Walter E. Reno was (3 October 1881 – 1917) was an officer in the United States Navy. He died while on convoy duty in World War I, when his ship was accidentally rammed by a British vessel.
Born in Davis County, Iowa, Reno entered the Naval Academy in 1901 and graduated in 1905. While a junior officer, Reno served primarily in battleships. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in 1910 and during the next four years was stationed in the battleships New Jersey and Wisconsin. From early 1914 until early 1916 he was Officer in Charge at the Chicago, Illinois, Navy Recruiting Station. Lieutenant Reno then went out to the Philippines, where he took command of the destroyer Chauncey (DD-3). In the Summer of 1917, after United States had entered World War I, Reno brought his ship from the Far East to the European war zone. While on convoy escort duty west of Gibraltar during the night of 19 November 1917, Chauncey was rammed by British merchantman Rose and sank, taking with her Lieutenant Commander Reno and twenty of his ship's officers and men. The first USS Reno (DD-303) was named in honor of him. This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
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This article includes information collected from the Naval Historical Center, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. |
