Lucky Bag Yearbook

From the 1931 Lucky Bag:

Harold Isidor Larson

Swede Izzy

Baseball 4, 3, 2; Soccer 4; Gymkhana 4; 2 P. O.

“Hey, wife, bear a hand with that basin. I’ve got to shave.” Thus have we been greeted each morning for four years by the above tall blonde Swede.

Since that first day when he came through Number Three, Swede has not changed a bit. Sunny, roguish, but thoroughly likeable at all times, he is an excellent companion to have around. His sparkling humorous ways of putting things are interesting, really. He knows a little about everything and can tell more than a little about anything.

Not especially savvy, but possessing that knack of getting out of the way when the Academic Department swing the axe, he has always been able to keep himself on the sunny side of 2.50 with an incredibly small expenditure of energy.

With his easy-going, cheerful and industrious nature, his ability to take life as it comes, and an inherent liking for his chosen profession, we predict for him a successful future. Here’s to you, Swede, your successes are your own, your disappointments ours to share.

Loss

Harold was lost on December 2, 1942 when the “small transport airplane” he was piloting crashed near Indianhead, Maryland. Two other officers aboard were also killed; they were enroute from Washington, D.C. to Marine Corps Air Station, Parris Island, South Carolina, where they were stationed.

Other Information

He earned his wings as naval aviator #5578 on January 12, 1938; he was a 1LT at the time.

He was promoted to Major in January 1942. The Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps of 1943 gives his date of death and his rank as Lt. Col., which is what is in Memorial Hall.

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Harold’s father Oscar was born in Sweden, and he was a wood worker in 1920 Murdock. His mother was Helda, his brother was Laurence, and his sisters were Myrtle and Helen. Harold and his wife Rosalie were in China when their daughter Lillian was born in 1933. Returning to San Diego in 1935, their son Lawrence was born the next year.

Harold was one of nine graduates of the Naval Academy who graduated in May, 1933, with a master of science degree at the University of California, Berkeley. (Elmer Buerkle ‘25 was another.) This was the first class to be graduated as such from a Pacific Coast College. The group studied mechanical and communication engineering.

In 1940 Harold was a captain, and the family was living in the Marine Barracks in Dumfries, Virginia. In August 1941, Harold became commanding officer of the Air Station at Parris Island.

He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

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.