This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Daniel L Arnes, CMDCM
to remember
Hatcliff, Earl Richard, PO1.
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Contact Info
Last Address Coupeville, Washington
Date of Passing Oct 11, 2010
Location of Interment Maple Leaf Cemetery - Oak Harbor, Washington
Earl Richard Hatcliff
December 6, 1936 - October 11, 2010
Born: December 6, 1936
Place of Birth: Independence, Kansas
Death: October 11, 2010
Place of Death: Coupeville, Washington
Earl Richard Hatcliff, 73, went home to be with the Lord on October 11, 2010 after a short illness. He was born to Ralph and Hattie (Bruch) Hatcliff in Independence, Kansas, and was raised in the community of Big Cove, Cherokee, North Carolina. After high school, Earl enlisted in the US Navy where he served as an aircraft mechanic. He was awarded a Gallantry Cross with Palm and a Presidential Unit Citation for his service in Vietnam. Earl Retired from the US Navy after 20 years of service and then worked as the night supervisor at the Norwester Club on NAS Whidbey Island.
Earl loved the Navy and his country. He regularly attended the HA(L) 3 Seawolf Association reunions. He loved many things: fishing, crabbing, camping, wild life, talking to people and reading westerns. Earl loved his family, his friends and God. He always enjoyed bringing a smile to people. He will be missed by all who loved him and knew him.
Earl is survived by his wife Lydia and daughter, Trisha, son, E. Richard Hatcliff II, one brother, Winston Hatcliff, and six stepdaughters. There are many grandchildren, two great grand children and nieces and nephews.
Funeral Services were held on Thursday, October 14, 2010 at 2PM at Burley Funeral Chapel. Burial with Military honors followed at Maple Leaf Cemetery.
Other Comments:
Earl did four (4) consecutive tours with HA)L)-3 in Vietnam and was on the last flights out of Binh Thuy when HA(L)-3 was disestablished on 16 March 1972.
Description This Campaign period was from 1 May to 30 June 1970. The allied push into Cambodia during the spring of 1970 brought the SEALORDS forces into a unique operational environment. At 0730 local time on 9 May, 10 days after ground troops crossed the border, a combined Vietnamese-American naval task force steamed up the Mekong River to wrest control of that key waterway from North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces.
The flotilla, led by a Vietnamese naval officer, was composed of American PCFs, ASPBs, PBRs, HAL-3 and VAL-4 aircraft, Benewah, Askari, Hunterdon County, YRBM 16, YRBM 21 and 10 strike assault boats (STAB) of Strike Assault Boat Squadron 20, a fast-reaction unit created by Admiral Zumwalt in 1969. The Vietnamese contingent included riverine assault craft of many types, PCFs, PBRs, and marine battalions.
Naval Advisory Group personnel sailed with each Vietnamese vessel. By the end of the first day, Vietnamese naval units reached the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, while to the south the combined force stormed enemy-held Neak Luong, a strategic ferry crossing point on the river. For political reasons, no U.S. personnel were allowed past Neak Luong, midway to Phnom Penh.
Although the American component pulled out of Cambodia by 29 June, the Vietnamese continued to guard the Mekong and evacuate to South Vietnam over 82,000 ethnic Vietnamese jeopardized by the conflict.
