Veteran Tributes, USN, 1965
Early in 1965 the USS Independence (CVA-62) was deployed from Norfolk, VA in support of combat operations in Vietnam. It was the first carrier to deploy from the Atlantic Fleet to the Pacific Fleet since WWII.
The Carrier Air Wing was CVW-7. Attack Squadron 75 would be the first A6 squadron to join the war effort. They often flew low level bombing missions making them easy prey for Vietnamese snipers in the tree tops.
I was serving as an aircraft troubleshooter with Fighter Squadron 41 (Black Aces) when CDR Denton was shot down. He was one of the most senior Naval Officers captured by the Vietnamese. He suffered severe treatment from his captors but endured. In my naval career he was most revered and a hero almost beyond description.
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