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Contact Info
Home Town Rice Lake, Wisc.
Last Address Weems, VA Interment in Arlington National Cemetery Arlington; however, he also has a marker at: Campbell Memorial Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Weems in Lancaster County, Virginia.
Date of Passing May 24, 2009
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
Vice Admiral Richard C. "Sweetpea" Allen, United States Navy (Retired), 69, of Weems, VA transferred to eternal life on May 24, 2009. A native of Wisconsin, he entered naval service in 1959 as a Naval Aviation Cadet (NAVCAD). He served as a carrier based A4 Skyhawk and A6 Intruder jet pilot until 1971 when deteriorating eyesight forced re-designation as a Naval Flight Officer and transition to bombardier navigator in the Intruder. He saw Vietnam combat service in 67/68, served in 5 aviation squadrons, several staff assignments, and six commands including: VA-85; Carrier Air Wing Six (CVW-6); USS Detroit (AOE-4); USS America (CV-66); Carrier Group Six (CCG-6); and Naval Air Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet. He was the first Naval Flight Officer to serve as a Carrier Air Wing Commander.
During operational assignments, he participated in a number of crisis responses and combat operations. They included the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962), the Vietnam War (1967-68), Cyprus Conflict (1973), Libya Gulf of Sidra Operations (1981), Lebanon operations (1983), Libya combat operations (1986), and Caribbean counter drug operations (1990).
Awards included the Distinguished Service Medal (x2), Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (x3), Distinguished Flying Cross (x2), Defense Meritorious Service Medal (x2), Air Medal (2 individual and seven strike flight awards), Joint Service Commendation Medal, Navy Commendation Medal with Combat V, Navy Achievement Medal with Combat V, National Defense Medal, Armed Forced Expeditionary Medal, Vietnamese Service Medal with 3 bronze stars, and several other campaign and unit awards.
He worked in the corporate world until 1998, was President of the Association of Naval Aviation until 2001, then worked as a private consultant for companies supporting Department of Defense programs. Moving to Northern Neck in 1998, he was President of the Northern Neck Military Officers Association of America (NNMOAA) in 05-06. He was an elder at Campbell Memorial Presbyterian Church in Weems, Va.
He attended Stout State College in Wisconsin for two years prior to joining the Navy, received a BS degree in Engineering Science from Naval Postgraduate School in 1971, and had graduate study in Computer Systems Management. He was also a graduate of Flag Officer Capstone training at National Defense University.
He is survived by his wife Peggy (mn: Margaret Fricks Hall of Marietta, GA) of 45 years of Weems; daughter Laura Hall of Weems; sisters Barbara Frey and husband Ernie of San Bernardino, Cal.; Kathy May of San Bernardino, Cal.; Marilyn Jackson of Highland, Cal.; and brothers Everett Allen Jr. of Phoenix, Arizona; and Robert Allen and wife Temmi of Coon Rapids, Minn.
A service of celebration was held 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 27 at Campbell Memorial Presbyterian Church with Rev. W. Clay Macaulay officiating. Funeral services will be held 1:00 p.m. Wednesday, September 9 at Fort Myers Chapel with interment in Arlington National Cemetery Arlington with Full Military Honors.
There is also a Family Grave Marker at Campbell Memorial Presbyterian Church Cemetery, at Weems in Lancaster County, Virginia.
Vietnam War/Counteroffensive Phase IV Campaign (68)
From Month/Year
April / 1968
To Month/Year
June / 1968
Description This Campaign period was from 2 April to 30 June 1968. The Naval air and gun fire support to operations such as Operation Silver Mace gave ground units the needed firepower while AirForce units were moved to air operations over Laos, Cambodia and North Vietnam. From 7 to 18 April, ground, air, and naval units from each of the American services, the Vietnamese Navy, and the Vietnamese Marine Corps conducted Silver Mace II, a strike operation in the Nam Can Forest on Ca Mau Peninsula. The enemy avoided heavy contact with the allied force, but his logistical system was disrupted.
Enemy air defenses caused aviators more concern for by 1968 the Communists had developed a defensive system that was well-armed, coordinated, and supported. On the ground throughout North Vietnam, South Vietnam, and Laos, the enemy trained skyward thousands of small arms, automatic weapons, and antiaircraft artillery. North Vietnam alone contained 8,000 weapons of many calibers, concentrated around key targets. Beginning in early 1965, surface-to-air missiles (SAM) were added to this defensive arsenal, and by early 1968 over 300 SAM sites dotted the North Vietnamese countryside. The entire defensive system was tied together with a sophisticated network of communications, air alert stations, and early warning, ground control-interceptor, and fire control radars. New and replacement weapons and ammunition were amply supplied by sympathetic Communist countries. The loss in Southeast Asia of 421 fixed-wing aircraft from 1965 to 1968 attested to the strength of these defenses. The aviators killed, missing, or made prisoner totaled 450. The operating environment was especially dangerous in North Vietnam, where 382 Navy planes were shot down, 58 of them by SAMs.
Although only accounting for eight of the Navy's aircraft during this three-year period, the North Vietnamese air units posed a constant threat to U.S. operations, thus requiring a diversion of vital resources for protection. The enemy air force varied from 25 to 100 MiG-15, MiG-17, MiG-19, and MiG-21 jet fighters. The country's jet-capable airfields included Gia Lam, Phuc Yen, Cat Bi, Kep, Kien An, Yen Bai, Son Tay, Bai Thuong, Hoa Lac, and Vinh. The U.S. Navy engaged in its first air-to-air encounter of the war on 3 April 1965, when several MiG-15s unsuccessfully attacked a flight of F-8 Crusaders near Thanh Hoa. On 17 June, two Midway F-4 Phantoms registered the first kills in the long conflict when they downed two MiG-17s south of Hanoi.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
April / 1968
To Month/Year
June / 1968
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
Memories During operational assignments, he participated in a number of crisis responses and combat operations. They included the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962), the Vietnam War (1967-68), Cyprus Conflict (1973), Libya Gulf of Sidra Operations (1981), Lebanon operations (1983), Libya combat operations (1986), and Caribbean counter drug operations (1990).
