Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1910-09-03
HAD TWO COMMISSIONS
Unique Position OF Former Mid
shipman Douglas c. GOdi-
ner, U. :. N.
IN ARMY AND NAVY TOO
Now Lieut.. In The Army-Bnt For One
Hour Was In Both Navy And Army

Everybody in Annapolis knows. or
knows of, Midshipman Codiner, United
States Navy, who is now Lieutenant
Codiner, United States Army. 1t
was he who was thought to be one of
the victims of the W., B. & A. acci-
dent two years ago, when a man re-
sembling him was killed and lay for
identification in the undertaker's es-
tablishment here, and a young wo-
man, supposed to be his bride, (for
Mr.. Codiner was married that day,
June 5, 190S,) lay dead not far away.
1t took some time to establish the
identity of the corpses, and during
that time to locate Mr.. Codiner,
who is again in the public eye and
mind.
'Midshipman Dou ylas C. Cordiner,
U. S. NJ, Second Lieutenant Coast
Artillery Corps, U. S. A. is the
manner in which Mr.. Codiner might
have signe himself yesterday during
one brief hour he had the dis inction
of being the only man who o1er held
a commission in both the Army and
Navy at the same time. At the end
of that hour his navy commiss ION ha
expired, and now he is a second lieu
tenant in the Coast Artillery.
Mr.. Codiner has other distinctions
unusual to officers of the navy. He
was appointed to the Naval Academy
from Wyoming June 9, 1904, a Il
graduated in June, 1908, we'll up in his
class. He was engaged to Miss Lips
comb, daughter of Captain Lipscomb,
of Washington, who died recently.
AS the naval regulations prohibit
midshipmen from marrying without
the permission of the Secretary of
the Navy,h rendered his resignation,
with the view to taking his bride
and gaining a commission in the
Coast Artillery. Several other mid
shipmen had been allowed to resign in
order to go into the army, and Secre-
tary Metcalf thought it time to call
halt.
Cordiner explained that he was anx-
ious to be married, whereupon Victor
H. Metcalf, then Secretary of the
Navy, who was married once himself,
consented to his marriage, with the
understanding that his application
for resignation be withdrawn. Mr..
Metcalf explained that if Cordiner
wished to resign at the expiration of
his two-years cruise it would then be
acceptable. The marriage occurred,
and Cordiner was shipped off to San
Francisco to join the battleship fleet
on its cruise around the world.
Shortly after his return he was trans
ferred to the battleship Mississippi,
and his two-years cruise as midship-
man expired June 20.
The naval idea is that until man
reaches the grade of ensign his salary
will not permit him to maintain a
home and a wife, and Furthermore.
os his two years after graduation are
spent at sea, he will absent from his
wife during the honeymoon, and this
is apt to lessen his enthusiasm i'm his
naval work. Possibly it did in Cor
diners case, for he was one of those
who failed to make his ensign's grade
last spring. He was given another
chance for examination, but recently
he took advantage of the promise held
out by the former secretary and ten
uSIeSu MS resignation LUZ the SeCOHu
time. He found the Coast Artillery
ready to receive him with ssopen arms.
Upon being informed his resigna-
tion would be acceptable he was per-
mitted to go to Washington to take
the phys ical examination for en-
trance to the army. This he passed,
and yesterday afternoon his commits
sion was handed him by the War De-
partment officials. Then he called at
the Navy Department, where he re-
ceived the letter of Acting Secretary
Winthrop accepting his resignation.
He said farewell to the navy with
feeling of regret but went across the
hall and cast his lot with the army
in the hope of successful career in
that branch of the service.