CDR. Norman Linford Youngblood, Jr.
20 Oct 28 - 10 Nov 97
Born, Philadelphia, PA Died Seattle WA
Decorations/awards
Bronze Star Medal w/Combat "V" ,Navy Unit Citation w/2 stars, Meritorious Unit Commendation, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Services Expeditionary Medal (Korea), Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
Date of Rank & Service record:
ENSIGN: 4 Apr '51
- Jun '51 - May '53 VC-11 ASST PERS OFF
LTJG: 1 Jan '53
- May '53 - Jul '54 VF-143 PERS OFFICER
LT: 1 Sep '55
- Aug '54 - Sep '57 ATU-202 FLT INSTRUCTOR
- Oct '57 - Mar '58 NATTU, Pensacola, FL. STUDENT
LCDR: 1 Aug '60
- Mar '58 - Mar '62 VFP-62 OTC
CDR: 1 Jul '65
- Apr '62 - Mar '65 NAVPGSCOL STUDENT
- Mar '65 - Jul '66 COMNAVAIRPAC PHOTO OFF
- Jun '66 - Sep '67 VFP-62 COMMANDING OFFICER
- Oct '67 - Dec '69 COMCARDIV 3 AIR OPS OFFICER
- Dec '69 - Dec '77 CINCPACFLT AVIATION & PLANS
OFFICER Makalapa, HI
- Retired 1 Jan 78, Pearl Harbor, HI
[Provided by Lee Youngblood, wife]
A Final Salute
-
I took the black and white photo above, prior to launch, on the flight deck of the USS Shangri La (circa 1960). It's the way I remember him. Sitting proudly in HIS photo Crusader 908 (he said it was the fastest RF8), with the Tiger eyes and mouth (I created the art-work for it), warning: "Stay away from me; I'm dangerous". We were among the first Crusaders squadrons on the WW II carrier and people liked to walk too close to the intake. It also recalls his earlier VFP-62 detachments in the photo Cougar: "Youngblood's Tigers", circa 1958.
He loved to fly; A "good stick" as aviators like to say. And fly he did. His air shows left you speechless and in awe...in a steep, high-speed descent to sea level...breaking the sound barrier...the sonic boom...the shock waves enveloping his wings...the RF8 in after burner...standing the screaming jet on its tail...climbing and executing a perfect eight-point roll. From young kid to old man, I can close my eyes and still see it. Proud to be part of his VFP-62 detachment; he alone had permission to do that on the Shangri La flyoff.
Beyond that, he was a special man, among special men. An officer who deeply cared for his men; a man who had a menacing stare at times; rugged good looks; a fighter pilot's fighter pilot. One of a handfull few who had a major impact on my life. I had hoped to thank him and tell him that I did o.k., thanks to him and the Navy. He taught me that you could have power and still be magnanimous.
Thank You Sir!
Ken Jack, former PH2 VFP-62 1960-63
Webmaster vfp62.com
[Webmaster's final Note: Cdr Youngblood may have had the longest tenure in VFP-62, spanning in intervals from 1958 to 1967:
as the next-to-last Commanding Officer--see: "VFP-62 Skippers" .
See additional information on him this site (click underlined text):
Thank you for visiting our site.
Please Recommend Us To Your Friends
Email the Webmaster
We invite you to click this link - VFP-62 Webmaster to email a question, comment, correction, or contribution to this page.
Updated 3/9/18
|
In his memory: 
