Raised in New Jersey, Fred Eckert was 14 when he got his first jobworking alongside migrant farm workers. With the Vietnam draft in full swing, he joined the Navy after graduating from Trenton StateTeachers College in 1971 to become a Naval Aviator. At Officer Candidate School, only 12 of 48 students in his class graduated under the watch of Marine drill instructors determined to weed out draft avoiders.

After earning his wings, Eckert spent two years in Norfolk as a communications watch officer before moving to the West Coast. In 1973, he qualified on the SH-2F Seasprite. For the next six years he deployed flying the SH-2F and instructing others while serving with the Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron Light (HSL) 31 and HSL 35. In 1981, LCDR Eckert qualified on the UH-1 Huey and embarked

See Full Page