William B. Thomas
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
NOVEMBER 2017 HONOREES (Listed in Alphabetical Order by Last Name) Alfred J. Allega George H. W. Bush Louis de Beer M. Spence Dry James W. Hardy Francis R. Kaine Peter L. Litrenta James C. Lonnon Richard “Dick” Lyon Hoyt D. Mann Edmund J. Mansueto Philip “Moki” Martin Richard R. Pratt William H. “Buck” Rogers Elliot Schubert Carl E. Swepston William B. Thomas Alfred J. Allega _____ Written by Bunni Allega Colonel Alfred “Fred” Allega (USMC retired) had long, distinguished military and private industry careers. After receiving his wings in 1962 in Pensacola, Florida, he served two combat tours (1963-64 / 1967-68) as a helicopter pilot in the Republic of Vietnam, earning two Distinguished Flying Crosses, two Single Mission Air Medals, and 25 Air Medals. After Vietnam, Colonel Allega served in the aviation department at Headquarters US Marine Corps. As Director, Aviation Program Requirements, he contributed to advancing the organizational strategy and investment decision making process to increase funding for Marine Corps aviation programs. Additionally, he served as aircraft commander for Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. In 1981, he was selected as the Marine Corps “Aviator of the Year” receiving the prestigious Alfred A. Cunningham Award. Simultaneously, his squadron HMM-163, was awarded “Squadron of the Year.” Following his command of Marine Aircraft Group 16, Colonel Allega retired from the Marine Corps in 1990 accumulating nearly 4,300 flight hours in 15 different types of aircraft in the following squadrons: VT-2, HMM-361, HMM-265, HMM-262, HMX-1 (Marine One), HMM-165, and HMM-163. In his second career (1990-2006), Fred had responsibility for six fixed base operations in California and Nevada with Mercury Air Group where he oversaw commercial and corporate aircraft maintenance. In 2007, he and his wife Bunni, moved to their dream city of Coronado where he has continued to serve on the Flying Leatherneck Historical Foundation’s board providing strategic and financial oversight supporting efforts to preserve USMC aviation history. He holds a B.A. in psychology, M.A. in education, and graduated from The National War College. Fred and Bunni have two sons: Philip, wife Ann, grandson Austin, who live in London, and Lance, wife Anna, grandsons Noah and Adam, who live in Maryland. George H. W. Bush _____ Written by Don Hubbard When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, on December 7, 1941, the population of the United States of America underwent a fundamental change. Gone were the old isolationist ways, to be replaced by a new patriotic and driving zeal. George H. W. Bush was no exception. He was in his senior year of high school and his family was planning for him to go to college, but now a war was on and the 18-year-old Bush saw it as his duty to enlist in the service and defend his country. He was accepted into the Naval Aviation Program and was commissioned and designated to a naval aviator when he was 18. He is believed to be the youngest person ever to reach this goal. He went on to fly the new Grumman “Avenger” aircraft, and was assigned to VT-51, a torpedo squadron, flying off the light carrier, the USS San Jacinto. In 1944, the squadron was assigned the task of blowing-up the radio antennas on the island if Chichi Jima during the Palau campaign. Bush dropped his four 500# bombs on the target, but his aircraft was hit by the Japanese anti-aircraft batteries and set on fire. He was forced to bail out and landed in the water north of the island. Luckily he was sighted and picked up by the American submarine USS Finback SS305. The submarine was on war patrol, so Bush became part of the crew for the next 30 days, standing watches and participating on the ship’s daily war routine. When the ship finally made port at Midway Island, Bush disembarked and returned to his squadron to continue flying combat missions. He accumulated 215 carrier landings while flying off this ship. During his naval carrier, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and three Air Medals. Fittingly, in 2009, after his presidency, the new nuclear aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush (CVN-77) joined the fleet. Louis de Beer _________________ Written by Tamara Merrill During the Korean War, Coronado resident, Louis (Lou) de Beer, served honorably with the United States Marines Corps. As a rifleman and field radio operator, assigned to the 1st Marine division, 1st Marine Regiment A, Company Mortars, he took part in the outpost war battles of Bunker Hill, Siberia and other actions. During the three year, Korean War, the Marines experienced nearly 40 % combat casualties, resulting in the loss of almost 30,000 men. Extreme cold, frostbite and heavy enemy artillery and mortar fire contributed to the high casualty rate. After Korea, he was transferred to the 2nd Amphibious Tractor (AMTRAC) battalion, 2nd Marine Division at Camp Le Jeune NC as a radio operator and machine gunner. He completed his two years of active duty and served an additional six years in the ready and inactive reserves. He worked in the defense electronics industry at locations throughout the U.S and during an overseas assignment, met and married his naturalized American wife Evelyne. The two share a history of experiencing the German invasion into their countries of birth. Lou joined the National Security Agency (NSA) and for his work with that agency, he was awarded the Meritorious Civilian Service Award. Lou and Evelyne travelled extensively and lived in Europe, North and South Africa and throughout the United States. At retirement, they settled in Coronado. Lou is an active radio amateur, a member of the Military Radio Affiliate System (MARS), a volunteer aboard USS Midway (CV41) and plays the viola and violin. M. Spence Dry _______________________ Written by Gordon Peterson Lieutenant M. Spence Dry was the officer-in- charge of a platoon assigned to SEAL Team One when he was killed June 6, 1972, during a mission to rescue US prisoners of war held captive in North Vietnam. Dry graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1968, attended postgraduate school, and served on a destroyer before graduating from Basic UDT/SEAL training at Naval Amphibious Base, Coronado in June 1970. Assigned to UDT-13, Dry served in the Republic of Vietnam in 1971 and was next assigned to SEAL Team One. In November 1971, Dry received orders to form a contingency platoon. In April 1972, he and his platoon embarked in the amphibious-transport submarine USS Grayback (LPSS 574). In May, the US Seventh Fleet was ordered to participate in Operation Thunderhead, a mission to rescue any US prisoners escaping from the infamous “Hanoi Hilton” prison. Grayback took up a position in North Vietnam’s hostile coastal waters in early June. During a night reconnaissance on June 3, Dry and three men were forced to abandon their swimmer delivery vehicle when its batteries were exhausted by heavy currents. Following rescue and transport to the nuclear-powered guided- missile cruiser USS Long Beach (CGN 9), the men were flown on June 5 by helicopter for a night water drop to return to Grayback. The helicopter crew experienced difficulty locating the submarine. Despite excessive height, when given the signal to exit the helicopter, Dry was the first to jump. He was killed upon impact with the water. In 2008, the Navy awarded Dry a posthumous Bronze Star Medal with combat distinguishing device for his “heroic leadership, courageous actions, and loyal devotion to duty” during the highly classified mission. Dry’s brother, Robert, accepted the award on behalf of his family and the members of Dry’s platoon. James W. Hardy _______________________ Written by Joe Ditler James Warren Hardy was born May 15, 1917, and enlisted in the Navy in 1937. He began his naval career flying PBY Catalina seaplanes. His squadron was stationed at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. In the Japanese attack that morning his squadron of seaplanes was decimated. “Our planes were shot so full of holes, there was no way we could fly them,” he said. Six months later Hardy was ordered to join a new patrol squadron forming in Alameda, California. From there the squadron was deployed to Iceland, England, and then Morocco. Flying regular patrols over the Straits of Gibraltar his squadron detected two subs and nailed them. The British Commander-in-Chief credited them with clearing the Mediterranean Sea of German U-Boats. After the war Hardy served as navigator on the aircraft carrier USS Tarawa (CV 40). In the late 50’s he flew R6-D transport aircraft. Hardy retired from the Navy in 1961. Joining the civilian world, Jim served as the bank manager for the local Coronado branch of Security Pacific National Bank before retiring. Hardy and his wife of 73 years, Jean, chose to retire in Coronado. They were very active in the tennis community, played a mean game of bridge, and Jim’s group of golf buddies was legendary. Jim and Jean are survived by son Jim Hardy (Melissa) of Martinez, California; son John Hardy (Debbi) of Olympia, Washington; daughter Gail Young (Bob) of Santa Barbara; and daughter Patricia Weinberg (Jed) of Solana Beach. They were pre- deceased by grandson Brenden Hardy and Jim’s sister Mary Louise Waldrop. They are also survived by five grandchildren, Spencer Hardy, Erin and Jessica Hardy, Julia and Nolan Weinberg, and one great grandchild, Hollin Hardy. Francis R. Kaine _______________________ Written by Ken Ireland Captain Francis Riley Kaine was a pioneer of Naval Special Warfare, serving in the Navy for 28 years from the Second World War to the Vietnam conflict.