CHAPTER 2

THE CLASS  OF ‘40 STORY

Original by Raymond A. Hundevadt

Transcribed from 50-year book

If there is a typical Naval Academy class--a debatable premise, at best--the Class of 1940 was unlikely to be it. The history of its members, and of the class as a whole, is unusual in a number of respects.

To start, most members of the class were born within a year or so of the period of U.S. participation in World War I, so their parents were unlikely to be any more enthusiastic about a service career for their sons than would be any families in the years immediately following a bloody war. Later, as Kids of the Great Depression, we witnessed and shared the difficulties of our families in coping with the economic distress of that period. Among the realities of those times was the fact that higher education was a desirable privilege which had become, for many of us, beyond our economic reach.

Thus, when 712 of us came to the Naval Academy in the summer of 1936, we included many who saw the Academy primarily as the only practical means of obtaining a college education. Many had completed a year of civilian college before the money ran out; several had completed four years. As had other classes, we came from all of the (then) forty-eight states, plus one from the Philippines. But it would initially have seemed a poor bet that the 456 of us who graduated on June 6, 1940 would establish a retention rate at least equal to that of other classes--which we did!

Of the graduates, 399 were commissioned as U.S. Navy ensigns and 25 as U.S. Marine Corps Second Lieutenants. The remainder, in the main, suffered a diminution of eyesight sufficient to disqualify them for commissions, and our Filipino classmate returned to the Philippines, where he was commissioned a Third Lieutenant in that Army for naval duties; post-war he was commissioned in its newly-created Navy.

Of the Navy ensigns, 50 were assigned to aircraft carriers, 167 to battleships, 101 to heavy cruisers, and 81 to light cruisers.

World War II approached rapidly after graduation, and most of the graduates who had not been commissioned upon graduation returned to naval service. Of these, many transferred to the regular Navy after the war and made a career of it. Similarly, a number of the non-graduates entered the Navy.

In the Atlantic, ships became involved with “neutrality patrols" and convoys to Iceland. In the Pacific, with signs of general war becoming more obvious, some of the ships deployed to meet the apparent threat. Many of the class were transferred to smaller or new-construction ships within a year or so of their initial assignments in connection with the expansion of the Navy; a relative few were ordered to postgraduate training leading to Engineering Duty Only classification.  

On December 7, 1941, "the Day of Infamy", 10 of the class members were lost with the sinking of the battleships OKLAHOMA and ARIZONA. This is understood to be the highest number of any of the Naval Academy classes represented at Pearl Harbor that day.

As World War II progressed, the class advanced in rank rapidly. Navy advancements to Lieutenant (junior grade) came in April, 1942. In that month also came the rescinding of the two-year ban on marriage for Naval Academy graduates; the day must have set a record for new claims for family allowances by Academy graduates, both in port and at sea! In the fall of 1942 came promotions to Lieutenant, and in the fall of 1944 to Lieutenant Commander. In the Marine Corps, advancement to First Lieutenant and then to Captain came in quick succession in the spring of 1942, to Major in 1943, and to Lieutenant Colonel in 1945. Many officers went into flight (both heavier-than-air and lighter-than-air) and submarine training programs as the war continued; a few went to duty in PT boats.    

Members of the class were present at most, if not all, of the major sea engagements and landings of the war. By the end of the war, members of '40 had become skippers of destroyers and submarines, commanders of air groups and air squadrons, and Marine battalion commanders.

There were numerous dramatic experiences of classmates during the war. Worthy of special mention, however, are the prisoner-of-war experiences. Two of the class died as POWs in the Asiatic area. Three survived the February 1942 sinking of the HOUSTON and spent the remainder of the war in Japanese POW camps; one of the three was in the Burma camp featured in the motion picture "Bridge Over the River Kwai”. Another, a civilian, became a POW of the Japanese while on a civilian-rep trip; he too toured several Japanese POW camps. Our Filipino classmate became a POW of the Japanese shortly after Corregidor; later released, he became a guerrilla, rendezvousing barefoot with the U.S. forces at the Lingayen Gulf landings.

By the time World War II had ended, a total of 58 of the class, including 9 non-graduates, had been killed in action with the enemy within the following categories:

For comparison with other Naval Academy classes, the totals of those killed in action, by classes and including non-graduates, during World War II were:

During World War II, with 449 graduating, the U.S. Military Academy Class of 1940 lost 30 in battle deaths. So much for the relative hazards of foxholes and warships!

As the war ended, large numbers of the class were assigned to postgraduate instruction at the Postgraduate School at Annapolis and at numerous civilian universities. In the post-war years, 43 of the class pursued staff-category careers.

During the Korean War, 2 classmates were lost to enemy action.

The rapid advancement in rank by the class during World War II was more than compensated by the post-war adjustments to the ranks and numbers of Navy officer personnel. These were caused in part by the "hump" of officers created by the wartime personnel buildup, in part by the changes in age distribution in officer ranks directed by post-war administrations, and by other less well defined causes. The overall result was fewer numbers of promotions than might otherwise have been predicted, particularly remarkable in the promotions to flag rank. Some aptly claim the class was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

A total of 185 reached the rank of Commander in the unrestricted line, principally in the winter of 1950-51. Many of the Marines reverted to Major after the war and advanced to Lieutenant Colonel for the second time in 1947-48.

The Congressional Act of 1959, addressing the aforementioned "hump", established "continuation" boards for commanders and captains and directed the Secretary of the Navy to prescribe the numbers which could be continued in their 26th or 30th year, respectively. Those not continued were to be retired; a special lump-sum payment was authorized and retirements under the Act were considered to be voluntary in order to avoid the negative implications from these unusual actions. Approximately 35 per cent of USN unrestricted line captains were to be retired short of 30 years service; continuation of commanders was planned at 45 per cent. "Tombstone" retirements were eliminated by the same Act.  

Marine promotions to Colonel occurred during the spring and summer of 1957. Navy promotions to Captain occurred mainly in the spring and summer of 1959; 135 attained that rank in the unrestricted line as follows:

Of these 131 Captains remaining on active duty as of 1 January 1962, 13 became Rear Admirals and of these 1 went on to become Admiral in the unrestricted line during the period 1966-75. In addition, 4 became Rear Admiral in the staff categories, 3 became Marine Corps Brigadier Generals, and 2 became Major Generals in the regular Army.

Within the Navy unrestricted line categories, the flag ranks were attained as follows:

This was the lowest number to attain flag rank in the unrestricted line of any of the near-adjacent Naval Academy classes, although the classes of 1941, 1942, and 1943 experienced similar but decreasing shortages in flag rank selections.

During a briefing of the 1967 Rear Admiral selectees, the Chief of Naval Operations stated that the average age of Navy flag officers was two years greater than their Army counterparts and that deep selection would be used to narrow the gap. The disparity was real, for USMA '40 selections to colonel started in 1956, whereas USNA '40 selections to captain occurred in 1959. Further, the Secretary of Defense held that an officer's selection to flag rank should be accomplished by his 25th year; USNA '40 first flag selection came in its 25th year.

By comparison with USMA ‘40 graduates, with 449 graduating in that class:

Notes: 1. One in Air Force

           2. Includes staff categories

           3. All Marine Corps

           4. Includes two regular Army

In the post-war years, members of the class gradually resigned or retired, many to pursue civilian careers. Many became leaders in their new professions, which included education, religion, aerospace, shipping, shipbuilding, government at all levels, medicine, and a variety of business occupations,

By August 1, 1978, the last member of the class of 1940 had retired from active service. In the intervening years, its members had been awarded the following decorations:

The time span of most naval careers frequently includes dramatic changes in the Navy, but that of the class of 1940 probably saw more than most. Fortunately, the transition from coal to oil in ships' power plants had been completed when '40 entered the fleet, and no one harbors feelings of disappointment on that score.

But some of the innovations were:

The watch has long since been relieved, but ‘40 remains with us in spirit!