DARYL L. CHEN, LTJG, USN
Daryl Chen '80
Lucky Bag
From the 1980 Lucky Bag:
DARYL LEE CHEN
Chen Man
This derelict came all the way from California to be a star. Had he known what was in store for him, things might have been different, but Daryl never could resist a challenge and quitting was not his style. Daryl's style is a fast car, a steep slope, or a good scrum. The 150# team missed out on a great athlete, but their loss was the Rugby Club's gain. Also among his favorite pastimes are hang-gliding, skydiving, expensive stereos, chesty women, and toys. He loved baseball in the halls, computer football, and his theme song is “China Grove". His major is Mechanical Engineering and First Class year he minored in P.E. To Daryl all the military formalities are bogus. He takes pride in his individualism and fought the system long and hard to keep from being changed. He won the first half of the battle, but now the Navy has him by the nads for at least five years. What better way to spend it than as a Navy pilot? Fricken aye! After four years with the same roommate anything will be a pleasant change.
DARYL LEE CHEN
Chen Man
This derelict came all the way from California to be a star. Had he known what was in store for him, things might have been different, but Daryl never could resist a challenge and quitting was not his style. Daryl's style is a fast car, a steep slope, or a good scrum. The 150# team missed out on a great athlete, but their loss was the Rugby Club's gain. Also among his favorite pastimes are hang-gliding, skydiving, expensive stereos, chesty women, and toys. He loved baseball in the halls, computer football, and his theme song is “China Grove". His major is Mechanical Engineering and First Class year he minored in P.E. To Daryl all the military formalities are bogus. He takes pride in his individualism and fought the system long and hard to keep from being changed. He won the first half of the battle, but now the Navy has him by the nads for at least five years. What better way to spend it than as a Navy pilot? Fricken aye! After four years with the same roommate anything will be a pleasant change.
Loss
Daryl was lost when his T-2C Buckeye jet trainer crashed in Meridian, Mississippi on July 9, 1982. He was on a solo flight and stalled the aircraft. (Information from an academy and flight school classmate via email on March 10, 2018.)
Other Information
From The Clarksdale Press Register on July 12, 1982:
A base spokesman said Chen's T-2 jet trainer was in the final approach for landing when it crashed Friday in a field on a small embankment about five miles south of the base, near the end of the south runway.
....The cause of the crash remained under investigation. The plane, which burned when it hit, was destroyed.
Daryl graduated from San Gabriel Academy high school near Los Angeles. In the 1978 yearbook he took out a half-page ad congratulating the new graduates.
He is buried in California.
Daryl is one of 11 members of the Class of 1980 on Virtual Memorial Hall.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
