William H. Reedy, Jr.

BornSeptember 29, 1947
DiedJanuary 16, 1968
Service BranchNavy
RankAO3
Rating or JobAviation Ordinanceman
UnitUSS Kitty Hawk CV-63
CampaignViet Nam
Military Citations 
Honors 
Family 
Notes

A03 William H. Reedy Jr.

Sept. 29, 1947 - Jan. 16, 1968

Chico

Bill Reedy’s parents moved to Chico after he enlisted in the Navy, but the young man met a number of local acquaintances by running classified advertisements in the newspaper when he was about to come home on leave.

Reedy continued to correspond with his new friends even while he was stationed on the USS Kitty Hawk in the South China Sea.

It was on his final cruise before his enlistment was up that Reedy, an aircraft ordnance specialist, took off from the deck of the Kitty Hawk in an airplane with nine others aboard.

According to a Navy release, the airplane veered sharply to the left as it lifted from the deck and then crashed over the right side of the carrier.

Seven of the ten crewmen were rescued, but Reedy and two others died.

Chico News & Review, May 26, 1988

 

Sources

National Archives

Chico News & Review

Mementos