Description: I Combine Shipping on Multiple Item Orders !! Check Out My Other Items !! These Photos come from a large collection amassed by Joseph Fricelli. He would write letters to thousands of different celebrities, Actors, singers and Military people asking for an autograph. Many of these items come along with the return letter from the individual. On May 17, 1995, two F/A-18 Hornet supersonic combat jets left Miramar Naval Air Station for St. Louis, MO, to meet with McDonnell Douglas – combining official on-duty business with required training. Seated in the back seat of one of those jets was Rear Admiral (RADM) James G. Prout III, USN. While over remote New Mexico the two planes flew at low altitude expecting to scale-up the mountains to level off at 12,000 feet when Prout's F/A18, piloted by Commander (CDR) Joseph G. Kleefisch, USN, disappeared from radar without a trace. Tragically, the pilot experienced vertigo. The altimeter remained set at low altitude and no alarm sounded. The crash happened in an instant. Heartbreakingly for his wife and children, bad weather delayed search and rescue efforts. The wreckage was eventually located in the isolated mountains north of Taos with no survivors. Rear Admiral Prout was the first Navy flag officer to lose his life in the line of duty since 1972. (A flag officer is highly ranked and entitled to fly a flag to mark the position of their command). He was in command of Cruiser Destroyer Group 3 with USS Carl Vinson at the time. To those who knew him, Prout was extremely caring, putting the Navy and his sailors before himself. His 'Jack' Kennedy accent, wonderful sense of humor, loud laugh and a huge smile are remembered fondly by family and many friends. A New Englander, born in 1944, the Admiral had a fine education, graduating high school in 1962 from prestigious Phillips Exeter Academy, NH, and then the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland distinguished as First Flag Officer, Class of 66. He earned a Masters degree in International Relations from the Harvard University-Kennedy School of Government. The Viet Nam Conflict was full fury when Prout began his military career in 1967. He served alongside Navy SEALs, engaged in "Operation Game-warden" on the Nha Tran River, when he was seriously wounded by RPG shrapnel, receiving the Purple Heart and Bronze Star with "V" for Valor. On SEAL wrote about Prout's injuries in 'Never Fight Fair: Inside the Legendary SEALs, Their Own True Stories.' "He was the boat officer, in charge of the boat support unit. He was hit in the throat. Just barely missed his trachea and the big arteries there. Of course the boat had a couple of dozen holes blowed into it. We limped to a South Vietnamese outpost." SEALs also forecasted that Prout would "be an admiral one day." He carried shrapnel with him for the rest of his life, along with the memories of his fallen comrades, of whom he often spoke.
Price: 21.99 USD
Location: North Port, Florida
End Time: 2024-11-21T02:04:46.000Z
Shipping Cost: 6 USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Industry: Celebrities
Signed: Yes
Original/Reproduction: Original
Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
