Billy “Buck” Carroll – Commander, United States Navy

From a contemporary press report: Saturday, June 14, 2003

Arlington memorial planned for Navy pilot

A memorial service is planned next month at Arlington National Cemetery for retired Navy Commander Billy “Buck” Carroll, 79, a highly decorated fighter pilot who fought in World War II and the Korean War.

Commander Carroll, who lived at Fleet Landing in Atlantic Beach for the past five years, died May 21, 2003, in an accident on Mayport Road when his van struck the rear of a city bus.

A graduate of the University of Mississippi who received a master’s degree from Boston University, Commander Carroll entered the Navy on June 13, 1942. During World War II, he served on the aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill. He shot down four Japanese aircraft and destroyed seven on the ground, and was awarded four Distinguished Flying Crosses and six Air Medals.

During the Korean War, he served as a fighter pilot on the aircraft carrier USS Princeton and was awarded six more Air Medals in addition to other citations and ribbons.

His wife of 53 years, June Carroll, said it was ironic that her husband escaped injury in the two wars only to be killed in an auto accident near his home.

After the Korean War, Commander Carroll served as a public information officer for NASA. He was permanently disabled in a plane crash in Vietnam in 1968.

He is recognized in Who’s Who in American Aviation and was active in the Disabled American Veterans and the Lions Club. He was a former president of the North Carolina Association of Government Information Officers and was a member of the National Public Relations Association.

The service at Arlington National Cemetery is planned for 1 p.m. July 10, 2003.

Commander Carroll was predeceased by a son, Billy, who died in an auto accident in 1976.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by two daughters, Holly Carroll of Atlantic Beach and Crismas Carroll of Lakeland; a brother, Mack Carroll of Lake Placid; and two grandchildren.

CARROLL, BILLY
CDR   US NAVY
VETERAN SERVICE DATES: 11/25/1942 – 05/01/1968
DATE OF BIRTH: 12/16/1923
DATE OF DEATH: 05/21/2003
DATE OF INTERMENT: 07/10/2003
BURIED AT: SECTION 13  SITE 10254-A
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

CARROLL, BILLY B JR
DATE OF BIRTH: 12/10/1955
DATE OF DEATH: 10/26/1976
DATE OF INTERMENT: 10/29/1976
BURIED AT: SECTION 13  SITE 10254-A
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY
SON (MINOR CHILD) OF CARROLL, BILLY CDR US NAVY

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