Lucky Bag Yearbook

From the 1945 Lucky Bag:

Thomas Pownall Griest

It was easy to see why Tom was chosen to lead the Glee Club first class year. Of course he was in the Choir too, but his vocal talents were crowded into second place by his ability to play almost every instrument from an ocarina to an accordion. The plebes always looked to Tom for all the answers to their questions that had anything to do with music, and he knew most of the answers. But his interest in music didn’t prevent him from doing an occasional amount of wood carving or tinkering with model engines. As a mainstay of the French language table, “Monsieur Griest” demonstrated that plebes could be shoved out in French, too. Tom will go out into the Fleet a finished officer and a credit to his ship.

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The Class of 1945 was graduated in June 1944 due to World War II. The entirety of 2nd class (junior) year was removed from the curriculum.

Loss

Tom was lost when his attack plane crashed into Albemarle Sound, near Norfolk, Virginia, on January 9, 1948.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Thomas’ AD-1 failed to straighten out after a dive and smashed into the sea.

In November 1938, he sailed with his sister Sarah on the Queen Mary for Le Mans, France.

He graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire in 1941. Member of the Photographic Group, All-Club Crew 1940.

Thomas served in the Pacific in WWII and was a member of VA-3B Squadron attached to the carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt.

He married Elizabeth Sergeant Robinson on December 16, 1944, in Philadelphia. They had no children. In August 1946, Thomas transferred from Corpus Christi to Pensacola.

His father, a Major in WWI, was a Bell Telephone Company official.

He is buried in the Naval Academy Cemetery; he was survived by his wife, mother, and sister.

Photographs

From his high school yearbook