NED W. METCALF, JR., LT, USN
Ned Metcalf, Jr. '87
Lucky Bag
From the 1987 Lucky Bag:
Ned Winford Metcalf
What ever you want to call him-"Buddha" "Ace" *@&x?!!! or just plain old Ned, He's the best of friends. You'd like to hear some stories? Hey Ned! What about the picnic tables and obnoxious dogs of P-Cola? Pittsburgh's stewardesses wanting to spread their wings? Sleeping Ring Dance dates . . . that wake up? Flight lessons with sleepy instructors? That hole in the LZ at Quantico? First Class cruise and the English girls of Venice? Rainy days in Quebec, Your skill as weather driver. Don't forget Plebe year, NAPS, The good times with Tim, Your good friends in 11th company and the rest the Brigade, and your super Family, especially your Mom. Fair winds following seas and my friend. Keep in touch with your friends and good memories. We'll read this together someday and laugh about the old days. MB
Ned Winford Metcalf
What ever you want to call him-"Buddha" "Ace" *@&x?!!! or just plain old Ned, He's the best of friends. You'd like to hear some stories? Hey Ned! What about the picnic tables and obnoxious dogs of P-Cola? Pittsburgh's stewardesses wanting to spread their wings? Sleeping Ring Dance dates . . . that wake up? Flight lessons with sleepy instructors? That hole in the LZ at Quantico? First Class cruise and the English girls of Venice? Rainy days in Quebec, Your skill as weather driver. Don't forget Plebe year, NAPS, The good times with Tim, Your good friends in 11th company and the rest the Brigade, and your super Family, especially your Mom. Fair winds following seas and my friend. Keep in touch with your friends and good memories. We'll read this together someday and laugh about the old days. MB
Loss
Ned was lost on March 21, 1991 when the P-3 Orion aircraft he was aboard collided with another over the Pacific Ocean about 60 miles from San Diego. Twenty-six other men -- the full crews of both aircraft -- were also killed.
From the Associated Press via VPnavy.com on March 21, 1991:
SAN DIEGO - Two Navy submarine-hunting planes collided Thursday, and all 27 people aboard were feared dead in cold, choppy waters 60 miles off Southern California, authorities said.
The Navy listed the crews as missing, but there was little hope any of the crew members from the downed P-3 Orions survived.
The all-weather planes were engaged in an anti-submarine Warfare exercise when they collided in bad weather, authorities said.
"I think we have to be realistic here," said Senior Chief Petty Officer Bob Howard, a Navy public affairs officer at North Island Naval Air Station. "It is very cold out there. We're talking about what apparently is a mid-air collision...two aircraft. I would say it would be very grim."
Still, he said, the Navy was conducting an aggressive air and sea search of the crash site.
Search and rescue teams saw some debris from the planes but found no signs of life.
There was no word on how long the search would last, but Howard said the Navy would make "extraordinary" attempts to retrieve remains and wreckage.
The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, the destroyer USS Merrill and at least two other ships, along with helicopters and fixed-wing planes, were assisting in the search.
A Navy helicopter crew flying in the area and sailors from the Merrill reported a ball of fire and loud explosion about 2:30 a.m. PST, Howard said during a briefing at North Island Naval Air Station.
He said the accident occurred over the Pacific Ocean about 60 miles southwest of San Diego.
The collision occurred as one P-3 Orion was arriving to relieve the other, which had just completed its part of the exercise, Howard said. Officials were uncertain how much contact the pilots had before the crash, he said.
Howard said it was believed 13 crew members were aboard one P-3 Orion and 14 on the other. The planes were on a training mission from Moffett Naval Air Station near San Jose. Names of crew members were withheld pending notification of their families.
The P-3s were in contact with land- and sea-based air controllers during the exercise, but officials were uncertain who was directing them at the time of the collision, Howard said.
Showers and strong winds were reported in the San Diego area overnight. The National Weather Service said pilots in the area reported severe turbulence about the time of the collision.
Howard said the Navy was uncertain what part, if any, weather played in the collision.
The P-3 Orion, driven by four propellers, is regularly used by weather forecasters to fly in hurricanes.
Other Information
From The Tampa Tribune on March 23, 1991:
....Metcalf, a 1985 graduate of the Naval Academy, had wanted to go to the Persian Gulf to join his buddies.
"That was our main concern," said Metcalf’s aunt, Rose Mari Petti of West Palm Beach. "Then this had to happen. He wanted to go. He was very upset. All his friends were over there..."
Metcalf last spoke to his mother, Eileen, on Tuesday, Petti said.
"They were making plans for his wedding," she said. His fiancee, Sheila Gerberick, lives in Corpus Christi, Texas.
His father, Ned W. Metcalf Sr., an Air Force lieutenant, was killed in traffic accident 17 years ago on a base in San Antonio.
"He was a very responsible person," Petti said of her nephew. "He was everything you wanted him to be especially to his mother."
Metcalf graduated from Admiral Farragut Academy, a St Petersburg military preparatory school, and received a presidential appointment to the Naval Academy.
"He always wanted to fly," Petti said. "That's all he ever wanted to do."
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Ned graduated in 1982 from Admiral Farragut Academy. “Needles” Academic Honors: Academic Ribbons, Headmaster’s List. Naval Honors: 1PO, QM3, NS3 Ribbon, Honor Ribbon, Honor Company Ribbon, Rifle Team Ribbon, Colorado Guard Ribbon, Drill Team Ribbon, Department Ribbon, Merit Ribbon, Marksmen Ribbon, Club Ribbon, 4 Year Service Ribbon. Athletic Honors: Varsity Football (1 year), Varsity Basketball Manager (2 years), J.V. Football (1 year). Favorite Expressions: Mellow out. Usually Found: Canteen Deck. Most Characteristic Action: Listening to loud music. Ambition: Fighter pilot. Spends Most Free Time: Hilton. Hobbies: Scuba Diving, motorcross, girls. Pet Peeve: Tuck saying “chill out”, physics. Plans to attend Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and study engineering. Named: Senior Forger.
Ned was from Sarasota, Florida. He has memorial markers in North Carolina and at Arlington National Cemetery; there is also a group memorial at Arlington National Cemetery.
Photographs
From his high school yearbook
From his high school yearbook, with Rifle Team Coach CPO Edward Maus
Related Articles
Robert Nemecek '80, Dennis Redmond '86, Jay Williamson '86, Mark Hamilton '87, and Martin Cox '88 were also lost in the collision of two P-3 Orions of Patrol Squadron (VP) 50 off the coast of Southern California on March 21, 1991.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
