Lucky Bag Yearbook

From the 1954 Lucky Bag:

Edward Haskell Tandy, Jr.

FOOTBALL—3,2,1. SAILING—4. SWIMMING—4. STEEPLECHASE—4. BASKETBALL—4,2,1. FIELDBALL—2,1. WRESTLING—3.

Ed gave up the sunny Southern California Beach town of Hermosa Beach to come East and take up studies at “that school” in Annapolis. Before leaving the Sunshine State, Ed put in carefree time at the University of California at Los Angeles where he seriously thought of the legal profession. Some may say that the Zeta Psi fraternity gave him his amorous qualities, but he claims he was born with them. During his youngster year he collected a majority of his mail at the hospital where they eventually came to regard him as a member of the staff. In the afternoon he could usually have been found competing in battalion football or the various company sports. Ed’s capacity to take on all jobs will put him in good stead in his chosen career.

Loss

Edward was lost on May 29, 1956 when the jet fighter plane he was piloting crashed off the coast of Santa Cruz, California. He was a member of Composite Squadron (VC) 3.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Edward graduated from Redondo Union High school in 1949. Senior Class President; Hi-Y; Thespians; and Golf Team.

On June 5 at the Naval Academy chapel, Edward married Jeanne Channez Ford. Right after, Jeanne’s sister Barbara Beatrice married Ensign Maurice Harry Werness. The Ford sisters were daughters of Captain Walter Chilcott Ford, chief of program planning for the Maritime Administration in Washington, D. C. Edward’s best man was his roommate Peter Vogelberger.

Jeanne delivered their first child, son Edward H. Tandy, III, on July 11.

Edward’s father was a mechanical engineer and equipment inspector for Standard Oil company and was a school board member.

From Find A Grave:

Parents: Edward Haskell Tandy and Faye Ann (Snyder) Tandy

Memorial rites for Lt. Edward Haskell Tandy Jr. will be at 11 A. M. Saturday at St. Andrew’s Chapel at the Naval Academy. Chaplain J. D. Zimmerman will officiate at the service.

Lt. Tandy was killed on May 29 when his jet fighter plane crashed into the sea off the coast of Santa Cruz, Calif.

The 24-year-old Naval-Academy graduate was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Haskell Tandy, of El Segundo, Calif. He was graduated in 1954.

Lt. Tandy was married to the former Jeanne Ford, daughter of Rear Admiral and Mrs. Walter C. Ford, of 148 Prince George Street. The Tandys’ only child, Edward H. Tandy, III, was born July 11 at the Naval Hospital there.

Note newspaper articles state that he may have parachuted from the plane before it crashed in the bay, but an intensive land and sea search failed to locate his remains.

His wife remarried in June 1957 to another USNA graduate.

Photographs

From the UCLA yearbook

From the Santa Cruz Sentinel on June 14, 1956

From The Redondo Reflex on July 17, 1953

From ancestry.com

Memorials

From Moffett Field Museum history of the base chapel:

Symbol of Christ

The Greek monogram composed of the letter “Chi” (X) and “Rho” (P) form the medallion subject of this window. These intertwined letters “XP,” are the equivalents of our own Latin letter “CHR,” the first three letters of the Greek “CHRISTOS” (XPICTOC), or “CHRIST.” This monogram, like the “I.H.C” of the opposite window, was used on the early Christian tombs in the Roman catacombs in the first century and has been used ever since as the symbol of Christ, “the anointed one.” The small medallion contains the insignia of Composite Squadron THREE, the sponsoring activity for this particular window, in honor of VC-3 personnel who lost their lives in the service of their country.

The initial chairman of the COMPRON THREE Chapel Window Fund, LTJG E. H. Tandy, USN, lost his life under tragic circumstances. His plane disappeared near the California coastline after encountering difficulty on a routine training flight. Many friends, both civilian and military, contributed generously toward the window in honor of the memory of this outstanding young aviator.