LTJG STANWIX M. WILLIAMS, USN

Class 1948

Born February 24, 1926

Died August 18, 1955

Age 29

Hometown Denmark, South Carolina

Lucky Bag Yearbook

From the 1948 Lucky Bag:

STANWIX MAYFIELD WILLIAMS

A true southerner . . . clinging to all the traditional beliefs and pride of the old South . . . coming from an early life on a semi-plantation he brought with him a yen for agriculture and the usual set of muscles characteristic of that life . . . the muscles were quite handy when he went to school in Washington . . . not one to let the big boys run over him he spent a lot of time letting them know his feelings . . . discovering that wrestling was really a fine sport and trying his luck after coming to the Academy with a different objective in view . . . that of striving to improve his physique with the addition of weight-lifting … a non-smoker . . . did not imbibe in the pleasures of alcohol … a healthy appetite kept his weight a little too high for the results training normally gave. A normal affinity for members of the opposite sex … a fair collection of pictures . . . the friend who came through with blind drags that prompted no complaint . . . life of the party type. His most distinguishing trait was an antagonistic sense of humor . . . not one to mince words . . . always ready to start an argument … a few years in the air corps and then life as a gentleman farmer are his aims.

Stan was on the wrestling team and participated in the Chess Club. He graduated from the 14th Company with the class of 1948-B in June 1948. (The top half of the class academically, designated 1948-A, graduated in June 1947 as the last wartime-accelerated class.)

Loss

Stanwix was lost on August 18, 1955 when the jet trainer he was piloting crashed near Mt. Vernon, Illinois. The enlisted crewman aboard was also lost.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Stanwix attended school in Norway and Washington before entering the Naval Academy.

In June 1949 he was visiting Cardiff Castle at Cardiff Wales where entertainment was planned for the crew of the Destroyer USS Samuel B. Roberts. He received his gold wings in July 1951 and then reported for jet-fighter training at the Naval Auxiliary Air Station in Kingsville, Texas.

He married Susan Kern, daughter of Colonel and Mrs. Thomas Kern, on August 2, 1952, in Washington, D. C. At this time, he was stationed on the ship Leyte in the Mediterranean.

Survivors include his mother Christabel, a brother, Lt. (jg) Shelley S. Williams, Jr. of Cupertino, California, two aunts, five uncles including Captain Stanwix Mayfield (USN-Ret., Class of 1916) of Austin, Texas. Stanwix was a cousin of Senator Marshall B. Williams of Orangeburg. His father predeceased him when Stanwix was two.

He is buried in South Carolina.

Photographs

1948-B 14th Company

William Keen ‘48, Richard Ryder ‘48, Donald Apple ‘48, and Jack Robbins ‘48 were also in 14th Company.

Class of 1948

Stanwix is one of 48 members of the Class of 1948 on Virtual Memorial Hall.