NEAL RICHARD E

CWO Richard E Neal was a potential VHPA member who died after his tour in Vietnam on 11/22/1972 at the age of 27.6 from A/C accident
St. Helena, CA
Flight Class 68-7
Date of Birth 03/31/1945
Served in the U.S. Army
Served in Vietnam with B/1/9 CAV 1 CAV in 68-69
Call sign in Vietnam SABER 38
This information was provided by Reunion 96, 7th Reunion

More detail on this person: Richard Eugene Neal St. Helenan Killed In Miami Crash Richard Eugene Neal, 27, son of Mrs. Leona M. Neal of St. Helena, was killed Wednesday in Miami, Fla., when the helicopter he was piloting struck an unlighted crane and crashed into a hotel parking lot. Neal, who served as a Warrant Officer in Vietnam for four years, was the holder of two Distinguished Flying Crosses, with clusters for heroism, 28 Air Medals with one Bronze Star and a Vietnamese campaign medal. He graduated from St. Helena High School in 1965 and attended Napa College for two years before entering the U.S. Army as a pilot in 1967. When he returned home he went to Florida and attended the Embry Riddle University in Daytona Beach, where he graduated with a bachelor of science degree in aeronautics. Neal was piloting a helicopter for a power company in Miami the night of the crash. He was working free-lance as a helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft pilot while waiting to be employed with one of the major airlines. He was also a flight instructor. The Associated Press in Miami said Neal had attempted to avoid hitting the crane at the last minute. The helicopter swerved, and lost power immediately after the collision, then exploded in a ball of flame upon crashing into the parking lot. Richard Neal who was born in Palo Alto, is survived by his mother, Mrs. Leona Neal; two sisters, Mrs. Bruno (Janet) Pagendarm of St. Helena and Mrs. Robert (Joan) Fidiam of Berkeley; two nieces and one nephew. Funeral services will be held Monday at 11 am. in the Morrison Funeral Chapel at St. Helena. Interment will be in the St. Helena Cemetery. The family prefers that memorial gifts be given to the Cerebral Palsy Foundation of Sonoma County.

Burial information: Saint Helena Cemetery, Saint Helena, CA

This information was last updated 09/08/2019

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Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024