Description: Up for auction "Distinguished Flying Cross" recipient VADM Richard Whitehead Signed Letter. This item is certified authentic by Todd Mueller and comes with their Certificate of Authenticity. ES-251 Retired Navy Vice Adm. Richard F. Whitehead, 99, who started aircraft carrier training on Lake Michigan in World War II, died Thursday in St. Joseph Hospital. In 1941, as aviation officer at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center, he converted two merchant ships into aircraft carriers, the USS Wolverine and the USS Sable. About 25,000 naval aviators trained on those carriers. Naval historians have said the pilots who learned their techniques on these makeshift ships "were the top guns of 1943." The training involved more than 300 takeoffs and landings a day, with "relatively few" casualties. Vice Adm. Whitehead joined the Navy as an enlisted man in 1912, and served until his retirement in 1956. He moved to Chicago when he was named vice president and director of the Chicago-based American Gage & Machine Co., which later merged with Katy Industries. His naval career included extensive duty during World War I and II. He was awarded numerous commendations, including the Distinguished Service Medal for Combat for commanding air support units during the Iwo Jima and Okinawa campaigns, and the Distinguished Flying Cross for his "hazardous work" conducting aerial surveys over southeastern Alaska in 1926.He is survived by his stepson, Naval Reserve Cmdr. Emerson Otte.
Price: 199.99 USD
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
End Time: 2024-12-11T15:11:56.000Z
Shipping Cost: 0 USD
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Item Specifics
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 14 Days
Refund will be given as: Money back or replacement (buyer's choice)
Industry: Military
Signed: Yes
Modified Item: No
