NOTAM 2-2012 (HOUSER)

Dear Golden Eagles,

I am saddened to report that Vice Admiral William D. Houser, USN (Ret.) made his last take-off on Sunday, February 5, 2012 in Washington, D.C. His wife Jan, three daughters Cindy Riera, Gayle Fogleman, and Francie Washington; six grandchildren and one great granddaughter; two stepdaughters Karla MacMahon and Louise Turner, and five grandchildren survive him. Service and burial at Arlington National Cemetery will be on a date to be determined. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in his honor to the Wounded Warrior Project at www.woundedwarriorproject.org, or Alzheimer’s Association at www.alz.org.

Admiral Houser entered the U.S. Naval Academy in 1938 and graduated with the Class of ’42 in December ’41. He was assigned to USS Nashville (CL-43) and served in the Pacific during the capture and defense of Guadalcanal, raids on Marcus and Wake Islands, and operations at Leyte and Luzon. He entered flight training in Feb ’45, and was designated a naval aviator in March ’46. From ’46-’48 Bill served with VF-58 as Operations and Executive Officer, and in ’48 flew the Navy’s first jet, the FD-1 Phantom, for two months before leaving for duty with Navy staff in Washington, DC.

After a Mediterranean cruise as XO of VF-44, Admiral Houser returned to combat in Korea in ’53 as Commanding Officer of VF-44 flying F4U-4 Corsairs from USS Boxer (CV-21) and USS Lake Champlain (CV-39). He was awarded the Bronze Star and two Air Medals for his heroic achievements in combat.

Admiral Houser served four tours in OpNav, two with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, one as Military Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, and one as a staff member of the Net Evaluation Sub-committee of the National Security Council during his illustrious career. Other significant assignments included VX-3 as Operations and Executive officer from ’56-’58, where he participated in first fleet firings of new Sidewinder against live targets. After attending Naval War College he was Commanding Officer of VF-124, the west coast fleet replacement squadron for F8U Crusader and instrument training from  ’59-’60. He received a MS degree from George Washington University in ’63, and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University. Admiral Houser commanded USS Mauna Loa (AE-8) in ’64. He deployed the first successful night and all-weather combat cruise for the A-6 as Commanding Officer, USS Constellation (CV-64) in ’66. From ’70-’72 he was Commander Carrier Division TWO where he made an emergency sortie in response to Jordanian crisis in ’70, as well as two Mediterranean deployments.

Admiral Houser served from ’72-’76 as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (OP-05). The A-6E, MH-53, T-2B, and F-18 aircraft were started during this period, but in his judgment major accomplishment and most difficult was saving F-14 from its many detractors in the Congress, Office of the Secretary of Defense, and within various offices of the Navy. Bill retired in May 1976.

A few of his proudest accomplishments are: designation as a Naval Academy Distinguished Graduate in 2003, founder of the Midway Memorial Award, Annual Dinner and Foundation; Tailhooker of the Year in 1972, and his membership in The Golden Eagles.

A dynamic and highly effective spokesperson for naval aviation even after retirement, he was instrumental in getting some element of justice for Tailhook victims. A popular, gregarious leader and an accomplished aviator, he served with valor in WWII, Korea and Vietnam.  He will be missed.

Sadly,

Bill Gureck, Pilot