NEAL T. LIPPY, CAPT, USMC
Neal Lippy '79
Unable to determine when Neal left the Naval Academy, but from his obituary (and that he didn't lose a year of college) it seems likely it was either during plebe summer or possibly after plebe year.
Photographs
Photo clipped from the Evening Sun (Hannover, Pennsylvania), July 15, 1985.
Loss
Neal was lost on July 12, 1985 when the CH-53D Sea Stallion he was piloting crashed on Okinawa, Japan. Three others aboard were also killed; they were members of Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 361.
Other Information
From Find A Grave:
Capt. Neal T. Lippy, 27, Costa Mesa, Calif., formerly of Littlestown, died July 11, after a crash involving a helicopter he was piloting during a Marine Corps Training Run over Okinawa Islands.
He was the husband of Lori Ann Lippy, Costa Mesa, Calif.
He was born in Littlestown, son of Alfred T. and Betty L. Basehoar Lippy, Littlestown.
A 1975 graduate of Littlestown High School, he attended Temple University on a full scholarship. He had been appointed, accepted and entered the Annapolis Naval Academy, but later resigned and then entered Mansfield College in Mansfield, Pa., where he was graduated. At graduation, he was commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant in the Marines. He attended flight school in Pensacola, Fla., and was assigned to Tustin, California. Capt. Lippy was on his second rotational tour of Okinawa when the accident occurred. He was scheduled to return to the Mainland in December and planned to leave the Marine Corps in the middle of 1986.
He and his father had recently founded the business, San Sweat in Orange County, Calif., where they manufactured a sales promotion product. He and his wife had gained clientele in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills for the business to which Capt. Lippy had planned to devote his career.
In addition to his wife and parents, he is survived by three sisters, Mrs. Jan(Judith) Bachman, Killeen, Texas, Mrs. Jack (Peggy) Seseney, Littlestown, and Mrs. Edward (Melanie) Neiderer, West Germany, and one brother, Michael Lippy, Littlestown.
Gettysburg Times, Wednesday, July 17, 1985.
He is buried in Pennsylvania.
From researcher Kathy Franz:
At Mansfield University, Neal belonged to Tau Kappa Epsilon. His brother Mike also attended Mansfield.
On September 13, 1985, his sister Peggy presented an American flag in his name to Littlestown High School principal John Manley before the Thunderbolts’ football game. Peggy’s son Todd was a member of the football team.
From the Evening Sun on July 12, 1986:
In remembrance of our
beloved son and brotherCAPTAIN NEAL T. LIPPY
killed July 12, 1985
on Okinawa.One lonely year has passed since
- our great sorrow fell,
the shock that we received that day,
- we still remember well.
Remembrance is a golden chain,
- Death tries to break, but all in vain;
to have, to love, and then to part is
- the greatest sorrow of one's heart.
The years may wipe out many things,
- but this they wipe out never.
The memory of those happy days---
- when we were all together.
Sadly missed by his
Parents,
Sisters and Brothers; Wife, Lori
Memorial Service
Neal's memorial service was prominently featured on the front page of the July 30, 1985 issue of the Gettysburg Times:
"On behalf of a grateful nation" began the speech by Marine Capt. Frank Difalco as he gently handed the tri-corner-folded flag to Lori Lippy, trim, erect, and a widow at 27.
Neal T. Lippy, also 27 and a Littlestown native, died July 12 when the CH-53D Sea Stallion helicopter he piloted burst into flames over a Marine training area on the Pacific island of Okinawa.
The funeral cortege Monday began at Littles' Funeral Home in Littlestown, where two Marine honor guards, resplendent in dress blues, stood still as stones on either side of Lippy's flag-shrouded casket, the field of stars, as tradition demands, over his heart. The Marines are very strong on tradition, especially at times like these.
The day began hot and sullen, but the haze had burned off by the time the funeral reached Oak Lawn Memorial Gardens west of Gettysburg, as nearly a hundred friends and relatives and 25 Marines escorted Neal Lippy to his final resting place.
The clockwork precision and cadences of a full military funeral couch the sad duties of the occasion in razor-sharp formality. The ceremonies have evolved over the centuries; the slow salutes, the crackerjack perfection, the steps as formal as any ballet- in this way does the military bid goodbye to its own.
In this way, too, with the machine-smooth motions, is the grief handled, measured, cut into more manageable parts. Ironically, a civilian helicopter on a training flight circled the cemetery about a half-mile away, as the short service began, read by Navy Cdr. Lawrence McConnell: "Heavenly Father, we beseech You this day to remember Your servant Neal T. Lippy" in the venerable rhythms of the Good Book.
The seven Marines in the Honor Guard fired a 21-gun salute, the bugler played "Taps," and the ceremony wound to a close. Marines saluted with exaggerated slowness and stepped away from the casket with steps almost dream-like.
People embraced, wiped their eyes, and filed slowly back to their cars and into the busy routines of their lives.
At the veterans section of Oak Lawn, the flags of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard snapped smartly in the fresh breeze, under a perfect sky.
Memorial Golf Tournament
From The Evening Sun on May 22, 1986:
More than 100 golfers participated in the first annual Neal Lippy Memorial Golf Tournament Wednesday at the Caledonia Golf Club to benefit the Littlestown Baseball for Youth programs.
The event has been held for the last five years without a title. But after Neal Lippy passed away in a helicopter accident July 12, 1985, the idea for a tournament name was a natural.
Lippy graduated from Littlestown in 1975 where he was the starting quarterback for that year’s undefeated football team. He went on to attend the Naval Academy where he became a pilot in the Marine Corps and worked his way into becoming a captain.
According to Laurie Lippy, his surviving wife, his first love was, however, golf and he had talked about trying to get his PGA card after fulfilling his service duties. While stationed in Tustin, California, he was a member of the Presidential Marine Golf Team and had spent two weeks with the team participating in competitions in Hawaii.
“We were both involved in Little League when we were growing up,” noted Lippy’s brother Mike. “Also, with his great interest in golf, the tournament idea seemed a perfect fit.” Last year 53 golfers participated in the unnamed tournament, but with the Lippy name attached to the charitable event, the number of participants nearly doubled.
“The turnout means a lot to our family,” said Mike Lippy, “it’s touching to see the many people here in honor of my brother. We feel really good about everyone remembering him on this day, and my family appreciates their making the effort to be here.” Lippy went on to note that about 90 percent of the people were from Littlestown and that many of them had to sacrifice a day of work.
“The main objective was to have fun here,” noted low gross winner Tim Staub. “I came out here to have a good time and get into the spirit of the tournament, not because I wanted to win. Winning was not my primary goal and there wasn’t any pressure,” said the McSherrystown resident who shot a 71.
Donations at the tournament were presented by Neal’s brother Michael Lippy and his sister Judith Baughman of Austin, Texas, on behalf of their parents Mr. and Mrs. Al Lippy, who added an additional donation of their own.
Memorial Hall Error
Neal is not listed with his classmates. He was identified through the diligent efforts of a volunteer who combed through Shipmate issues to find operational losses not accounted for in Memorial Hall. (He appears in the September 1985 issue.)
Neal is one of 15 members of the Class of 1979 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.
