Lucky Bag Yearbook

From the 1946 Lucky Bag:

Percival Norman Fenton, Jr.

After jobs ranging from soda jerk to shipyard worker, “Fent” came here to try his luck. For a man with fun in his nature, he found it easy to laugh and make others laugh with him. Varsity sports were not for him, but he was always conscientious about keeping in shape, wrestling being his pet pastime. All other interests were overshadowed by his strong desire to be on the water. He was sure to be found out on a yacht or yawl when weather permitted. To know him is to like him, and many people will know him in his career.

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The Class of 1946 was graduated in June 1945 due to World War II. The entirety of 2nd class (junior) year was removed from the curriculum.

Loss

From the Arizona Republic on June 30, 1951:

Navy Bomber Crash Kills 8 KEY WEST, Fla., June 29 (UP) Eight navy fliers were killed and one injured Friday when a twin-engine patrol bomber crashed into ocean shortly after the takeoff. The plane flipped over on its back in 12 feet of water about a mile from President Truman’s vacation White House here. The bodies of all three officers and five enlisted men killed were recovered and the navy identified seven of them. They were: Lt Cmdr. John J. Ebnet, 31, St. Cloud, Minn., the pilot. Lt. Cmdr. Oscar W. Myers, 43, Santa Barbara, Calif.; Lt. (JG) Percival N. Fenton, 24, Washington, D. C. copilot; Enlisted men: John T. Taylor, 26, Philadelphia; Maurice R. Flood, 23, Chicago; Otis Edwards, 24, Repton, Ala.; and Carmine J. Tufarella, 24, Jamaica, Y. Chief, aviation ordnanceman Ralph Draper, 28, of Dobbs Ferry, Y., was the sole survivor. The navy said he was thrown clear as the plane hit the water. He suffered a broken leg and minor shock. The name of the fifth enlisted man killed was withheld pending notification of nearest kin. Witnesses said the plane rose to about 100 feet above the water after taking off from, the naval seaplane base when its right wing dipped sharply. The big PBM spiraled into the ocean within seconds. Navy and coast guard crash boats picked up Draper and two other men who were thrown clear the wreckage. One was dead and another died en-route to the navy hospital.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Percival graduated from Collingswood High School in 1940 under his middle name Norman. His interests were: swimming, football, riding. Future plans: To work on a ranch. Activities: Track Manager, 4; Band, 3, 4; Play Usher, 4. He was appointed to the Naval Academy by Senator Barbour in January 1942.

He had been with the Air Development Squadron One only two days when he was involved in the fatal plane crash. He was submerged upside down in 12 feet of water. Chief Petty Officer S. Kitching unfastened him from his seatbelt, applied artificial respiration, but Percival later died at the hospital. After services in the Navy chapel, he was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Six of his classmates were pallbearers. When his father died in 1964, he was buried with him. He had fought in the Army in WWI.

Percival’s father was a manager of the Franklin Insurance Company in Collingswood and later assistant secretary for the Home Insurance Company in Washington, D.C. His mother was Martha. In 1940 the family included Martha’s mother.

Percival is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Related Articles

John Ebnet ‘42 was also lost in this crash.

John Thompson, Jr. ‘46 and Philip Allen ‘46 were also members of 12th Company.