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    Navy Cross Recipients


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    How many Navy Cross recipients from World War 2 are still alive as today ?

    Perhaps we can find some names ?

    I´ve 11 possible recipients.

    I will start with the multiple recipients.

    8 persons were awarded with the Nacy Cross for four times. For one I can´t find an death date. It is Harold Ralph Mazza (* 15.11.1912). Is he still alive ?

    53 persons were awarded with the Navy Cross for three times. For three of them I can´t find death dates.

    Benjamin Gifford Preston ( * 16.12.1913)

    Stanley Winfield Vejtasa ( * 27.07.1914)

    Noel Arthur Meredyth Gayler ( * 25.12.1913)

    I know Gayler is still alive. What is with Preston and Vejtasa ??

    And for an fourth man I can find completly no life dates:

    George Edward Ferguson ( * ??.??.????)

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    How many Navy Cross recipients from World War 2 are still alive as today ?

    Perhaps we can find some names ?

    I´ve 11 possible recipients.

    I will start with the multiple recipients.

    8 persons were awarded with the Nacy Cross for four times. For one I can´t find an death date. It is Harold Ralph Mazza (* 15.11.1912). Is he still alive ?

    53 persons were awarded with the Navy Cross for three times. For three of them I can´t find death dates.

    Benjamin Gifford Preston ( * 16.12.1913)

    Stanley Winfield Vejtasa ( * 27.07.1914)

    Noel Arthur Meredyth Gayler ( * 25.12.1913)

    I know Gayler is still alive. What is with Preston and Vejtasa ??

    And for an fourth man I can find completly no life dates:

    George Edward Ferguson ( * ??.??.????)

    Seven people were awarded four Navy Crosses in World War II: Samuel Dealey, Eugene Fluckey, Slade Cutter, Glynn Donaho, Anton Gallaher, Harold Mazza and Dudley Morton. Roy Davenport was awarded five Navy Crosses. Chesty Puller also received five Navy Crosses, but these were in three different conflicts (Nicaragua (2), WW2 (2) and Korea).

    Preston and Vejtasa don't show up in the Social Security Death Index, though Vejtasa's wife appears to have died in 2004.

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    Many thanks for the info about the Social Security Death Index. Very intersting. This will helps very much.

    So we have the following multiple recipients:

    4 Navy Crosses

    Harold Ralph Mazza (* 15.11.1912)

    3 Navy Crosses

    Benjamin Gifford Preston ( * 16.12.1913)

    Stanley Winfield Vejtasa ( * 27.07.1914)

    Noel Arthur Meredyth Gayler ( * 25.12.1913)

    2 Navy Crosses

    Tony Frederic Schneider (* 11.11.1917)

    At the moment Schneider is the only men who is known to me as still alive.

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    Many thanks for the info about the Social Security Death Index. Very intersting. This will helps very much.

    So we have the following multiple recipients:

    4 Navy Crosses

    Harold Ralph Mazza (* 15.11.1912)

    3 Navy Crosses

    Benjamin Gifford Preston ( * 16.12.1913)

    Stanley Winfield Vejtasa ( * 27.07.1914)

    Noel Arthur Meredyth Gayler ( * 25.12.1913)

    2 Navy Crosses

    Tony Frederic Schneider (* 11.11.1917)

    At the moment Schneider is the only men who is known to me as still alive.

    Interesting. I served with RADM Gayler in the Pentagon in 1967-68. He was Asst. CNO for Development, and went of to three stars in a SAC job at Offut AFB.

    Hugh

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    And we have George Edward Ferguson ( * ??.??.????) with also no date of birth.

    The first two who were awarded with the Navy Cross for two times where I can´t find also no dates of birth are:

    Robert Featherstone Birch ( * ??.??.????)

    Gordon Percival Chase ( * ??.??.????)

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    And we have George Edward Ferguson ( * ??.??.????) with also no date of birth.

    The first two who were awarded with the Navy Cross for two times where I can´t find also no dates of birth are:

    Robert Featherstone Birch ( * ??.??.????)

    Gordon Percival Chase ( * ??.??.????)

    Florida death records have a Gordon Percival Chase who died in St. Petersburg. Born 26 Jan 1916, died 26 Apr 1993. There's another Gordon P. Chase, born 6 Mar 1918, died 23 Sep 1992 in Baltimore, whose age would be in roughly the right time frame (Chase was a Lieutenant, USNR in 1942 and a Lt. Commander at the time of the actions for which he got the Navy Crosses). My instinct says our guy is the former; he also lived in Pensacola at some point in the 1980s, and Pensacola is the home of naval aviation.

    There was a Robert Featherstone Birch, born 25 Jan 1892 in Chicago, Illinois, in the World War I and World War II draft indexes. He is too old, so perhaps the father. There are several Robert F. Birch's born in the late 1910s and early 1920s who would be the right age in World War II. The most likely would seem to be one born 14 Jul 1920 in Geneva, Illinois, who died 22 Dec 1991. Geneva, Illinois is the residence listed on the elder Robert Featherstone Birch's draft cards.

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    We have no dates of births. So we don´t know if this is right.

    But I´ve another one who could be still alive:

    Orville Melvin Cook (* 11.03.1922)

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    Benjamin Gifford Preston died on 26.03.2001

    So we have at the moment the following list:

    4 Navy Crosses

    Harold Ralph Mazza (* 15.11.1912)

    3 Navy Crosses

    Stanley Winfield Vejtasa ( * 27.07.1914)

    Noel Arthur Meredyth Gayler ( * 25.12.1913)

    George Edward Ferguson ( * ??.??.????)

    2 Navy Crosses

    Tony Frederic Schneider (* 11.11.1917)

    Orville Melvin Cook (* 11.03.1922)

    Robert Featherstone Birch ( * ??.??.????)

    Gordon Percival Chase ( * ??.??.????)

    Joseph Brokaw Geisler (* ??.??.????)

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    The next double recipient I´ve found with an for me unknown date of birth is:

    Richard Donald Greer Jr. (* ??.??.??)

    There is no person with this name in the Social Death Index . So he could be still alive.

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    The next double recipient I´ve found is Hayden Martin Jensen (* 30.01.1911)

    If he is really still alive than he is older than age 100.

    He was a fighter pilot with totaly 5 air victories.

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    What is with John Arthur Leppla (* 07.05.1916) ??

    I´m not sure if he died in 1945.

    Is there an list online with the US casualties in Wolrd War Two ? An list like the Social Death Index ?

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    Many thanks for this info.

    After a little more than the half of the double recipients I´ve now the following list:

    4 Navy Crosses

    Harold Ralph Mazza (* 15.11.1912)

    3 Navy Crosses

    Noel Arthur Meredyth Gayler ( * 25.12.1913)

    Stanley Winfield Vejtasa ( * 27.07.1914)

    George Edward Ferguson ( * ??.??.????)

    2 Navy Crosses

    Donald Joseph Melvin (* 10.12.1911)

    Eugene R. Hanson (* 16.05.1917)

    John Thomas Maloney (* 07.05.1916)

    Orville Melvin Cook (* 11.03.1922)

    Robert Featherstone Birch ( * ??.??.????)

    Gordon Percival Chase ( * ??.??.????)

    Joseph Brokaw Geisler (* ??.??.????)

    Richard Donald Greer Jr. (* ??.??.??)

    Kenneth Charles Hall (* ??.??.????)

    Charles Herman Mester Jr. (* ??.??.????)

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    • 2 weeks later...

    Once again to Harold Ralph Mazza (* 15.11.1912). He was born in California.

    In the Social Death Index is an Harold Mazza. He was born on 15.11.1911 and died in June 1956.

    Could it be the same person ??

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    • 3 weeks later...

    I´m now completly ready with all multiple recipients from WW2. There are more than 300 persons. I´ve now 20 persons without an date of deaths.

    3 Navy Crosses

    Noel Arthur Meredyth Gayler ( * 25.12.1913)

    Stanley Winfield Vejtasa ( * 27.07.1914)

    George Edward Ferguson ( * ??.??.????)

    2 Navy Crosses

    Donald Joseph Melvin (* 10.12.1911)

    John Thomas Maloney (* 07.05.1916)

    Eugene R. Hanson (* 16.05.1917)

    Robert W. Vaupell (* 14.10.1917)

    Orville Melvin Cook (* 11.03.1922)

    Ray Joseph Stacy (* 20.05.1922)

    Robert Featherstone Birch (* ??.??.????)

    Gordon Percival Chase (* ??.??.????)

    Joseph Brokaw Geisler (* ??.??.????)

    Richard Donald Greer Jr. (* ??.??.????)

    Kenneth Charles Hall (* ??.??.????)

    Charles Herman Mester Jr. (* ??.??.????)

    Robert Salisbury Nesbitt (* ??.??.????)

    Vincent Patrick O'Rourke (* ??.??.????)

    William C. Raposa (* ??.??.????)

    Harold John Smith (* ??.??.????)

    Paul Hobart Whitford (* ??.??.????)

    The next question would be where I can find the missing dates of birth ? Than I can also check these names.

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    Now I will list the single Navy Cross recipients where I´ve no date of death. But this will take some time, ...

    The first date is the date of action, the second date is the date of birth.

    30.10.1941 Theodore Leo Jermann (08.02.1894)

    30.10.1941 Raul Solen Wilson (24.12.1913)

    07.12.1941 George Daniel Etcell (02.04.1898)

    07.12.1941 Alfred Lawrence Hansen (21.05.1898)

    07.12.1941 Charles E. Douglas (05.02.1906)

    07.12.1941 Gordon Ernest Bolser (21.07.1910)

    07.12.1941 James William Robb Jr. (13.09.1912)

    07.12.1941 John Perry Edwards (15.05.1913)

    07.12.1941 Wesley Hoyt Ruth (06.11.1913)

    07.12.1941 William Sloan Fleming (28.03.1916)

    07.12.1941 Perry L. Teaff (20.04.1916)

    07.12.1941 John Barth Vaessen (10.07.1916)

    07.12.1941 Dale L. Peters (08.01.1917)

    07.12.1941 Robert Ellsworth Thomas Jr. (06.07.1919)

    07.12.1941 Harry R. Mead (29.03.1921)

    07.12.1941 - 23.12.1941 Charles C. Hill (??.??.????)

    07.12.1941 - 28.12.1941 Edward Raymond Joseph Griffin (??.??.????)

    07.12.1941 - 07.01.1942 George R. Mitchell (23.08.1915)

    07.12.1941 - 18.03.1942 Egbert Adolph Roth (10.12.1905)

    08.12.1941 - 23.12.1941 Robert O. Arthur ( ??.??.????)

    10.12.1941 Rintoul T. Whitney (11.07.1889)

    10.12.1941 Clifford A. Hanson (04.03.1908)

    10.12.1941 Robert W. Granston (28.12.1916)

    10.12.1941 John Porter Adams (??.??.????)

    23.12.1941 James Frank Hesson (??.??.????)

    01.02.1942 William F. Verden (??.??.????)

    04.02.1942 Peter Paul Martinek (29.06.1910)

    04.02.1942 Herman Edward Hock (27.04.1912)

    04. & 07.-08.05.1942 Edward James Williamson (16.12.1909)

    04. & 07.-08.05.1942 Henry Martin McDowell (18.05.1915)

    04. & 07.-08.05.1942 Elmer Maul (07.11.1915)

    07.05.1942 Curtis Weldon L. Hamilton (??.??.????)

    07. -08.05.1942 Arthur J. White (15.11.1889)

    08.05.1942 John Raymond Gorman (??.??.????)

    08.05.1942 Robert F. Edmondson (13.01.1917)

    26.05.1942 Edward G. Binning (06.02.1915)

    01.-15.06.1942 William N. Thies (04.02.1917)

    03.06.1942 Lucius D. Campbell (10.09.1908)

    04.-05.06.1942 Robert Judy Bear (??.??.????)

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    • 2 weeks later...

    New open names from the battle of Midway:

    04.06.1942 Philip R. White (??.??.????)

    04.06.1942 John F. Carey (??.??.????)

    04.06.1942 Richard Lloyd Blain (??.??.????)

    04.06.1942 Clayton M. Canfield (??.??.????)

    04.06.1942 Herbert T. Merrill (??.??.????)

    04.06.1942 Roy A. Corry (??.??.????)

    04.06.1942 Clifton Edward Snell (09.08.1912)

    04.06.1942 Irving Herbert McPherson (15.04.1914)

    04.06.1942 Robert Edward Laub (04.08.1917)

    04.-05.06.1942 Robert Judy Bear (??.??.????)

    04.-05.06.1942 Thomas F. Moore Jr. (??.??.????)

    04.-05.06.1942 Clyde H. Stamps (??.??.????)

    04.-05.06.1942 Leon M. Williamson (??.??.????)

    04.-05.06.1942 George T. Lumpkin (??.??.????)

    04.-05.06.1942 Eugene Tinsley Card (??.??.????)

    04.-05.06.1942 Jack Cosley (??.??.????)

    04.-05.06.1942 Daniel L. Cummings (??.??.????)

    04.-05.06.1942 Jesse D. Rollow Jr. (27.02.1918)

    04.-06.06.1942 George Hale Goldsmith (??.??.????)

    04.-06.06.1942 Paul Wahl Schlegel (07.09.1909)

    04.-06.06.1942 Stephen Clement Hogan Jr. (15.03.1915)

    04.-06.06.1942 Wilbur Edison Roberts (17.04.1915)

    04.-06.06.1942 Norman Jack Kleiss (07.03.1916)

    04.-06.06.1942 Gordon Alvin Sherwood (24.09.1916)

    04.-06.06.1942 Robert Keith Campbell (18.08.1917)

    04.-06.06.1942 Reid Wentworth Stone (02.01.1918)

    04.-06.06.1942 Thomas Wesley Ramsay (29.01.1918)

    04.-06.06.1942 John Reginald McCarthy (01.03.1918)

    04.-06.06.1942 Milford Austin Merrill (16.02.1920)

    05.-06.06.1942 Alden Wilbur Hanson (??.??.????)

    06.06.1942 Frederic Leeson Bates (10.07.1913)

    06.06.1942 Robert P. Friesz (16.05.1918)

    06.06.1942 Clayton Evan Fisher (14.01.1919)

    06.06.1942 Joe Wiley King (09.02.1919)

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    • 3 weeks later...

    New open names:

    10.-20.06.1942 William T. Sorensen (04.07.1920)

    07.08.1942 Robert H. Williams (??.??.????)

    07.08.1942 Robert Green Fuller (??.??.????)

    07.08.1942 Wilfred V. Michaud (??.??.????)

    07.08.1942 Irving Cleveland (??.??.????)

    07.08.1942 Raymond Foster Conklin (02.08.1916)

    07.08.1942 Samuel White Forrer (09.01.1917)

    07.-08.08.1942 Clifford C. Hills (??.??.????)

    07.-08.08.1942 Elmer Hacker (??.??.????)

    07.-08.08.1942 John Stanley Evans Jr. (11.09.1917)

    07.-09.08.1942 John J. Smith (??.??.????)

    07.-09.08.1942 Edgar J. Crane (??.??.????)

    17.08.1942 Edward R. Wygal (??.??.????)

    17. -18.08.1942 Joseph Sebock (??.??.????)

    17. -18.08.1942 James C. O. Faulkner (??.??.????)

    17. -18.08.1942 Lawrence A. Lang (??.??.????)

    17. -18.08.1942 Charles T. Lamb (??.??.????)

    17. -18.08.1942 Wilfred S. LeFrancois (??.??.????)

    18. -19.08.1942 Nicholas Sileo (??.??.????)

    20.08.. -13.09.1942 Kenneth D. Frazier (??.??.????)

    21.08.1942 Joseph G. LeBlanc (??.??.????)

    21.08.1942 Whitney W. Jacobs (??.??.????)

    21.08.1942 Leo B. Case (??.??.????)

    21.08.1942 Earl J. Mowery (??.??.????)

    24.08.1942 Eddy L. Fayle (12.07.1920)

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    I could find some missing dates of birth, but no one of them is still alive. Some names are new. So here is an update for my complete list:

    30.10.1941 Theodore Leo Jermann (08.02.1894)

    30.10.1941 Raul Solen Wilson (24.12.1913)

    07.12.1941 George Daniel Etcell (02.04.1898)

    07.12.1941 Alfred Lawrence Hansen (21.05.1898)

    07.12.1941 Charles E. Douglas (05.02.1906)

    07.12.1941 Gordon Ernest Bolser (21.07.1910)

    07.12.1941 James William Robb Jr. (13.09.1912)

    07.12.1941 Wesley Hoyt Ruth (06.11.1913)

    07.12.1941 William Sloan Fleming (28.03.1916)

    07.12.1941 Perry L. Teaff (20.04.1916)

    07.12.1941 John Barth Vaessen (10.07.1916)

    07.12.1941 Dale L. Peters (08.01.1917)

    07.12.1941 Robert Ellsworth Thomas Jr. (06.07.1919)

    07.12.1941 Harry R. Mead (29.03.1921)

    07.12.1941 - 23.12.1941 Charles C. Hill (??.??.????)

    07.12.1941 - 28.12.1941 Edward Raymond Joseph Griffin (??.??.????)

    07.12.1941 - 07.01.1942 George R. Mitchell (23.08.1915)

    07.12.1941 - 18.03.1942 Egbert Adolph Roth (10.12.1905)

    08.12.1941 - 23.12.1941 Robert O. Arthur ( ??.??.????)

    10.12.1941 Rintoul T. Whitney (11.07.1889)

    10.12.1941 Clifford A. Hanson (04.03.1908)

    10.12.1941 Robert W. Granston (28.12.1916)

    10.12.1941 John Porter Adams (??.??.????)

    23.12.1941 James Frank Hesson (??.??.????)

    01.02.1942 William F. Verden (??.??.????)

    04.02.1942 Peter Paul Martinek (29.06.1910)

    04.02.1942 Herman Edward Hock (27.04.1912)

    04. & 07.-08.05.1942 Edward James Williamson (16.12.1909)

    04. & 07.-08.05.1942 Henry Martin McDowell (18.05.1915)

    04. & 07.-08.05.1942 Elmer Maul (07.11.1915)

    07.05.1942 Curtis Weldon L. Hamilton (??.??.????)

    07. -08.05.1942 Arthur J. White (15.11.1889)

    08.05.1942 John Raymond Gorman (??.??.????)

    08.05.1942 Robert F. Edmondson (13.01.1917)

    26.05.1942 Edward G. Binning (06.02.1915)

    01.-15.06.1942 William N. Thies (04.02.1917)

    03.06.1942 Lucius D. Campbell (10.09.1908)

    04.06.1942 Philip R. White (??.??.????)

    04.06.1942 John F. Carey (??.??.????)

    04.06.1942 Richard Lloyd Blain (??.??.????)

    04.06.1942 Clayton M. Canfield (??.??.????)

    04.06.1942 Herbert T. Merrill (??.??.????)

    04.06.1942 Roy A. Corry (??.??.????)

    04.06.1942 Clifton Edward Snell (09.08.1912)

    04.06.1942 Irving Herbert McPherson (15.04.1914)

    04.06.1942 Robert Edward Laub (04.08.1917)

    04.-05.06.1942 Robert Judy Bear (??.??.????)

    04.-05.06.1942 Thomas F. Moore Jr. (??.??.????)

    04.-05.06.1942 Clyde H. Stamps (??.??.????)

    04.-05.06.1942 Leon M. Williamson (??.??.????)

    04.-05.06.1942 George T. Lumpkin (??.??.????)

    04.-05.06.1942 Eugene Tinsley Card (??.??.????)

    04.-05.06.1942 Jack Cosley (??.??.????)

    04.-05.06.1942 Daniel L. Cummings (??.??.????)

    04.-05.06.1942 Jesse D. Rollow Jr. (27.02.1918)

    04.-06.06.1942 George Hale Goldsmith (??.??.????)

    04.-06.06.1942 Paul Wahl Schlegel (07.09.1909)

    04.-06.06.1942 Stephen Clement Hogan Jr. (15.03.1915)

    04.-06.06.1942 Wilbur Edison Roberts (17.04.1915)

    04.-06.06.1942 Norman Jack Kleiss (07.03.1916)

    04.-06.06.1942 Gordon Alvin Sherwood (24.09.1916)

    04.-06.06.1942 Robert Keith Campbell (18.08.1917)

    04.-06.06.1942 Reid Wentworth Stone (02.01.1918)

    04.-06.06.1942 Thomas Wesley Ramsay (29.01.1918)

    04.-06.06.1942 John Reginald McCarthy (01.03.1918)

    04.-06.06.1942 Milford Austin Merrill (16.02.1920)

    05.-06.06.1942 Alden Wilbur Hanson (??.??.????)

    06.06.1942 Frederic Leeson Bates (10.07.1913)

    06.06.1942 Robert P. Friesz (16.05.1918)

    06.06.1942 Clayton Evan Fisher (14.01.1919)

    06.06.1942 Joe Wiley King (09.02.1919)

    10.-20.06.1942 William T. Sorensen (04.07.1920)

    07.08.1942 Robert H. Williams (??.??.????)

    07.08.1942 Robert Green Fuller (??.??.????)

    07.08.1942 Wilfred V. Michaud (??.??.????)

    07.08.1942 Irving Cleveland (??.??.????)

    07.08.1942 Raymond Foster Conklin (02.08.1916)

    07.08.1942 Samuel White Forrer (09.01.1917)

    07.-08.08.1942 John Stanley Evans Jr. (11.09.1917)

    07.-09.08.1942 John J. Smith (??.??.????)

    07.-09.08.1942 Edgar J. Crane (??.??.????)

    18. -19.08.1942 Nicholas Sileo (??.??.????)

    20.08.. -13.09.1942 Kenneth D. Frazier (??.??.????)

    21.08.1942 Joseph G. LeBlanc (??.??.????)

    21.08.1942 Whitney W. Jacobs (??.??.????)

    21.08.1942 Leo B. Case (??.??.????)

    21.08.1942 Earl J. Mowery (??.??.????)

    24.08.1942 Eddy L. Fayle (12.07.1920)

    26.08.1942 Robert Booth Clark (12.10.1916)

    27.08.1942 Emmett R. Morris (??.??.????)

    27.08.1942 Wesley P. Simmonds (??.??.????)

    27.08.1942 William Merideth Hall (18.03.1920)

    27.08.-25.09.1942 John Archibald Thompson (??.??.????)

    30.08.-15.10.1942 Glen B. Loeffel (21.06.1919)

    09.-10.1942 Frederick Rounsville Payne Jr. (31.07.1911)

    09.09.1942 John J. Murphy Jr. (??.??.????)

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    • 3 weeks later...
    • 3 weeks later...

    Florida death records have a Gordon Percival Chase who died in St. Petersburg. Born 26 Jan 1916, died 26 Apr 1993. There's another Gordon P. Chase, born 6 Mar 1918, died 23 Sep 1992 in Baltimore, whose age would be in roughly the right time frame (Chase was a Lieutenant, USNR in 1942 and a Lt. Commander at the time of the actions for which he got the Navy Crosses). My instinct says our guy is the former; he also lived in Pensacola at some point in the 1980s, and Pensacola is the home of naval aviation.

    I´ve found his grave:

    http://www.findagrav...2&PIpi=46564656

    But there is only the year of birth. So it could be your first man.

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