Harry T. Jenkins, Jr.

Harry Jenkins enlisted in the U.S. Navy, was designated a Naval Aviator, and was commissioned an Ensign on December 26, 1948. His first assignment was as a Maintenance Officer and AM-1 Mauler pilot with VA-84 at NAS Oceana, Virginia, followed by service as Assistant Maintenance Officer with Fleet Aircraft Service Squadron 6 at NAS Jacksonville. Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Jenkins next served as a Combat Information Center (CIC) Officer aboard the destroyer USS Fred T. Berry (DDE-858), including service during the opening months of the Korean War. After serving as a flight instructor at NAS Pensacola, and attending CIC School at NAS Glenview, Illinois, Lieutenant Jenkins served as a CIC Officer aboard the escort carrier USS Point Cruz (CVE-119). His next assignment was as Officer in Charge of Detachment Mike, Composite Squadron 11 (VC-11), followed by Navy Postgraduate School at Monterey, California. Lieutenant Commander Jenkins served as a project engineer with the Naval Air Turbine Test Station at Trenton, New Jersey, and then completed A-4 Skyhawk Replacement Pilot Training with CVG-4. His next assignment was as Administrative Officer, Operations Officer, and then Executive Officer of CVG-16, followed by service as Commanding Officer of VA-163 from December 1964 until he was shot down over North Vietnam on November 13, 1965. Jenkins was immediately captured and taken as a Prisoner of War.