LTJG OLIVER E. WHITE, USN

Class 1930

Born December 12, 1908

Died March 17, 1936

Age 27

Hometown Vincennes, Indiana

Lucky Bag Yearbook

From the 1930 Lucky Bag:

OLIVER EDWARD WHITE

Fuzzy Wuzzy Ollie

1 P. O.; Track 4, 3, 2, 1, N 3, 2, 1.

OUT of the middle-west came a rangy young lad with a keen mind, a ready smile and the quick Hoosier wit of his forebears. He came, he saw, he was conquered. But nothing could down the ready satire and fun-loving nature—it broke through at the right moment. Ollie stayed to rise high in the hearts of his classmates. And he really is savvy.

Rising seems to mean much to Ollie. He worked hard and finally set a pole vault record that is something for coming Academy vaulters to shoot at. Modest and unassuming, ready and eager to learn, quick to appreciate or instigate a good hearty prank; thus will Ollie always be remembered.

How many trolley cars have they in Vincennes, Fuzzy Wuzzy?

“What, only two? And you told us you came from a city!” But just give the boy a chance and he will tell you all about George Rodgers Clark and Alice of Old Vincennes. The place is steeped in tradition and Ollee can entertain you by the hour.

Ollee doesn’t live on past traditions but aids in making them. In his pole vaulting he leaves a tradition here. In leaving he will forever carry with him a spirit of unfailing good humor and an ability to see fun in anything.

Loss

From Naval History and Heritage Command:

SBU-1 dive bomber engine fire kills pilot Lt. Oliver E. White; Radioman 2 class James W. LeCompte parachute’s to safety. 17 March 1936.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Oliver graduated from Vincennes Lincoln high school in 1925. “How he loves a tourneyment.” Prophecy: Oliver will be the master mechanic at the first big radio station in Vincennes.

On June 2, 1929, Oliver set a new Navy pole vault record at 12 feet 6 ¼ inches. The meet was against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Annapolis.

In 1920, his father Samuel was a house building contractor, and his sister Vera was a public school teacher.

He earned his wings as naval aviator #3953 on November 15, 1932.

Oliver is buried in Indiana.

Photographs

From his high school yearbook

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.