From Wikipedia
I have been writing about the Guided Missile Destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) in the three previous posts and got to wondering about who the ship was named after.
William "Bill" C. Fitzgerald (January 28, 1938 to August 7, 1967) was a United States naval officer who was killed in action during the Vietnam War, while serving as an advisor to the Republic of Vietnam Navy. He received the Navy Cross posthumously for his rile in fighting off a Viet Cong attack.
From Vermont, his father was a career Navy man who retired as a chief petty officer. After high school graduation, he followed his father's footsteps and enlisted in the Navy. Seaman Fitzgerald eventually earned selection for officer training by appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis with the Class of 1963. He excelled there.
Midshipmen Fitzgerald graduated and was commissioned into the U.S. Navy on June 5, 1963 and then reported to the destroyer USS Charles H. Roan (DD-853), where he rose from "boot ensign" to weapons department head.
No comments:
Post a Comment