Lucky Bag Yearbook

From the 1930 Lucky Bag:

ROBERT MELVILLE PATTEN

Bob Honey Rosey

Cheer Leader; Class Crest Committee; Ring Committee; Christmas Card Committee; Pep Committee 4, 3, 2, 1; Plebe Varsity Baseball; Class Baseball 3, 2, 1; Class Football 3, 2; Glee Club 2; M.P.O.

THE combined glories of Napoleon, Valentino and the Face on the Barroom Floor are nothing compared with the Adonis pictured above. The delight of the “femmes,” the envy of his classmates—yet, withal, having no self-conceit.

Bob prepared for the Naval Academy at Narberth and Lower Merion high schools as well as Severn on the Severn. But the art of diligent study has never impressed itself on his mind. He relies on Lady Luck and she doesn’t frown—what lady has the heart?

Although he was class football captain in 1927 and cuts a mean caper on the baseball field, Bob confined his activities this last year to cheer leading. Without limit to accomplishment. Bob has been—and will be—leader in all. His success on the Ring Committee is due in part to his succinct recapitulation of the ideas of sixteen feminine friends—all deeply interested. (“For no good reason,”) avers the O. A. O., in the resulting design.

A genius of friendship and loyalty—instantly popular—infinitely clamored for. Who doesn’t like the man who can be just as cheerful when he offers you his last skag as when he throws your “pyjamas” out the window on a sub-zero night!

Loss

From Naval History and Heritage Command:

Lt. (jg) Robert M. Patten and Radioman 2 class James Edwin Witzman killed when SF-1 from VS-3B on USS Lexington (CV-2) crashed into the sea off Balboa, Canal Zone. 30 October 1934

Robert’s plane crashed following a collision during fleet exercises about 100 miles west of the Canal Zone. His plane went into a spin and crashed into the sea. The other pilot landed on the carrier with one wing damaged.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Robert’s Navy card showed that he lived at 126 Woodside in Narberth. In 1930, his family lived at that address. His father Fred was the registrar at a preparatory school, mother Sadie and brother Fred.

In 1910, his father was the director of music. In 1920, the family lived in Lower Merion and included sister Evelyn.

He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Memorial

Robert has a memorial at the Admiral Farragut Academy in New Jersey.

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.