William C. Asserson, captain, son of Rear Admiral Peter Christian Asserson, was born on August 21, 1875, in Portsmouth, Virginia. He entered the naval academy at Annapolis in 1893 and was graduated in 1897. In 1899 he was commissioned ensign and in 1901 he served in China in the Boxer uprising. In 1902 he was commissioned lieutenant, junior grade, and in 1904 he was promoted lieutenant. From 1907 to 1909 and from 1912 to 1915 he served as instructor in the United States Naval Academy. He was promoted lieutenant commander in 1910 and commander in 1916. During the World War he commanded the " Castine," and for some months before the Armistice he served as chief of staff to the commander of the United States Patrol Squadron in the Mediterranean Sea, in the vicinity of Gibraltar. He was given the temporary grade of captain in 1918 and was commissioned permanently as such in 1920.