Raleigh Rhodes
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| Raleigh Ernest Rhodes | |
|---|---|
| June 26, 1918 – November 26, 2007 | |
| Nickname | "Dusty" |
| Place of birth | Madera, California |
| Place of death | San Jose, California |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1941-1961 |
| Rank | Commander |
| Unit | Blue Angels |
| Battles/wars | World War II Korean War |
| Awards | Purple Heart (2) |
| Other work | Prisoner of war |
Raleigh Ernest Rhodes (June 26, 1918 – November 26, 2007), who often went by the nickname of Raleigh "Dusty" Rhodes, was an American World War II combat fighter pilot and the third leader of the Blue Angels flight team.[1]
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[edit] Early life
Raleigh Rhodes was born in Madera, California, on June 26, 1918.[1] His family moved to Fresno, California, in 1935.[1] Rhodes began taking civilian pilot training as a student at Cal State Fresno.[1]
Rhodes entered the United States Navy in 1941.[1]
[edit] Pilot
Rhodes was a fighter pilot based on board the USS Enterprise (CV-6) aircraft carrier during World War II.[1] He was shot down and captured by Japanese forces during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands in October 1942 in the Solomon Islands.[1]
Rhodes spent in the next three years in a Japanese prison camp.[1] He weighed just 88 pounds when he was released from his capitivity, in which he was starved and beaten, at the end of World War II.[1]
Rhodes joined the Blue Angels precision flying team in 1947 after his recovery.[1] (The Blue Angels had been formed by Admiral Chester Nimitz in 1946.[1].) Rhodes quickly became only the third leader of the Blue Angels.[1] As leader, Rhodes helped the Blue Angels perfect the diamond barrel roll, a complicated aerial maneuver in which four Blue Angels jets perform a loop in a tight diamond formation before becoming inverted at the top of the formation.[1] The Blue Angels quickly became extremely popular with the public.[1]
Despite his success with the Blue Angels, Rhodes returned to an active combat roll with the U.S. Navy.[1] He returned to active combat when he flew fighter plane missions from a Navy aircraft carrier during the Korean War.[1] Following the Korean War, Rhodes was stationed at several naval air stations, including the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, Monterey and the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.[1]
Rhodes was awarded two Purple Hearts and three Air Medals during his twenty years of active duty in the Navy.[1] He retired from the Navy in 1961 at the rank of commander.[1]
Rhodes worked as a project planner for Lockheed Martin facility in Sunnyvale, California, for the next 30 years.[1]
[edit] Death
Raleigh Rhodes died of lung cancer on November 26, 2007, in San Jose, California, at the age of 89.[1] He was survived by his wife, Pauline, two daughters and a son.[1]
Rhodes' former wife, Betty, died in 2005.[1] His son, Raleigh E. Rhodes Jr., also died of lung cancer in July 2007.[1]
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
- "Raleigh 'Dusty' Rhodes, 1918 - 2007: Combat pilot in two wars led Blue Angels [Obituary]", Los Angeles Times, December 7, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-12-13.
- Dusty Rhodes. Blue Angels.org. Retrieved on 2007-12-15.
- Armstrong, Jim (2006). From POW to Blue Angel: The Story of Commander Dusty Rhodes. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0-8061-3764-9. Retrieved on 2007-12-15.
