The
Prez SezÉ
ÒWarbirds
& Navy League
Welcome Navy Ace
Willie
DriscollÓ
The
Estrella Warbird Museum and The Navy League of the United States will proudly
host Willie Driscoll April 26th.
You are invited to join your
Warbird friends at this event. The
Navy League will be awarding the ÒBug Roach PrayerÓ to U S Navy flying Ace
Willie Driscoll.
William "Willy" "Irish" Driscoll (born March 1947) is a former United States Navy Flight Officer who received the Navy Cross
during the for his role in an aerial dogfight with North
Vietnamese MiGs.
He and Naval Aviator Randy "Duke" Cunningham became the
Navy's only two flying aces during the war.
Driscoll was born in 1947 and received a BA
in Economics from Stonehill College, North Easton, Massachusetts in 1966 and a MS
in System Management from University of Southern California
in 1978.
Lt.(jg) Driscoll joined the Naval Reserve
in 1968 and received his Naval Flight Officer wings in 1970. He served as a
Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) with pilot "Duke" Cunningham;
they became the Navy's only two flying aces
during the Vietnam War flying F-4 Phantom
II jets off the aircraft carrier USS Constellation in Squadron
VF-96, The Fighting Falcons.
Their third, fourth and fifth kills occurred during a single day, May 10, 1972. Having bombed their
intended ground target, Cunningham and Driscoll engaged North
Vietnamese MiGs.
After shooting down two, they became separated from the
other aircraft in their strike package. The pair headed for the coast where
they spotted a lone North Vietnamese MiG-17. This final engagement was to
become one of the most celebrated aerial dogfights in the war.
Driscoll was awarded the Navy Cross
for his actions on May 10, 1972 when he shot down three of the sixteen interceptors that
converged on a US bomber convoy attacking a railyard in Hai Duong
Ð later a Surface-to-air missile exploded near their
plane, and he managed to help the pilot bring it to the Gulf of
Tonkin where both ejected and awaited their rescue.
During the
course of the war he garnered two Silver Stars,
a Purple Heart,
10 Air Medals, and was nominated for the Medal of
Honor.
Driscoll later became an instructor at the Navy's Fighter Weapons
School (TOPGUN) NAS, Miramar, San Diego,
California.
He resigned from active duty in 1982, and currently works in real estate in San Diego
County.
RESERVATIONS FOR THIS EVENT
Date:
Saturday April 26th
Time: 6:00 pm Happy Hour
7:00 pm Dinner
Tickets $25.00
CALL 466-4196
OR ONLINE
The Estrella Warbird Museum
ÒHonoring The Past
Inspiring The
FutureÓ
George
Taylor
President Estrella Warbird Museum