Loyola University Maryland - Evergreen / Green and Gray Yearbook (Baltimore, MD)

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IGtPut. SnHpptj lEanlnn 3 E little thought when we published in our Annual of last year, the cheery, inspiring letters of Joe Hanlon, that we should have the sad duty of recording in this Annual the story of his death. Lieutenant Joseph T. Hanlon was killed in action, at about two o’clock, on the morning of July 31, 1918, “He was half soldier, half saint,” writes Major Doherty, Chap- lain. A coincidence then, it was, that the day of his death was the feast of the soldier-saint, Ignatius of Loyola, the patron of the college where Joe had spent eight years of training for his A.B. degree. Lieutenant Hanlon was born in Baltimore, on March 3, 1893. He entered the High School department of Loyola in the fall of 1904. Throughout his entire course, from the first year in High School to his last year in college, Joe’s name is to be found in the list of the distin- guished students of his class. In his Sophomore year, he received the “General Excellence Medal,” the highest honor in the College, awarded to the student who obtains the highest averages in studies, attendance and conduct. He completed his brilliant career at Loyola in 1912. He then took up the study of mechanical engineering at Columbia University, N. Y., graduating with highest honors in 1916. Some interesting stories are told of him while at Columbia. One of the students said to him : “Hanlon, where is this Loyola College, anyway?” Joe quickly retorted: “I’ll show you where it is before I get through here.” In class one day a professor, after finishing some demonstration, asked Joe what he thought of it. “It is all right, sir,” he answered, “onlj it could be done in half the time.” On being invited to show his own method, Joe proved the truth of his words and the professor magnanimously said to the class: “Gentlemen, follow Mr. Hanlon’s proof and do not bother about mine.” Joe was for two years President of the Columbia Chapter of Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity and its delegate at the San Francisco Con- vention in 1911. He was elected to both the Sigma Chi and Delta Tau Delta at Columbia, These are honorary engineering societies. An election to either is an honor; an election to botli is not usual. A letter to Joe’s ])arents from Mr. Walter E. Peck, Instructor in Columbia University, will help to show in what esteem he was held there : 13

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ever hoped to know. I ' d like to l)e able to tell you what he said, but I understand tliat mail is now being eensored, so why write for nothing? Xcvertlieless I don ' t sui)i)ose it would do any harm to say tliat the situ- ation is extremely serious. j| ' borrow or steal a eamera, get a picture of mamma and the governor and send them to me — not a eahinet photo but a snapshot. (To His Brother) : Paris, Feb. 5, 1918. Sorry to hear you are losing or wasting so much time on the questionnaire” business, whatever in the world that is. A man cer- tainly knows if he is between 21 and 30, and whether he has dependents. If I were doing the questioning I would look and see if a man was able to swing a gun, and I’d draft or reject him accordingly. What we need arc more men, less otliccrs and to throw out about 95% of the bureaus and then we might be able to fight. I shall get my commission when I go to Naval Headquarters at Lon- don, and be sworn in and thank God discharged as a “gob”. Fritz came over to visit us the other night and I didn’t wake up until the shock of the bomb that hit a block away, threw ' me out of bed. It sure did play havoc with the hotel it struck. Killed about 30 and tore otf three tloors, as clean as if they had been cut off by some monster razor. Scotland, Feb. 27, 1918. Arrived here yesterday and was dumped into quarters in some blooming duke’s castle. It certainly is a revelation to see how ' the Royal Flying Corps is run. If there is anything you do not understand, they go to the trouble of taking you up in a two-seater and explain wdiat you want to know. When I left Turnbery I was starting into a loop ten feet from the ground and thought nothing of it. Another great stunt was to play “chasing the fox.” One of the instructors, an American who has been with the British since the w ' ar started, and who w ' on the Victoria Cross twice, used to lead in this game. Once he came out of a cloud and flew ' , w ithout knowing it, into a s([uadron of ten Huns. He got six of them and the other four ran. He would take the fastest machine in the i)lacc and everyone wdio could get a machine would try to kcc]) uj) with him. He usually flew from six to ten feet from the ground and zoom over trees and houses. Believe me, it was the most exciting thing I have ever done. You had to be “on the job” or you w ' ould collide with some otber fool who had a faster or slower machine. Again the leader would go to five or six thousand feet and come dow n in a spin and all we ])oor amateurs wT)uld do the same. I thought I knew ' a little about flying until I came here, but I am slowly learning and 1 guess will toddle along if I get through here. ♦ j tQ Pq j ent out w ' ith an R. F. C. corps to get experience. The percentage is 85 to 1 for coming back. 12

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LIEUTENANT JOSEPH HANLON 14