Kitty Hawk (CVA 63) - Naval Cruise Book

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in Xi-rs. --an 715, ,- if . 4... ' we -ef . . 'iffy - ' 1' .. . v , ' . ,.--tg 2. sgiimi. till I It lol! Captain William Floyd Bringle, USN Captain William Floyd Bringle, USN Captain William F. Bringle was born in Covington, Tennessee, on April 23, 1913, son of Mrs. Lota Smith Bringle and the late William F. Bringle of Covington, Tennessee. He attended the Byars-Hall High School and Columbia Military Academy before his appointment to the U. S. Naval Academy. Graduating in June, 1937, he was com- missioned Ensign, and through subsequent advancement attained his present rank of Captain, July 1, 1955. During his career, Captain Bringle .has served in numerous sea and shore assign- ments. His first was aboard the USS SARA- TOGA KCV-3l in the gunnery, communica- tions, and engineering departments as a junior officer until 1940. Reporting to the Naval Air Station, Pen- sacola, Florida, for flight training, he was designated a Naval Aviator in December 1940. In January 1941, he served as Senior Aviator aboard the USS MILWAUKEE, and he eventually became Commanding Officer of Cruiser Scouting Squadron TWO, operat- ing on the USS OMAHA and the USS SA- VANNAH. From September to November 1943, he trained at the Naval Air Station, Melbourne, Florida, and in December, formed the first Observation Fighting Squadron KVOF-ll dur- ing World War I. He commanded the squad- ron throughout the period of hostilities, and was awarded the Navy Cross, For extraor- dinary heroism in action against enemy forces during the Allied Invasion of South- ern France in August 1944. Captain Bringle also received the Croix de Guerre with Sil- ver Star from the Government of France for his part in the Invasion. Reassigned to the Pacific war again, Captain Bringle and squadron embarked in the USS WAKE IS- LAND and later the USS MARCUS ISLAND. While under his command, the squadron participated in strikes against enemy held installations in Leyte, Luzon, Iwo Jima, Sa- kishlma Gunto, Nansei Shoto area, Okinawa and many other Pacific Islands. His squad- ron contributed materially to the success of these combat operations in the performance 22 of its primary function of spotting for na- val gunfire and close air support of ground forces in repeated bombing and roc et at- tacks against enemy troops and installa- tions. For his outstanding service during these engagements and others, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with Gold Stars in lieu of five additional awards of that medal as well as the Air Medal with Gold stars in lieu of sixteen additional similar awards. From October 1945 until October 1946, following the Japanese surrender, he was the Air Group Commander of Carrier Air Group Seventeen, and when detached he re- turned to the Naval Academy for duty as a Battalion Officer. He remained there until June 1948. Returning again to sea, Captain Bringle filled the post of Commander, Carrier Air Group One aboard the carriers USS TARAWA and USS PHILIPPINE SEA. From 1950 to 1952 he served as a mem- ber of the Superintendent's Staff at the Naval Academy. The next year, as a student, he attended the Naval War College at New- port, Rhode Island. Another year and a half of sea duty as Executive Officer of the USS HORNET, 1953-1954, was alternated with 2111 years of shore duty as Head of the Operational Intelligence Branch in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, and as the Naval Aide to the Secretary of the Navy. In 1957, Captain Bringle assumed com- mand of Heavy Attack Wing Two, operating A3D attack bombers in the Pacific. He served in this command until July 1958, when he was ordered back to the Naval Academy as Commandant of Midshipmen. Captain.BringIe, in May, 1960, received orders designating him as the Prospective Commanding Officer of the Navy's new at- tack carrler, the USS KITTY HAWK CCVA-63l. -Married to the former Miss Donnie God- win of Coronado, California, Captain Bringle has two children, Rosalind and Donald. His official .address is 1639 Peabody Street, Memphis, Tennessee.

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Commander John M. Thomas, USN Commander John M. Thomas was born in Iowa City, Iowa, on May 2, 1918, and at- tended parochial and public schools in that state, completing high school at St. Ambrose Academy located in Davenport, Iowa. He attended St. Ambrose College and later Northwestern University in Evanston, llli- nois. Commander Thomas entered flight train- ing in August 1941 and was designated a Naval Aviator in Corpus Christi, Texas. He joined his first carrier based squadron, Composite Squadron ONE at San Diego, California. He remained with the squad- ron during its trip through the Panama Canal to the Atlantic and participated in anti-submarine patrols aboard various f'jeep carriers until February, 1944. Dur- ing the period, Composite Squadron ONE was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation while attached to the USS CARD. In Febru- ary 1944, he was assigned to VF-74, a Hell Cat squadron attached to the USS KAASAN BAY, and participated in the in- vasion of Southern France, where he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Commander J. M. Thomas was next as- signed to Patuxent River, Maryland, as a Project Test Pilot completing the Flight Test School , which was the forerunner of the now famous Test Pilot School. During his tenure at Patuxent, he was assigned to evaluate several foreign aircraft, including the Japanese Tony and Zeke, and the German Dornier 335 . He was one of the first Naval aviators to fly jet aircraft which in- 24 cluded the Bell P-59 and the Lockheed P-80. ln 1951, he attended the General Line School in Monterey, California, and in January 1952 proceeded to Washington, D.C. and spent two years in OP-54, with the Aviation Personnel Distribution Section. ln March 1954, he was assigned as Command- ing Officer of Fighter Squadron 24, based aboard the USS ESSEX as part of Carrier Air Group TWO. VF-24 was the first squad- ron on the West Coast to have the F9F-6 swept-wing jet aircraft. The squadron com- pleted an eight-month deployment to the Western Pacific, participating in the Ta- chen operations. From August 1957 to June 1958, Com- mander Thomas attended the Naval War College at Newport, Rhode Island. Upon graduation, he was assigned as Commanding Officer of Fighter Squadron ONE TWO ONE, a replacement fighter squadron. This unit was engaged in training Fleet All-Weather Fighter Pilots in the F3H aircraft. During this period VF-121 was awarded the Chief of Naval Operations Safety Award for com- piling 16,000 hours and over 3,000 carrier landings without an accident. ln August 1960, Commander John M. Thomas reported to the USS KITTY HAWK iCVA-631 as the Prospective Executive Of- ficer, prior to the vessel's commissioning. .Married to the former Miss Germaine An- toinette De Waelsche of Moline, Illinois, Commander Thomas has four childreng John Patrick, Steven Edward, Linda Jane, and Jeffrey Michael.