Allan Christie Edmands I

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Birth of Allan Christie Edmands I
Born: 10 June 1911
Birthplace: Cliftondale, Saugus, Essex County, Massachusetts
Parents
Father: Ernest Carl Edmands, 1884-1928 (our ancestor), from Saugus, Essex County, Massachusetts
Mother: Mary Caroline Findley, 1887-1970 (our ancestor), from Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts
Siblings
Sister: (Ethel) Jean Edmands, b. 1909
Brother: Ernest John Edmands, 1917-1996
Sister: Frances Caroline Edmands
born 22 May 1919, Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts
died 24 May 1919, Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts
Spouse and children
Wife: Mary Anna Hawes, 1917-1992
(daughter of Frederick Wilson Hawes and Anna Martha Franz Hawes]
from Centralia, Lewis County, Washington)
Married 21 June 1937
in San Diego, San Diego County, California
Daughter: (Mary) Christine Edmands, b. 1938
Son: Allan Christie Edmands II, b. 1942
Daughter: Anna Jane "Janna" Edmands Hawes, b. 1944
Other information
Occupation: Aviator in the U.S. Navy
Religion: Episcopalean
Death of Allan Christie Edmands I
Died: 19 March 1945
(from combat in World War II)
(age 33 years 9 months 8 days)
(See the password-protected narrative "What happened to Ace on that day?")
Deathplace: Very near Japan, just east of Kyushu and south of Shikoku(1) Lt. Wallace Young stated that the official position of the Franklin from the ship's log at the memorial museum in Washington, DC, was 132° magnetic from Ashizuri Point on Shikoku Island at 59.5 miles and at 192° magnetic from Murotozaki Point on Kyushu Island at 72.5 miles--which was, according to Young, exactly 32°04' N and 133°52.5' E [official sources, however, have the coordinates as 32°01' N and 133°57' E]. The course was 070°, speed 24 knots.
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Burial place: At sea, off the aircraft carrier USS Franklin (CV13)
Allan's mother, Mary Caroline Findley Edmands, installed a gravestone in the Spring Grove Cemetery, Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts
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Sources on Allan Christie Edmands I:

  • Ethel Jean Edmands Weeks, b. 1909 in an interview with Allan Christie Edmands II, b. 1942
  • The diaries (1936-1970) and several of the letters of Ace's mother, Mary Caroline Findley Edmands, 1887-1970, which are now in the possession of Ace's son, Allan Christie Edmands II, b. 1942.
  • A compilation of letters written by Ethel Jean Weeks and Mary Caroline Findley Edmands, assembled with pictures by Christine Barrett in 1985.
  • Yearbooks, such as the Punchard High School Class Book (1929), the Annapolis Class of 1935 Lucky Bag yearbook, and the 20-Year Rendez-vous Lucky Bag 1935 (published in 1955).
  • Our Baby Book Step by Step: The First Six Years, designed by Janet Laura Scott (Whitman Publishing, 1938), with facts filled in by Mary Anna Hawes Edmands for her son, Allan Christie Edmands II, b. 1942 (me).
  • For the facts of Ace's death, I am very much indebted to Franklin survivor Jim Stuart. Although he did not know Ace, he helped me track down people who did know him--including VT5 ordnance gunners Edward McGuckin, Jack Hensel, Marion Gray, and Thomas Hagan--whose stories cleared up the mysteries around the events of 19 March 1945. A summary of my findings from interviewing these sources is at Squadron, which is the last part of a larger narrative (which is password-protected) that describes the effects that unanswered questions have on family members: "What happened to Ace on that day?" Jim Stuart also sponsored my entrance into the Franklin Association and ensured that Ace was listed with the Navy Memorial Foundation's Navy Log and that he posthumously received the Combat Action Award for Naval World War II veterans. Mr. Stuart also had a flag flown over the U.S. Capitol in honor of Ace and then sent the flag to me. For a description of Mr. Stuart's own experiences on 19 March 1945, see "Saving Seaman Stuart," written by his younger brother.
  • Books covering the Franklin disaster include:
    • Inferno: The Epic Life and Death Struggle of the USS Franklin in World War II by Joseph A. Springer (St. Paul, MN: MBI Publishing Company / Zenith Press, 2007)
    • Saving Big Ben, A Historical Novel: The Saga of the USS Franklin (CV13), the Most Decorated Ship in Naval History by Peter J. Prato (1st Books Library, 2001)
    • Lucky Lady: The World War II Heroics of the USS Santa Fe and Franklin by Steve Jackson (New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2003)
    • USS Franklin (CV-13): The Ship That Wouldn't Die by James R. Nilo and Robert St. Peters, eds. (Paducah, KY: Turner Publishing Co., 1989, 1996)
    • The Franklin Comes Home by A. A. Hoehling (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, Bluejacket Books, 1974)
    • I Was Chaplain on the Franklin by Father Joseph T. O'Callahan (New York: The Macmillan Co., 1956)
    • Big Ben the Flat Top: The Story of the USS Franklin by Lt. Marvin K. Bowman, USN (Atlanta, GA: Albert Love Enterprises, 1946)
  • Two Web sites cover the events of the Franklin disaster:
  • An excellent video is The Ship That Wouldn't Die, produced by Robert L. Garthwaite (Phoenix, AZ: Timberline Productions, Inc., 1988).
  • General information on the Torpcats is at VA-55 Warhorse.
  • Background links on the Pacific theater of World War II is at Pacific links.
  • You can get a background on Ace's plane in TBF & TBM Avenger by Bert Kinzey (Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications, Detail and Scale Aviation Series, 1997).
  • For what it was like to lose a father, see the password-protected narrative "What happened to Ace on that day?" For other perspectives of children growing up without a father, see American World War II Orphans Network and Dad's War: Finding and Telling Your Father's World War II Story by Wesley Johnston.

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