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June 22 - November 22, 2022
At the end of the 1906–1907 academic year, the school awarded prizes for “general excellence in target practice.” The recipients were Willis Lee, gold medal; his friend Andrew Denney, silver medal; and his exposition partner, Walt Heiberg, bronze medal.
After undergoing practice at the Naval Academy, on 5 August he joined other marksmen for the National Rifle Association–sponsored national matches.
After undergoing practice at the Naval Academy, on 5 August he joined other marksmen for the National Rifle Association–sponsored national matches.
Long before the NRA was vilified by the MSM and politicians.
What he accomplished in one day was astounding: he won individual national championships in both rifle and pistol. Lee was the only American ever to win in both categories the same year.
What he accomplished in one day was astounding: he won individual national championships in both rifle and pistol. Lee was the only American ever to win in both categories the same year.
Hooyah!
As evidence of Lee’s skill, Earle wrote, “I have seen him shoot chippy birds out of a bush with a Colt’s .38—one, two, three, four—just as fast as he could pull the trigger.”
The inspector finally lost patience and told Lee that if he did not show up with medals at the following week’s event, he would be put on report. “The next Sunday,” remembered Kurfess, “Lee did appear in formation with his chest so covered with medals that it was difficult to see his jacket.”
The inspector finally lost patience and told Lee that if he did not show up with medals at the following week’s event, he would be put on report. “The next Sunday,” remembered Kurfess, “Lee did appear in formation with his chest so covered with medals that it was difficult to see his jacket.”
Haha, ZING!!
How jealous old Zimmy must be.24 The last line was a joking reference to Lieutenant Charles A. Zimmermann, bandmaster at the academy since 1887. In 1906 he composed the music for “Anchors Aweigh,” the Navy’s unofficial anthem.
On 5 June 1908 Lee and his classmates graduated, after four years of study, drills, training cruises, and a generally confined life within the walls of the Naval Academy. Of the 201 graduates, Lee stood a middling 106 and was among the youngest.
Lee, who did not finish high school, was also among the youngest admitted at just under sixteen years, two months.
According to the practice of the era, graduates of the Naval Academy were required to serve two years in the probationary category of “passed midshipmen.” The class of 1909 was the final one in that category. Starting in 1910, academy graduates became ensigns upon graduation, though still ranking in seniority behind the new ensigns who graduated in 1908 and 1909.
But in 1905, in authorizing the Idaho and her sister, Mississippi, Congress restricted the tonnage, making them less capable than their predecessors. Battleship historian Malcolm Muir wrote that the two sister ships “proved a perfect example of false economy in defense spending.
Brereton wrote, “Lee had what was probably an overloaded cartridge in his revolver. At any rate his piece blew apart which [sic] he was firing. He turned to the guy behind him, after throwing down his gun, and said: ‘Dan lend me your gun; I want to finish this string.’ He finished the string with his left hand (his other was injured) making all bulls-eyes!”
The competition for which the team was preparing was the annual meet of the New England Military Rifle Association, held at Wakefield, Massachusetts, in late July 1909.
The competition for which the team was preparing was the annual meet of the New England Military Rifle Association, held at Wakefield, Massachusetts, in late July 1909.
Obviously before Masshole-chusetts became an anti-gun cesspool.
Independence, a former warship originally commissioned in 1814 as a square-rigger. She was the U.S. Navy’s first ship of the line—that era’s equivalent of a battleship.
The approach was that anyone could learn to shoot well. One tip was, “Acquire accuracy before you try for speed.”
The approach was that anyone could learn to shoot well. One tip was, “Acquire accuracy before you try for speed.”
Or as the late great Ray Chapman used to say, “Smoothness is five-sixths of speed.”
On 6 June 1910, two years and one day after his graduation from the Naval Academy, Lee was commissioned as an ensign.
The New Orleans delivered Lee and Denney to Hankow, China, near current-day Wuhan,
The New Orleans delivered Lee and Denney to Hankow, China, near current-day Wuhan,
Oh the irony…
Lore had it that such extended tours made a man “Asiatic,” suggesting perhaps that he had slipped out of the mainstream and was inclined to behave oddly at times.
Lore had it that such extended tours made a man “Asiatic,” suggesting perhaps that he had slipped out of the mainstream and was inclined to behave oddly at times.
AKA “gone native?”
the New Hampshire, which was herself already obsolete. She had been commissioned in 1908 and had the dubious distinction of being the U.S. Navy’s last pre-dreadnought battleship.
In early 1910 the Navy had commissioned its first dreadnoughts, the South Carolina and Michigan,
He recalled a distinct line between officers and enlisted men but not a sense of resentment.
A privilege granted to those with less than a year to go was being able to walk athwartships, that is, from side to side.
crewmen played blackjack and shot craps. There was a written regulation against gambling, but “somehow the officers never seemed to come around at the right time to catch anyone.”
crewmen played blackjack and shot craps. There was a written regulation against gambling, but “somehow the officers never seemed to come around at the right time to catch anyone.”
Double-down!
The division officer was a lieutenant known as Dopey Shay. Egger did not recall the officer/enlisted divide as being so dramatic as Sweetman did. He wrote, “Lt. Shay evidently transferred to the ship after a tour of duty in China, and did not have that dignified attitude toward the enlisted men that officers did in those days. In fact, he hung out with the crew at every opportunity.”
Rear Admiral Frank Friday Fletcher
He had shot at many things, both animate and inanimate, in his life up to then. Now Mexican snipers were on the menu.
As Arthur Sweetman’s son Jack artfully put it years later in a book, Lee “went ahead, engaging in a competition in which there were no return matches.”
Earle wrote of the experience, “I remember having lunch with Chink aboard his ship in the Hudson River upon his return from the Mexican War and listening to his tales of picking Mexicans off the roof tops at Vera Cruz.” As the modest Lee said to him, “Oh, I guess I got a few of them.” The would-be snipers were silhouetted against a bright sky. “He said he drew a bead on a Mexican at perhaps eight hundred yards, pulled the trigger, and then watched as the man crumpled into the street below.”
As a capper, Anderson wrote, “Lieutenant Lee was in command of a company of sailors at the capture of Vera Cruz and I personally observed him kill with a rifle two snipers who were firing upon my command after the other men of his company had failed to stop them.”
Bureau of Navigation on 19 February 1918, after the nation had been at war since 6 April 1917, advised Lee that he had been appointed a lieutenant.
A letter of 19 April, this one from Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, notified Lee that he was temporarily appointed a lieutenant commander with a date of rank of 1 January 1918—a time when he was still wearing the uniform of a jaygee.
in East Moline, Illinois. It was a temporary geographical change that was to have a profound effect on the rest of his life. In 1918, at a party in Moline, he met an attractive young woman named Mabelle Allen.
In 1910 the company introduced a new engine with an intriguing name, the “Moline Dreadnaught.” Among the vehicles powered by the Dreadnaught was a luxury car, the Moline Knight.
Perhaps the farthest afield was a trip in the autumn of 1918 to Fort William, Ontario, Canada.
Perhaps the farthest afield was a trip in the autumn of 1918 to Fort William, Ontario, Canada.
Eh!
caught a ship to Queenstown, Ireland, which was then an active port for U.S. Navy ships.
was to be the U.S. naval base in Inverness, Scotland.
was to be the U.S. naval base in Inverness, Scotland.
ALBA GU BRATH! Loch Ness no less!
[Lee’s punctuation was sometimes on the casual side, especially his aversion to apostrophes.]
His name for her in future years was “Chub” or “Chubby,” though the weight he reported was unlikely to put her in that category.
His name for her in future years was “Chub” or “Chubby,” though the weight he reported was unlikely to put her in that category.
Aahh, the stuff guys could get away with back then!!
I cant get even by finding a good looking Dutch girl — there aint no such animal.
I cant get even by finding a good looking Dutch girl — there aint no such animal.
Ha! Afrikaner women on the other hand…
