Lewis Hancock, Jr

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 the first public golf course, which today remains as the nine-hole Hancock Golf Course in central Austin. [1]

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. [2] 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.