In Memoriam
In Memory of those of our own who gave their life in service to our country while on duty with U.S. Navy and the A-3 Skywarrior community.
In Memory
Mark "Swish" Swisher
August 23, 1958 - January 22, 2020
Co-founder of the A-3 Skywarrior Association, Treasurer, and endowed member.
AT2 Mark Swisher was a founding members of the A-3 Skywarrior Assoc. He was instrumental in conseptualizing the A-3 Skywarrior Assoc. and became the treasurer, serving in that capacity for more than 20 years. Mark was very enthusiastic about preserving as many A-3s as possible for display in museums across the country. He will be missed by all. Below is the link to Mark's obituary.
In Memory
Capt. John "Jack" Edward Taylor
1923 - 2009
Founding board member and endowed member
Capt. Jack Taylor was one of the plank owners and founding members of the A-3 Skywarrior Assoc. He was instrumental in working with our first start up group, later to become the board of directors. Jack was always enthusiastic when the subject of the Skywarrior came up. He also loved the A-3 community from top to bottom and the feeling was mutual. He will be greatly missed.
In Memory
Richard A. Hovious
Richard A. Hovious passed away after a brief illness in Madrid, Spain on August 18th, 2019 at age 85 - though his official age was listed in all of his records as 88, a direct result of his service in the US Navy.
Richard walked into the Navy recruiting office in Campbellsville, KY in 1948 just before he turned 14, convinced the recruiter he was about to turn 17, and passed the entrance exam. He served in the Korean War and was always very proud of his Combat Aircrew wings. After flying as a crewman in AD's and F3D's for several years, he flew in the A3D as a Bombardier/Navigator for his last six years in the Navy. Richard joined VAH-3 in 1955 and made the 1957-58 "Med Cruise" with them aboard the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42), where he sustained injuries on the flight deck that ultimately led to his disability discharge from the Navy in 1961. He joined VAH-8 in '60 and VAH-6 in '61, his last duty station being Whidbey Island, today the site of the A-3 Skywarrior memorial. In his as yet unpublished autobiography he reminisced about flying in and out of Whidbey and his experiences in the A-3, and named in the book's dedication four of his friends and fellow aviators who were killed in assorted A-3 accidents.
After leaving the Navy, Richard went into aerospace engineering and worked for Aerojet and General Electric on some of the military's most sophisticated satellites, weapons and equipment, among them the F4, F15 and the W71 nuclear warhead, and on significant space-related programs including the Apollo Support Program in the years immediately before the moon landings. By the mid-1970s his military injuries and multiple heart attacks had taken a serious toll on his health, forcing him into early retirement, but not - fortunately - requiring him to give up golf. He spent the next four decades travelling the world, living at various times in the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Panama, Mexico, Venezuela, Italy, France and Spain, which he had first visited in 1953 aboard the USS Coral Sea (CVA-43).
In Memory
Lt. Cmdr. Robert W. Ramey
1920 - 1958
The airfield of the Naval Air Station in Sanford, Seminole County, Florida was dedicated on February 6, 1959 in honor of Lt. Commander Robert W. Ramey, a decorated World War II pilot. He sacrificed his life in 1958 while saving his crew before his A3D Skywarrior exploded and crashed.