51 SAN DIEGO (April 12, 2021) – The inaugural littoral combat ship returned from a U.S. Fourth Fleet deployment, April 12.
Littoral combat ship USS Freedom (LCS 1) was deployed to support Joint Interagency Task Force South’s mission, which includes counter illicit drug trafficking in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.
“The success of this deployment is a testament to the hard work and dedication of Freedom s Sailors and our embarked detachments,” said Cmdr. Larry Repass, Freedom’s commanding officer. “Every Sailor and U.S. Coast Guardsman on this mission has lived up to Freedom s motto of Fast, Focused, Fearless, and they have made great contributions to maritime security in the region.”
Born on March 15, 1925, in Los Angeles, Mr Fay was a 79-year resident of Ventura County. He graduated from Ventura High School in 1943 and later attended UCLA and Loyola Law School, graduating in 1950. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps as an aviation cadet in February 1943 and went into active service in June after graduating high school.
Mr Fay trained as a navigator and later became town mayor of Ojai, California. Photo: Tia Carlson
- Credit: Archant
He served in England with the 466th Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force as a B-24 heavy bomber lead navigator and flew 20 missions over Germany. He was awarded the Air Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters and Battle Stars for the battles of the Ardennes, Central Europe and the Rhineland. He was also inducted into the Caterpillar Club, presented to those whose life was spared because of an emergency parachute jump from an aircraft in February 1945 - leaving him one of two or three survivors.