More than four decades after a battle in Vietnam, two rear admirals – naval aviators during the war – found themselves honored at a ceremony at the USS Midway Museum on the anniversary of their mission.
Rear Adm. William W. Pickavance, Jr. and Rear Adm. Patrick D. Moneymaker received Air Medals for heroic achievement as part of Operation Lion’s Den, described by the Navy as a nighttime reconnaissance mission in North Vietnam.
The men were piloting A-7B Corsair II ground attack aircraft while members of Attack Squadrons 93 and 56, aboard the USS Midway when it still was active. The armed reconnaissance mission took place Aug. 27, 1972.
Retired Adm. S.R. Foley, then commanding officer of Midway, said Wednesday that he was happy to honor the men he once supervised because “justice is being done today.”
“I am absolutely delighted to be part of this because they are a success story,” Foley said in a news release.
As part of the recognition by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, Pickavance and Moneymaker were credited with:
- Providing close air support to a surface action group involved in the operation, a late-night shore bombardment in a port called Haiphong.
- Responding to an urgent call for assistance from the cruiser USS Newport News, which was under attack by enemy torpedo boats. They used flares to signal where the fast-moving vessels were among the small islands in the outer harbor, illuminating targets for the ship’s gunfire.
- Evading intense fire and continuing low altitude bombing attacks to sink or cripple the torpedo boats.
Accepting their honors, Pickavance and Moneymaker spoke about the operation and praised the men who served with them in Vietnam.
“I would have never imagined when I first joined the team at Midway that 42 years later I would be here,” Moneymaker said.
Vice Adm. David H. Buss, Commander, Naval Air Forces, presented the men with the medals.
