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Contact Info
Home Town Boston
Last Address Anne Arundel Medical Center
Date of Passing Dec 03, 2013
Location of Interment U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery and Columbarium (VLM) - Annapolis, Maryland
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while interned as a Prisoner of War in North Vietnam. In September 1969, his captors, completely ignoring international agreements, subjected him to extreme mental and physical cruelties in an attempt to obtain military information and false confessions for propaganda purposes. Through his resistance to those brutalities, he contributed significantly toward the eventual abandonment of harsh treatment by the North Vietnamese, which was attracting international attention. By his determination, courage, resourcefulness, and devotion to duty, he reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Naval Service and the United States Armed Forces.
In September 1965, the Black Panthers received their first Grumman A-6A Intruder, an aircraft that was destined to become the workhorse during the Vietnam conflict. With its highly sophisticated ground-mapping radar and computerized weapons systems, the A-6 was able to deliver its ordnance against significant North Vietnamese targets in all weather conditions. VA-35 aircrews saw action on four Western Pacific combat deployments during the years 1966 through January 1973, when VA-35 participated in the last air strike in South Vietnam, attacking North Vietnamese forces near the DMZ. In 1968, while deployed onboard USS ENTERPRISE (CVN 65) enroute to the Gulf of Tonkin VA-35 and her air group responded to the PUEBLO crisis in the Sea of Japan.
In 1980, the Black Panthers became the first operational A-6 squadron to deploy with the forward looking infrared receiver and laser equipped A-6E TRAM aircraft. Responding to the hostage crisis in Iran, the squadron left the Mediterranean for the Indian Ocean onboard USS NIMITZ (CVN-68) in January 1980 where it spent 144 continuous days at sea.
The Black Panthers concluded a highly successful Mediterranean deployment in 1987 and ended a 12-year association with USS NIMITZ (CVN 68). In 1989, the Navy’s oldest Attack Squadron joined the Navy’s newest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN 71), for its maiden Mediterranean deployment. Also in 1989 theBlack Panthers began the real-world employment of the latest night attack technology: Night Vision Devices. Used in conjunction with the A-6E SWIP’s already impressive night attack capabilities, the NVDs allowed unprecedented stealth and tactical maneuverability.
In August 1990 the squadron deployed once more for what promised to be a relatively easy summer Med cruise. Operation Desert Shield/Storm put an end to that idea quickly. The men of VA-35 would set many Navy firsts before their eight month combat cruise ended. Flying from the deck of USS SARATOGA (CV 60), the squadron was the first Navy squadron to drop bombs on Iraqi targets, the first to use Night Vision Devices in combat (over 300 combat hours with NVDs), and the first fleet squadron to drop high altitude Rockeyes, Gators, and DSTs (destructors) on Iraqi targets. Additionally, the Black Panthersflew nearly 400 strike sorties (all over 5 hours duration) and expended over 1.7 million pounds of ordnance.