Irwin George Patch Jr.

Branch	Navy
Rank	Captain
Conflict / Era	World War II; Korean War; Vietnam War
Years of Service	1943 – 1982
Date of Birth	08/06/1926
Hometown	UNKNOWN, OH
Awards	Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal; Air Medal; Navy Commendation Medal; Navy Achievement Medal; Good Conduct Medal; Designated Combat Aircrewman (1944); Designated Naval Aviator (1963)
Monument Paver	No
Source	Veteran data form submitted 05/09/2007 by veteran, Irwin "George" Patch, Jr.; veteran picture obtained from Jan Dunn | No DD-214 found in Union County Recorder's Office as of 14 December 2007

Overseas service: Western Pacific - Iwo Jima; Far East; Tonkin Gulf, Australia; Mediterranean; Indian Ocean. Church: First Presbyterian Church, Grapevine, Texas. School: Naval Academy Prep School (1946); Naval Academy (1951); Naval War College (1963). active service from 08/30/1943 to 01/02/1982; served onboard the Saratoga, Kearsarge, Bennington, Hornet, Missouri (1948), Cabot (1952), Valley Forge (1954), Essex (1963), and Little Rock (1973); served as part of the spacecraft recovery program; served onboard the Bennington for the Apollo 4 mission in 1968; served onboard the Hornet for the Apollo 11 and 12 missions; was Air Officer onboard the Hornet for the first two moon landing missions; earned serveral records as Naval Aviator: most carrier landings (27) in a single day, first Naval Aviator to make 100 landings on an angled deck, and among only a few to have more than 500 night carrier landings; lived with family (Dunn's) on Rt. 31, Union County, until nearly six years old; in 07/1943, rode bicycle 117 miles from Wellston to Dunn's house to obtain their blessings before enlisting in the Navy

Printed from the UCVRC Veterans Database · Courthouse Veterans Monument