LT MATTHIAS M. MARPLE, JR., USN

Class 1923

Born April 26, 1899

Died October 30, 1935

Age 36

Hometown Bridgeport, Connecticut

Lucky Bag Yearbook

From the 1923 Lucky Bag:

Mathias Morris Marple, Jr.

I SAY old Toppy it is a jolly fine day—what say you to a few holes of golf and a cold plunge in the neighboring pool? Our Maw-rice has lived with the blooming Englishmen so long that he has acquired the aristocratic accent and air to a shocking degree. On entry Marp became one of our illustrious Plebe summer Four Stripers and was then the very essence of regness. He still carries with him that air of earnestness, and has a tendency to cock his head just a little when his ideas are set. At times his nature is like the famous Connecticut wooden nutmeg—a hard nut to crack. His one weakness is the ladies! O, you Lordship and Kristiania! Talking of speed the boy is a demon. For further information inquire of the track coach or Stratford's only motor-cycle cop. He is a chap who knows but one code, that of being square, generous and meeting people on the half way mark.

Track Squad (4, 3, 2); Football Squad (4, 3, 2); Penn Relays (3, 2); Expert Rifleman.

“Hey, you in the steerage, come up for air!”

Loss

Matthias was lost on October 30, 1935 when the plane he was piloting crashed in the Chesapeake Bay. He was flying from Dover to Dahlgren, Virginia, where he was stationed.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Matthias graduated from Bridgeport High School.

He was the best man at the wedding of Ensign Warren Franklin Porter (’25) in July, 1925, in Bridgeport.

On September 1, 1928, Matthias married Florence Frances Pierpont in Pensacola. Their daughter Constance Rust Marple was born on July 15, 1932, in San Diego. She married in June 1959, in Pensacola. Their other daughter was Margery Pierpont Marple born in 1934, in Florida.

Matthias’ father died in March 1933, in Stamford, Connecticut. He was a petroleum heat and power company executive. Matthias’ mother Alice Constance died in September 1900, and is buried on Staten Island.

He earned his wings as naval aviator #3273 in 1926.

He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery; he was survived by his wife.

Photographs

From the Evening star on November 13, 1935

"VF-6 pilots, based on USS SARATOGA (CV-3), who will participate in the National Air Races at Cleveland, 31 August-3 September 1934. Photographed at Naval Air Station Hampton Roads, Virginia, 1 August 1934. The plane is a Boeing F4B fighter. Left to right, standing: Lieutenant Junior Grade F.W. McCann, Lieutenant H.L. Hoerner, Lieutenant W.B. Whaley, Lieutenant D. Ketcham, Lieutenant Commander R.A. Ofstie, __Lieutenant M.M. Marple__, Lieutenant T.J. Hedding, Lieutenant Junior Grade J.M. Lewis, and Lieutenant B.E. Grow. Left to right, kneeling: Lieutenant Junior Grade M.B. Wyatt, Ensign Block, Lieutenant Junior Grade E.E. Colestock, Lieutenant Junior Grade J.V. McAlpin, Lieutenant Junior Grade T.K. Wright, Ensign J.W. Byng, Lieutenant Junior Grade C.W. Lord, Lieutenant F.B. Southerland, Lieutenant W.B. Gentner, and Lieutenant T.O. Dahl." From the Naval History and Heritage Command Source

Namesake

Marple Road, aboard Naval Support Facility Dalhgren, Virginia, is named for Matthias.

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.

LT MATTHIAS M. MARPLE, JR., USN

Lucky Bag Yearbook

Mathias Morris Marple, Jr.

Loss

Other Information

Photographs

Namesake

Navy Directories & Officer Registers

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