Alton Edwin Paddock – Captain, United States Navy

From a contemporary press report:

Alton Edwin Paddock, 86, a retired Navy captain who since 1996 had lived in Sterling at the Falcon’s Landing retirement community where he served on the chapel committee, died of congestive heart failure January 7, 2000 at the Falcon’s Landing hospice facility.

Captain Paddock, who was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., was a 1935 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and received a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also graduated from the Naval War College.

He served in the Pacific during World War II. His later assignments included a tour as a division director in the Bureau of Naval Weapons at the Navy Department. He retired from active duty in 1965 as commanding officer of the Naval Air Development Center in Pennsylavania. After that,  he was a research administrator with the University of Pennsylvania until retiring again in 1980.

Survivors include his wife of 54 years, Penelope Barton Paddock of Sterling; a son, Richard Howard Paddock of Arlington; and five grandchildren. A daughter, Jane Schwarz, died in April 1999.

PADDOCK, ALTON E., CAPT, USN (Ret.)

Of Falcon’s Landing, Sterling, VA, on Friday, January 7, 2000. Survived by his wife, Penelope B. Paddock of Sterling, VA; a son, Richard Paddock and wife, Dana Theus Paddock, of Arlington, VA; son-in-law, Greg Schwarz of Herndon, VA; five  grandchildren, Melanie, Michelle, Collin Schwarz, and Benjamin and Jeffrey Paddock; and a very close niece, Gretchen Burns of Wisconsin. Predeceased by his daughter, Jane Paddock Schwarz. Memorial services will be held Thursday, January 13,
2000, 2 p.m. at Falcon’s Landing Chapel, 20522 Falcon’s Landing Circle, Sterling, VA 20165, with Rev. Al Honaker officiating. Interment services will be held privately at a later date at Arlington National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Falcon’s Landing Benevolent Fund, c/o Falcon’s Landing at the address above.

Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard