LTJG OSCAR W. PATE, JR., USN
Lucky Bag Yearbook
From the 1927 Lucky Bag:
Oscar Willis Pate, Jr.
HAVE you seen a person, not one acclaimed by the multitudes because of the greatness of some deed done, but one whom everyone likes because of his likable personality? Well, that’s Oscar. A typical slow-talking son of Georgia—one more suited to that golden age of the South, the plantation period before the Civil War. However, Oscar has taken his lot well, content to live, and happy as long as he is left alone.
After spending two years at Mercer University, Oscar decided to join the ranks of the followers of Neptune, so he threw over his college career and descended to the lowly ranks of a Plebe. Only twice since then has he ascended to the heights. Once when he obtained through various channels an apology from a well-known member of our advisory committee and again when he advertised before the regiment for a lost copy of Balzac’s Droll Stories.
“Well, I’ve never had a class A yet. Guess I won’t be satisfied until I have one. Reckon I’ll go out again tonight.” Oscar has evaded on many occasions the searching eye and has left, through the wall, his wake.
“Riding tonight, Oscar?” During exams Oscar managed to do his month’s work down in the basement until the small hours of morn, only to lapse back into his easy-going ways after exam week until awakened again by the next set of them.
Loss
From Naval History and Heritage Command:
Lt. (jg)s John Grafton Burgess and Oscar Willis Pate killed when FF-1 plane crashed and burned near Millsap, Tex. 2 February 1935.
Oscar was a member of Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 1B; his crewmate, John, was a member of Fighting Squadron (VF) 3B. Both of these squadrons were embarked aboard USS Ranger (CV 4).
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Oscar graduated from Hawkinsville high school.
His plane was one of three being taken from San Diego to the naval aircraft factory at Philadelphia for overhauling. They made an overnight stop at Abilene and took off the next day for Shreveport. He planned to meet his family and friends on the next stopover at Macon, Georgia.
Funeral services were held at the Baptist church in Hawkinsville where he was a member. His family had lived in Hawkinsville for generations.
He was survived by his parents Oscar and Rosa, brother John, and sisters Martha and May.
Oscar is buried in Georgia; he was survived by his father
Related Articles
John Burgess ‘30 was also lost in this crash.
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.
January 1928
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January 1931
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January 1935
Oscar is one of 41 members of the Class of 1927 on Virtual Memorial Hall.
