Arthur Edward Loeser (born 17 April 1903, in Rahway, New Jersey); appointed to the United States Naval Academy on 15 August 1923; and commissioned ensign on 2 June 1927. After serving from 1927–29 in the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga (CV-3), from 1929–32 in the destroyer Hopkins (DD-249), in the cruiser Rochester (CA-2) in 1932, in the gunboat Asheville (PG-21) in 1933, and in Chicago (CA-29) in 1934, Loeser completed two years of postgraduate work at the Naval Academy. Two years in the battleship Mississippi (BB-41) were followed by two in Sampson (DD-394) as engineering officer. From June 1940 to August 1941 he served with Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Bath, Maine.