West Jax Rotary

Ret.Adm. Bryon Fuller and Ret. Col. Carl Crumpler
Vietnam POW’s

Ret. Adm. Bryon Fuller
Rear Admiral Robert Byron Fuller, USN (RET), was born November 23, 1927, in Quitman, Mississippi, and raised in Jacksonville, Florida.

Following a year of active enlisted service in the Navy at the end of World War II, he entered the U. S. Naval Academy and was commissioned an Ensign in 1951.

After designation as a naval aviator in 1952, his first assignment was with Fighter Squadron 192 flying the F9F “Panther.” This was followed by tours at the Combat Information Center School, Naval Air Station, Glynco, Georgia; as Aide and Flag Lieutenant to Commander Carrier Division SEVEN; as an aviation assignment officer in the Bureau of Naval Personnel; and in Attack Squadrons 55 and 44 flying the A-4 “Skyhawk”. He also attended the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia.

Admiral Fuller was serving as Commanding Officer of Attack Squadron 76 operating from the Aircraft Carrier USS BON HOMME RICHARD (CVA-31) off the coast of North Vietnam when he was shot down by a surface-to-air missile on July 14, 1967. He was leading an ALPHA strike over North Vietnam on his one hundred and tenth mission He was held as a prisoner of war by the North Vietnamese until his release in March of 1973.

On August 6, 1974, he assumed command of USS DETROIT (AOE-4) a Navy Oiler and Supply ship. He became Commanding Officer of the Aircraft Carrier USS AMERICA (CV-66) on September 7, 1976.

After selection for promotion to Rear Admiral in January 1978, he reported as Director of the Joint
Reconnaissance Center with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Washington, D.C. He assumed command of Carrier Group FOUR on June 20, 1980, embarked in USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER(CVN-69) in the Indian Ocean during the Iranian hostage crisis. He had follow on assignments as Battle Group Commander embarked in the Aircraft Carriers NIMITZ(CVN-68) and JOHN F. KENNEDY(CV-67).

Upon his retirement on December 1, 1982, Admiral Fuller became Vice President of Sun State Marine, Inc., a tug and barge towing Company. He retired as President of the Company in December 1994.

His decorations include the Navy Cross, two Silver Stars, the Defense Superior Service Medal, two Legions of Merit with Combat “V”, four Distinguished Flying Crosses, two Bronze Star Medals with Combat “V”, two Purple Hearts, the Vietnamese Air Gallantry Cross with “Silver Wings”, and the POW Medal.

Rear Admiral Fuller is married to the former Mary Anne McGinley of Jacksonville, Florida. They have four children: Robert, Jr.; Mrs. Mary Jane Evans ; Mrs. Susan Tuohy; and Dr. Peggy Kalb. They have seven grandchildren.

Col. Carl B. Crumpler (USAF-Ret)

A Floridian by birth, Col. Crumpler received his early education in state schools completing High School at Robert E. Lee High School in Jacksonville, Florida in 1945.

He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1945 and was released after one year of active duty. He entered the University of Alabama as a scholarship athlete and received his Bachelor’s degree in Business.

He was commissioned into the U.S. Air Force in 1950 attending flight school and pilot training in 1951-1952.

He completed successful assignments with the Air Defense Command Fighter Squadrons which included a tour of duty in Naha, Okinawa in 1957.

In 1960 he attended the Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Officers Course and was subsequently assigned to the Air Training Command for four years. He served as an advisor to the Imperial Iranian Air Force having been assigned to Tehran, Iran in the early 1960’s.

He was assigned to the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing in Ubon, Thailand with a five month stopover in Homestead AFB, Florida.

On July 5, 1968, he was shot down over North Vietnam by ground fire. Col. Crumpler was held captive in the Hoa Lo Prison (Hanoi Hilton) until his release on March 14, 1973.

Carl and his wife Jane have been married for 52 years with 4 children and 5 grandchildren. The Crumpler’s reside on Lake Weir, south of Ocala, Florida.

Notes
President Mike presented Wally Barrs with his regular badge, thanked Bill Howey for his work on the blood Drive and thanked Joe Hayworth for the Social last Friday with the Riverside Club.

President Mike reminded the club about the Adopt-a-Highway pickup on November 22nd. Ham Cooke asked for a few more volunteers for Sulzbacher, especially to help cook. David Cooksey provided an update of the dictionary project and read a letter from a student at Whitehouse Elementary thanking us for his dictionary. Mike waved a stack of letters from another school, reiterated our goal to pass out more dictionaries than any other club, and thanked Bob Hyde for his efforts with this worthwhile project.

Marcus Drewa announced that tickets were available from Patti for the Gingerbread House at $4 per ticket.

Past President Dave Collier spoke briefly about the Robert Dickson Endowment Fund for nursing scholarships at FCCJ and the history of the endowment.

President Mike recognized Al Yates for his receipt of the Governor’s Medal of Merit from Gov. Crist for his work in the Air Force and in the Civil Rights movement.

Chris Bergey made a pitch for the Honor Air Golf Tournament Friday and then introduced the guest speaker, CAPT Jack Scorby, CO NAS Jax. CAPT Scorby provided an insightful presentation on NAS, its impact on the community and the outlook for the next 5-10 years.

Rotary Guests
Dick Burroughs — Downtown
Marcus Drewa — South Jax
Richard Buck — San Marco
Kevin Wilson — North Jax

Visitors
Mikel Taft — Guest of Scott Imray
Steve Pankey — Guest of Jim Riggan
Gordon Terry — Guest of Harry Roddenberry
Robert Jones — Guest of John McCorvey

Birthdays
November 14 — Bill Phillips
November 15 — Jerry Portnoy
November 15 — Jim Riggan
November 17 — Tommy Gower
November 18 — Bob Goodwin

Next Week - November 26, 2008
Greeters - Stuart Rigdon, New members
Invocation - Joe Eberly
Pledge - David Cooksey
Four-Way Test - Lorrie Dajani
Speaker - Special Thanksgiving Program

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