JOHN F. DALTON, LTCOL, USMC

John Dalton '68

Date of birth: January 20, 1946

Date of death: November 17, 1983

Age: 37

Lucky Bag

From the 1968 Lucky Bag:

JOHN FREDERICK DALTON

Mountain Home, Idaho

Dalts came to USNA as directly as possible from his high school in Mountain Home, Idaho. He stood number 13 in the class after plebe year but his desire to maintain a "graduation watch" on the pad youngster year and his love affair with the "boob tube" the last two years have collectively dropped him all the way to the mid twenties. He can always be counted on for academic help even when he hasn't time for his own. After he secured on Varsity baseball, he became an invaluable asset to the Company soccer, basketball, and Softball teams. Shortly after John earns his Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech, some marine air wing will acquire one of its finest officers.

John was also the 30th Company Commander for the 3rd Set.

JOHN FREDERICK DALTON

Mountain Home, Idaho

Dalts came to USNA as directly as possible from his high school in Mountain Home, Idaho. He stood number 13 in the class after plebe year but his desire to maintain a "graduation watch" on the pad youngster year and his love affair with the "boob tube" the last two years have collectively dropped him all the way to the mid twenties. He can always be counted on for academic help even when he hasn't time for his own. After he secured on Varsity baseball, he became an invaluable asset to the Company soccer, basketball, and Softball teams. Shortly after John earns his Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech, some marine air wing will acquire one of its finest officers.

John was also the 30th Company Commander for the 3rd Set.

Obituary

John was lost on November 17, 1983 when the F/A-18 Hornet he was piloting crashed into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of southern California.

Other Information

From Find A Grave:

JOHN FREDERICK DALTON was born 20 January 1946 at Ontario, Malheur County, Oregon. He was the second of three children born to Ursus Benson Dalton and Netta Maxine Tooley. John was an outstanding student and athlete. He graduated from Mountain Home High School in 1964 (Idaho) and was accepted at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. On June 21, 1969, he married Paulette June Merritts at Camp Hill, Cumberland, Pennsylvania. They became the parents of three daughters. Paulette remarried (new surname "Thaut"). She passed away July 23, 1995 in Colorado.
John died when the plane he was testing went down over the Pacific Ocean. The people of the United States owe him their respect and gratitude.

From the May 1984 issue of Shipmate:

LCol. John Frederick Dalton USMC died on 17 November 1983 in the crash of an F/A-18 Hornet off the Southern California Coast. Memorial services were held at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station in Santa Ana, California, on 23 November.
Appointed to the Naval Academy from the State of Idaho, he was graduated with honors in the Class of 1968 and selected for graduate studies at the Georgia Institute of Technology where he was awarded a Master of Science degree in Engineering Mechanics in 1969.
After Basic School at Quantico, he completed flight training and reported to Marine Attack Squadron VMA-214 at MCAS El Toro. Later duty was at MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, with VMA-311, followed by a tour as an instructor in engineering at the Naval Academy.
In 1978 he attended the Amphibious Warfare School at Quantico prior to returning to El Toro to join VMA-211, then in 1982 was ordered to Marine Aircraft Group 13 before attending the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk. He was subsequently assigned to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing where he was serving as the commanding officer of Marine Air Base Squadron 11, Marine Aircraft Group 11, El Toro. He was a life member of the Naval Academy Alumni Association.
He is survived by his widow Paulette of Mission Viejo, CA; his mother, Mrs. Maxine Dalton, of Mountain Home, Idaho; three daughters; and a brother, Maj. Thomas R. Dalton USMC, USNA '71, Dumfries, Virginia.

John was an active athlete during his career at Mountain Home High School as well. He played football and basketball, and also was on a competing Math Team for the school.

Photographs

From the Lucky Bag: 1968 Brigade Staff 1st Set
From the Lucky Bag: 1968 Brigade Staff 2nd Set
"John, Paulette, and daughters Cheryl, Susie and Jeannie."
"About 1967 - John F. Dalton with aunt & uncle Teressa (Dalton) & David Hendry. This was taken at John's mother's home in Mountain Home, Idaho."
"Earlier photo of Marine Captain John F. Dalton in his aircraft, a photo probably taken while a flight instructor."
From The Idaho Statesman (Boise) on March 12, 1964.

Recovery

The book 30,000 Leagues Undersea: True Tales of a Submariner and Deep Submergence Pilot by Tom Vetter has a chapter titled "Finding John Dalton," and is about the new techniques pioneered to recover John and his new F/A-18 Hornet from the sea floor off the coast of Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, CA.