Raleigh Ernest Rhodes (June 26, 1918 – November 26, 2007), who often went by the

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

of Raleigh "Dusty" Rhodes, was an American

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

combat fighter pilot and the third leader of the

Blue Angels The Blue Angels is a flight demonstration squadron of the United States Navy.

flight team.''Los Angeles Times'' obituary
December 7, 2007.

Pilot

Rhodes was a fighter pilot based on board the USS ''Enterprise'' (CV-6) aircraft carrier during

. He was shot down and captured by Japanese forces during the

Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, fought during 25–27 October 1942, sometimes referred to as the Battle of Santa Cruz or Third Battle of Solomon Sea, in Japan as the Battle of the South Pacific ( ''Minamitaiheiyō kaisen''), was the fourt ...

in October 1942 in the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...

. Rhodes spent in the next three years in a Japanese prison camp. He weighed 88 pounds when he was released from his captivity, during which he was starved and beaten. Rhodes joined the

Blue Angels The Blue Angels is a flight demonstration squadron of the United States Navy.

precision flying team in 1947 after his recovery, and soon after became the flight leader. Rhodes helped the Blue Angels perfect the diamond barrel roll, a complicated aerial maneuver in which four Blue Angels jets perform a loop in a tight diamond formation before becoming inverted at the top of the

formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...

. The Blue Angels became extremely popular with the public. Rhodes returned to an active combat role with the U.S. Navy. He flew fighter plane missions from an aircraft carrier during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. Following the Korean War, Rhodes was stationed at several naval air stations, including the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake,

Monterey Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bot ...

and the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. Rhodes was awarded two

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

s and three Air Medals during his twenty years of active duty in the Navy. He retired from the Navy in 1961 at the rank of commander. Rhodes worked as a project planner for Lockheed Martin facility in Sunnyvale, California, for the next 30 years.

Death

Raleigh Rhodes died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

on November 26, 2007, in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...

, at the age of 89. He was survived by his wife, Pauline, two daughters and a son. Rhodes' former wife, Betty, died in 2005. His son, Raleigh E. Rhodes Jr., also died of lung cancer in July 2007.

Notes

References

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External links

San Jose Mercury News: Raleigh 'Dusty' Rhodes, 89Boston Globe: Raleigh 'Dusty' Rhodes, POW in WWII, leader of Blue Angels
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhodes, Raleigh 1918 births 2007 deaths United States Navy officers Recipients of the Air Medal Lockheed people Deaths from lung cancer in California United States Navy pilots of World War II