NOTAM 11-2013 (Peelle)

CAPT Morris A. Peelle, USN (Ret)

Dear Golden Eagles,

It is my sad duty to report that CAPT Morris A. Peelle, USN (Ret), age 83, made his Last Take-Off in Steamboat Springs, Colorado on 23 December 2013. He is survived by his sons, Michael and Harvey, his longtime companion, Sandy Dodge, four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. A memorial service will be conducted in San Diego in late January. Details will be forwarded via Golden Eagle Special Notice when they become available.

CAPT “Mo” Peele was born in California on 15 April 1930. He attended UCLA and graduated in 1952 receiving his commission in the US Navy. He reported to Pensacola for flight training shortly after graduation and received his wings in November 1953. His first assignment was with VA-196 based at NAS Alameda where he flew AD-5’s and 6’s making two WESTPAC deployments, one each on USS Wasp and USS Lexington. A tour as a flight instructor in Pensacola followed where he instructed in numerous training aircraft including the T-28, S2F, and SNB. His goal, however, was to fly jets, and so with the help of CAPT Zeb Knott who was the Blue Angel leader at the time, CAPT Peelle was able to accumulate more than a few hours in the Blue Angel F9F-8T. After the Training Command, his next assignment was as a “Shooter “on the USS Ticonderoga . His follow on assignment to the ship’s company tour was with VA-125 at NAS Lemoore where he served as an instructor in the A-4 (1963-1964). Staff college and shore duty in Washington, DC followed during which he was selected for command and subsequently reported to VA-23 as XO/ CO in 1967. CAPT Peelle successfully led his squadron through two combat deployments flying the A-4F from the USS Ticonderoga and the USS Oriskany. For his outstanding performance in combat he was awarded two DFC’s and twenty-two Air Medals. He next attended the Naval War College and was subsequently detailed to the USS Kitty Hawk as XO. A brief tour at AIRPAC followed just prior to his assumption of his deep draft command, the USS Astabula. His next assignment was as Commanding Officer, USS Constellation from 1976-1978. After another tour in Washington, DC, he returned to San Diego for his final assignment on active duty as Commanding Officer, Recruit Training Center, San Diego. He subsequently retired in 1994. In retirement he specialized in property management, but the work for which he was most proud was his service to the Midway Museum in San Diego in helping to assemble the wide array of different aircraft types currently on display on the flight and hangar decks.

To all who knew him, Mo Peele was an exceptional person and one who could be counted on when things got tough. Fellow Golden Eagle, VADM Tony Less, who was the Air Wing Commander when CAPT Peelle was the CO, USS Constellation, called him his role model for what a carrier skipper ought to be. Tony Less further offered that because of CAPT Peelle’s leadership the Constellation enjoyed the highest standards of readiness, cleanliness, and professionalism.

In the early years of his career while he was a flight instructor in Pensacola, CAPT Peelle first encountered CAPT Dick Hanecak, a Golden Eagle whose Last Take-Off occurred on 4 October 2013. The result of that meeting in Pensacola over fifty years ago was a friendship that lasted a lifetime. To ensure that his friend received appropriate tribute from his peers CAPT Peelle personally organized a Memorial Service for CAPT Hanecak at Miramar in early December a few short weeks prior to his own death. CAPT Peele’s devotion and loyalty to his friend are not only the marks of a gentleman they are the marks of a truly great leader and epitomize a central tenet of our Naval Aviation heritage: Taking care of your wingman.

He will be missed.

In sadness,

Fred Lewis-Pilot