NAKAGAWA, GORDON R.
Name: Gordon R. Nakagawa
Rank/Branch: O5/United States Navy, pilot
Unit: Attack Squadron 196
Date of Birth:
Home City of Record: New Castle CA
Date of Loss: 21 December 1972
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 204900 North 1063800 East
Status (in 1973): Returnee
Category:
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: A6A
Other Personnel in Incident: Kenneth Higdon, returnee
Source: Compiled by P.O.W. NETWORK from one or more of the following: raw
data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA
families, published sources, interviews.
REMARKS: 730329 RELEASED BY DRV
SOURCE: WE CAME HOME copyright 1977
Captain and Mrs. Frederic A Wyatt (USNR Ret), Barbara Powers Wyatt, Editor
P.O.W. Publications, 10250 Moorpark St., Toluca Lake, CA 91602
Text is reproduced as found in the original publication (including date and
spelling errors).
UPDATE - 09/95 by the P.O.W. NETWORK, Skidmore, MO
GORDON R. NAKAGAWA
Commander - United States Navy
Shot Down: December 21, 1972
Released: March 29, 1973
Cdr. Nakagawa was Executive Officer of Attack Squadron 196 flying from the
nuclear powered carrier USS Enterprise when his A6A Intruder was hit during
a single plane low level night strike against Haiphong. He has flown on
three carrier deployments to Southeast Asia with 185 combat missions and has
twice been hit by enemy fire.
He began his naval career in September 1953 as a midshipman in the Regular
NROTC Program. He attained the rank of Midshipman Captain serving as
Midshipman Commander of the University of California, Berkeley Unit.
Upon being commissioned on 7 February 1958 he was assigned to Flight
Training at Pensacola, Florida. He was designated a Naval Aviator in August
1958 and was assigned to VS-23. As Antisubmarine Warfare Officer in VS-25 he
contributed to the development of effective tactics for carrier task groups
against nuclear attack submarines.
He was the Pacific Missile Range Program Manager for a project whose
objectives included the improvement of ballistic missile capability for
penetrating antimissile defenses. At the Naval Postgraduate School,
Monterey, California, he earned an M.S.E.E. specializing in Automatic
Control Systems.
His initial assignment to an A6 squadron was VA-165 where he completed two
combat deployments aboard USS Ranger which included Sea of Japan operations
following the capture of the USS Pueblo.
As an instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, he taught upper
division and postgraduate level courses in Automatic Control Theory and
Weapons Systems Engineering. He was also the Officer Representative and
Assistant Coach for the U.S.N.A. Pistol Team which won the Intercollegiate
National Championship during both years of his assignment. As
Officer-in-Charge of Small Arms Training, he developed a program which far
exceeded all previous attempts in training midshipmen in the effective use
of the .45 Service Pistol and the M1 Rifle.
Cdr. Nakagawa was then assigned as an instructor pilot in VA-128 whose
mission is to train A6A air crew members and maintenance personnel for
assignment to the fleet.
Upon release from Bremerton Naval Hospital, Cdr. Nakagawa will resume his
assignment with VA-196.
Cdr. Nakagawa is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Bunny Y. Nakagawa of Auburn,
California and is married to the former Miss Jeanne Takemoto of Lincoln,
California. They now reside in Oak Harbor, Washington with two sons, Gregory
and Steven, and daughter, Kathleen. His hobbies include bowling, hunting,
photography and competitive rifle and pistol shooting. He was the Maryland
State Outdoor Pistol Champion in 1970 and placed second in the Atlantic
Fleet Rifle and Pistol Championships in 1971.
"I feel indebted to all the wonderful people who, through their thoughts,
deeds and prayers, have made our return possible and our homecoming so
meaningful. l am particularly grateful to our Commander-in-Chief President
Richard M. Nixon, who possessed the wisdom for making those difficult
decisions last December and who, despite so much criticism, had the courage
to stand firmly by his convictions."
December 1996
Gordon Nakagawa retired from the United States Navy as a Captain. He and his
wife Jeanne live in California.
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