A TRUE AMERICAN HERO, CAPTAIN EUGENE B. MC DANIEL, UNITED STATES NAVY RETIRED.
CAPT Mc DANIEL, “RED” AS HE IS KNOWN TO HIS FRIENDS, IS NATIVE of KINSTON, NORTH CAROLINA. HE IS A GRADUATE OF GRAINGER HIGH SCHOOL. WHILE AT GRAINGER HIGH SCHOOL. CAPT. Mc DANIEL PLAYED BASKETBALL AND BASEBALL UNDER THE DIRECTION OF COACH FRANK MOCK.
UPON GRADUATION, HE RECEIVED A SCHOLARSHIP TO CAMPBELL JUNIOR COLLEGE. IT WAS AT CAMPBELL THAT HE MET DOROTHY HOWARD, WHOM HE LATER MARRIED. AFTER COMPLETING HIS STUDIES AT CAMPBELL. HE ENROLLED AT ELON COLLEGE WHERE HE COMPLETED HIS DEGREE. HE ENLISTED IN THE UNITED STATES NAVY AND BECAME A NAVAL AVIATOR.
ON MAY 19, 1967, CAPT. Mc DANIEL Was ASSIGNED TO THE U.S.S ENTERPRISE. WHILE FLYING HIS 81st MISSION, CAPT. Mc DANIEL’S A-6 INTRUDER WAS HIT BY ENEMY FIRE. HE WAS CAPTURED. FOR THE NEXT 6 ½ YEARS HE WAS A PRISONER OF WAR IN NORTH VIETNAM.
WHEN CAPT Mc DANIEL RETURNED FROM VIETNAM, HE RESUMED ACTIVE DUTY. HE SERVED AS THE COMMANDING OFFICER OF THE USS NIAGARA FALLS AND THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS LEXINGTON. UNDER HIS COMMAND THE LEXINGTON EXPERIENCED NO SERIOUS ACCIDENTS WHILE ACCOMPLISHING MORE THAN 20,000 CARRIER LANDINGS.
HE HAS SERVED AS DIRECTOR OF NAVY/MARINE CORPS LIAISON TO THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE.
TODAY HE LIVES IN ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA, WITH HIS LOVELY WIFE DOROTHY. HE IS THE FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN DEFENSE INSTITUTE AND THE AMERICAN DEFENSE FOUNDATION. THE PURPOSE OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS IS TO INCREASE PUBLIC AWARENESS OF THE NEED FOR A STRONG NATIONAL DEFENSE. CAPT MC DANIEL HAS DONE MUCH WORK FOR THE POW/MIA EFFORTS OF BOTH VIETNAM AND KOREAN WARS.
FOR HIS ACTIONS WHILE A PRISONER OF WAR, CAPT Mc DANIEL WAS AWARDED THE NAVY CROSS, OUR NATION’S SECOND HIGHEST AWARD. IN ADDITION, HE HAS BEEN AWARDED 2 SILVER STARS, 3 BRONZE STARS WITH COMBAT “V”, THE LEGION OF MERIT WITH COMBAT “V”, TWO PURPLE HEARTS AND THE NAVAL COMMENDATION MEDAL.
CAPT Mc DANIEL’S STORY IS ONE OF FAITH IN GOD, OUTSTANDING COURAGE AND DEVOTION TO DUTY.
“Courage is not the absence of fear,
but the presence of faith”.
Captain Eugene “Red” McDaniel
address to the United States Naval Academy Midshipmen
and the United States Air Force Academy Cadets
baseball teams.
King’s Restaurant, Kinston, North Carolina
February 25, 2012
