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Photo # NH 48684:  Midshipman Stanton F. Kalk, USN.  Photographed circa 1916

Online Library of Selected Images:
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Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Stanton F. Kalk, USN (1894-1917)

Stanton Frederick Kalk was born in Alabama on 14 October 1894. He received his higher education at the U.S. Naval Academy, from which he graduated in 1916. Service in the battleship Florida followed. In September 1917 he was assigned to the destroyer Jacob Jones, which was then performing convoy escort duties as part of the Anglo-American effort to control the serious threat of German U-boats. On 6 December 1917, Kalk was officer-of-the-deck when his ship was torpedoed by the submarine U-53. After Jacob Jones sank, he exhibited "extraordinary heroism" while helping move survivors among life rafts in an effort to equalize their loads. As a result of his exertions in the chilly water of the North Atlantic, Lt(JG) Kalk died from exhaustion and exposure. He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Medal.

The Navy has named two destroyers in honor of Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Kalk: USS Kalk (Destroyer # 170, later DD-170), 1919-1940; and USS Kalk (DD-611), 1942-1969.

This page features the only views we have related to Stanton F. Kalk.


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Photo #: NH 48684

Midshipman Stanton F. Kalk, USN
(1894-1917)

Photographed circa 1916, the year he graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy.
USS Kalk (Destroyer # 170) was named in his honor.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 75KB; 550 x 765 pixels

 
Photo #: NH 86495

Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Stanton F. Kalk, USN


Painting by F. Luis Mora, depicting Lt(JG) Kalk assisting survivors of USS Jacob Jones (Destroyer # 61) after she was sunk by the German submarine U-53 off the Scilly Isles on 6 December 1917.
A plaque accompanying this painting read: "The Jacob Jones was sunk by an enemy torpedo between Brest and Queenstown. Lieutenant (jg) S.F. Kalk rendered conspicuous and gallant services after the ship sank by helping men from one raft to another so as to equalize the weight on the rafts. He died of exposure and exhaustion in order to save others. Lieutenant (jg) Kalk was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal posthumously."

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 75KB; 740 x 505 pixels

 


If you want higher resolution reproductions than the "Online Library's" digital images, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."


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Page made 21 September 2002