman) Berry. In 1930, they lived in San Diego. In August-September 1933, he sailed on the S.S. Pastores from Cristobal, Canal Zone, to New York City. From 1933 to at least 1944, the family lived in Seattle, Washington. In June 1939, his father (’10) retired as a Navy captain. He died in 1984 in Los Angeles and is buried with his wife in Arlington National Cemetery.

He was survived by his father, a retired Navy Captain, and his mother.

He is listed as a LCDR at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, but have been unable to find any evidence of a posthumous promotion. He is listed in the Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps of 1944, well after his loss, as a Lieutenant.

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.