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Contact Info
Home Town Santa Barbara, CA
Last Address Sept. 21, 1928 Santa Barbara, CA Sept. 14, 2009 Escondido, CA
Date of Passing Sep 14, 2009
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Carl R. PENDELL
Commander, USN Ret. Korean and Viet-Nam War Battle Streamers
Commander Carl R. PENDELL USN Ret. Sept. 21, 1928 Santa Barbara, CA - Sept. 14, 2009 Escondido, CA Son of Alva S. and Hazel Pendell, raised in Whittier, California, Commander PENDELL attended the University of California at Los Angeles under the NROTC program and was graduated and commissioned in 1951. His first assignment was aboard the USS Hopewell (DD681), making two deployments to Korea.
In December 1952 Commander PENDELL was assigned to flight training and was designated a Naval Aviator on December 22, 1953. His first squadron assignment was VP-22 home ported in Hawaii. His next squadron was VP-4 home ported at NAF Naha, Okinawa flying P2V-5F Neptunes 1957-1959. Commander PENDELL participated in Taiwan Straits patrols.
Commander PENDELL served as a flight instructor and head of ground school for multi-engine training group at NAF Milton, Florida from 1959 to 1962 until his transfer to USS Valcour (AVP-55). As Navigator and Air Officer, he participated in two deployments to the Persian Gulf involving three transits of the Suez Canal.
In July 1964 until May 1966 he was assigned to Commander in Chief Atlantic Fleet Staff where he held down the airdesk in Current Operations until transferred to NAS Sangley Point, Republic of Philippines. While on this assignment, he flew logistic flights in support of Navy units in Vietnam.
In June 1968 he was transferred to Staff of Commander Fleet Air Mediterranean at Naples, Italy and served as Operations Officer until July 1971 when he reported to Naval Aerospace Recovery Facility, El Centro, California, as Executive Officer.
Commander PENDELL reported to Fleet Aviation Specialized Operational Training Group, Pacific Fleet on 19 August 1974 and served as the Executive Officer.
Commander PENDELL retired July 1, 1977.
Commander Carl R. PENDELL has been awarded the Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Unit Commendation, Vietnam Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device (1960), Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, National Defense Service Medal, China Service Medal, Korean Service Medal, and the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation.
Following his Naval Service, Commander PENDELL attended Southwestern Law School and became an Attorney in San Diego, California. He was a member of Theta Xi Fraternity, a Lt. Colonel in the US Air Force Civil Air Patrol and a member of the Stoneridge Country Club. His favorite pastimes were flying, sailing, boating, golfing and hunting.
Korean War/Second Korean Winter (1951-52)
From Month/Year
November / 1951
To Month/Year
April / 1952
Description As 1951 drew to a close, a lull had settled over the battlefield. Fighting tapered off to a routine of patrol clashes, raids, and bitter small-unit struggles for key outpost positions. The lull resulted from Ridgway's decision to halt offensive operations in Korea, because the cost of major assaults on the enemy's defenses would be more than the results could justify. Furthermore, the possibility of an armistice agreement emerging from the recently reopened talks ruled out the mounting of any large-scale offensive by either side. On 21 November Ridgway ordered the Eighth Army to cease offensive operations and begin an active defense of its front. Attacks were limited to those necessary to strengthen the main line of resistance and to establish an adequate outpost line.
In the third week of December the U.S. 45th Division, the first National Guard division to fight in Korea, replaced the 1st Cavalry Division in the I Corps sector north of Seoul. The 1st Cavalry Division returned to Japan.
In the air, U.N. bombers and fighter-bombers continued the interdiction campaign (Operation STRANGLE, which the Far East Air Forces had begun on 15 August 1951) against railroad tracks, bridges, and highway traffic. At sea, naval units of nine nations tightened their blockade around the coastline of North Korea. Carrier-based planes blasted railroads, bridges, and boxcars, and destroyers bombarded enemy gun emplacements and supply depots. On the ground, the 155-mile front remained generally quiet in the opening days of 1952. Later in January the Eighth Army opened a month-long artillery-air campaign against enemy positions, which forced the enemy to dig in deeply. During March and April Van Fleet shifted his units along the front to give the ROK Army a greater share in defending the battle line and to concentrate American fire power in the vulnerable western sector.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
November / 1951
To Month/Year
April / 1952
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
Memories His first assignment was aboard the USS Hopewell (DD681), making two deployments to Korea. In December 1952 Commander PENDELL was assigned to flight training and was designated a Naval Aviator on December 22, 1953. His first squadron assignment was VP-22 home ported in Hawaii.
