Lt. George von Lengerke Meyer III

George von Lengerke Meyer III enlisted in the United States Navy on 5 July 1940 and was promoted to Lt.(jg). He was assigned to the USS Barton (DD-599) which was commissioned on 29 May 1942.

On 13 November 1942, he was killed in action when the USS Barton was sunk by the Japanese destroyer Amatsukaze during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Battle_of_Guadalcanal

The forward section of the wreck of the Barton was discovered in 1992 by Robert Ballard, with only the hull section and superstructure ahead of the boiler room found intact. To date the stern section of the Barton has not been located.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Barton_%28DD-599%29

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Lieutenant George von Lengerke Meyer III was born in Hamilton, Massachusetts, July 22, 1916. He attended Hewins School in Dedham and the Aiken Preparatory School before entering Belmont Hill School in 1927. George was at Belmont Hill from 1927 to 1934 graduating with a Summa Cum Laude diploma. While at School, George won many honors. He played prominent parts in all of the dramatic shows. He was an editor of the Sextant for three years. He won medals for high scholastic standing in three different years and was elected to the National Cum Laude Society. He won his School letter in football and baseball. George graduated Cum Laude from Harvard in 1938. He attended Harvard Law School, became a Navy midshipman in 1941, studied at Northwestern University and later was commissioned an Ensign.

He was a member of the 150-pound crew while at Harvard and captained it during his senior year. Also he was a member of the Jubilee Committee, Union Library Committee, Hasty Pudding – Institute of 1770, Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, Signet Society and the A. D. Club. He was treasurer of his class as a senior.

Geor ge’s war record was outstanding. After accepting his commission as Ensign on September 12, 1941, he was ordered to duty first at the First Naval District, then to Naval Operations in Washington, D. C., and then to the U.S.S. Barton, when it was placed in commission on March 10, 1942. George was promoted to Lieutenant (junior grade) on October 1, 1942. In the Third Battle of Savo Island, in the early morning of November 13, 1942, the Barton was seen to “blow up” in a sheet of flame, presumably having been struck by shell fire and a torpedo hit. In January, 1944, George’s family was notified that he had been officially killed in action.

Geor ge was one of those rare people who had worlds of friends and lived only to see if in some way he could make their lives fuller and more happy. It was in pursuit of this principle that he gave up all thought of practicing law and left for training with the Navy on completion of law school six months before Pearl Harbor. Everything about war and military training were counter to George’s way of thinking but because he felt so strongly about what we all had to lose if the Axis won, he accepted the challenge.