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Lewis Hancock Jr.

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 2600:1700:100:3bb0:c430:54c9:1bc7:33a8 (talk) at 00:54, 22 January 2021 (removed factually incorrect information about the golf course which is also only tangentially related to the main article (it was not the "first golf course" and was substantially altered in the 1970s)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Lewis Hancock Jr.
Born(1889-10-15)October 15, 1889
Austin, Texas
DiedSeptember 3, 1925(1925-09-03) (aged 35)
Caldwell, Ohio
Buried
Arlington National Cemetery
AllegianceAmerican
Service/branchNavy
RankNaval Aviator
CommandsSloat
AwardsNavy Cross
Spouse(s)Joy Bright Hancock
RelationsLewis Hancock

Lewis Hancock Jr. (October 15, 1889 – September 3, 1925) served in the United States Navy during World War I as a submariner. He later became a naval aviator. His father, Lewis Hancock, was a prominent banker and served as the mayor of Austin, Texas from 1895 to 1897 while also creating a public golf course.

Lewis Hancock Jr. was born on October 15, 1889 in Austin, Texas. He was appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy from that state in 1906 and graduated in June 1910. He served in the battleship Vermont (BB-20) before being commissioned as an Ensign in March 1912, then underwent submarine instruction and served in the new submarine G-1. In 1913–1915 Ensign Hancock commanded the submarine C-2. Promoted to Lieutenant (Junior Grade) in 1915, he was Commanding Officer of the submarine L-4 in 1916–1918, receiving the Navy Cross for "distinguished service" in her during World War I combat operations against German U-boats. Later in 1918 Lieutenant Commander Hancock was Captain of another submarine, L-7. He also had wartime and post-war tours as a machinery inspector.

During the first years of the 1920s, Hancock served in the battleships Georgia (BB-15) and Wyoming (BB-32), commanded the destroyer Sloat (DD-316) and had shore duty with the Navy Department and the Department of Commerce.

Assigned to airship duty in 1922, he was designated a Naval Aviator in 1924, while serving with the dirigible Shenandoah (ZR-1). Lieutenant Commander Hancock was the airship's Executive Officer when she crashed near Caldwell, Ohio on September 3, 1925, and lost his life in that tragic accident. He was buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery. [1] His widow, Joy Bright Hancock, a long-time employee of the Bureau of Aeronautics, became one of the Navy's first women officers in 1942 and, as a Captain, was Director of the WAVES 1946–1953.

Namesake

In 1943, the destroyer USS Lewis Hancock (DD-675) was named in honor of Lieutenant Commander Hancock.

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