He also commanded an air attack on a task force of German destroyers attempting to break out of occupied France.
He flew 60 combat missions over the Bay of Biscay and in support of the D- Day landings. During World War II, he commanded a squadron on anti-submarine patrol and worked with the British Coastal Command. In 1941 he earned his wings at the Pensacola Naval Air Station, and was a navy aviator the rest of his career. He graduated in 1937, and his first assignment as an ensign was aboard the battleship Nevada. He joined the naval reserve as an enlisted man, then took a competitive examination for appointment to Annapolis. As a youngster, I used to gaze out at the big gray battleships and wonder where they went. It was a cavalry unit, but, as he recalled years later, 'I can't remember not being able to swim or sail, and I always had some kind of a boat, from a soapbox with a sheet for a sail or a catboat. Born in Newport News, Va., he began his military career as a high school cadet in the old Citizen's Military Camp in Virginia.