FRIEND C. VAN FLEET, JR., LCDR, USN
Friend Van Fleet, Jr. '44
Lucky Bag
From the 1944 Lucky Bag:
Friend Cheadle Van Fleet, Jr.
Akron, Ohio
From football practice to his bunk. That was a daily round trip for Van. Just how he managed to make the grades he did by following this schedule has remained a mystery. Frequent tangles with the Executive Department convinced him, finally, that they were not at all afraid of him. With a friendly smile as an introduction, Van walked into the Academy determined to continue his climb to the top. Although easy-going in nature, he has an ardent desire to do all of his jobs well. A guy with a fighting heart and the kind of fellow to have around when things begin to get hot—that's Van.
The Class of 1944 was graduated in June 1943 due to World War II. The entirety of 2nd class (junior) year was removed from the curriculum.
Friend Cheadle Van Fleet, Jr.
Akron, Ohio
From football practice to his bunk. That was a daily round trip for Van. Just how he managed to make the grades he did by following this schedule has remained a mystery. Frequent tangles with the Executive Department convinced him, finally, that they were not at all afraid of him. With a friendly smile as an introduction, Van walked into the Academy determined to continue his climb to the top. Although easy-going in nature, he has an ardent desire to do all of his jobs well. A guy with a fighting heart and the kind of fellow to have around when things begin to get hot—that's Van.
The Class of 1944 was graduated in June 1943 due to World War II. The entirety of 2nd class (junior) year was removed from the curriculum.
Loss
Friend was lost in a plane crash at NAAS El Centro, California, on March 9, 1954.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Friend graduated in 1939 from West High School in Akron and attended one year at the University of Akron.
He was named first alternate to a military academy by Congressman Dow Harter in December, 1938. In February 1940, Friend was named first alternate again by Senator Robert A. Taft.
Friend married Wanda Sandefur on June 25, 1944, in Alabama City. In October 1945, Friend was in Corpus Christi.
In October 1948, Friend participated in a ferrying demonstration of ferrying large numbers of carrier type aircraft from their home base to advanced areas in trans-oceanic flight. Taking off from Moffett Field, California, three divisions of four planes each made the 2,100-mile flight to Hawaii in about 11 1/2 hours.
In 1954, he was stationed in Albuquerque. His wife was Wanda "Sandy" McKinney, daughters Janet and Gail.
He is buried in Ohio.
Photographs
From The Akron Beacon Journal on October 17, 1948
Memorial Hall Error
Every source found — including the Annual Register of the United States Naval Academy 1943-1944 and previous editions, the Lucky Bag, and his gravestone indicate his last name was spelled with a space. It appears as one word (VANFLEET) in Memorial Hall.
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