Henry E. Steece – Captain, United States Navy

From a contemporary press report:

Henry E. Steece, 80, a resident of Sunrise of CountrySide in Sterling, Virginia, for the last three years, died May 14, 2003, at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Martinsburg, West Virginia. He had cancer.

A graveside service will be June 23 at 1 p.m. at Arlington National Cemetery.

A native Washingtonian, Mr. Steece grew up in Chevy Chase and graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School. He attended George Washington University and was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

In 1934 Mr. Steece graduated from Flight Training, NATC, in Pensacola, Florida. During World War II he served in the U.S. Navy as an aviator-fighter pilot in the Pacific Theater, where he completed 96 combat missions and more than 100 carrier landings in a Grumman Hellcat Fighter. Most missions were flown off of the U.S.S. Kitkun Bay. He then flew with the Naval Reserves and retired after 21 years of service.

After his wartime service, Mr. Steece worked in a civilian capacity in the Navy Department as a management engineer, an industrial engineer and an applications engineer. He retired from the Naval Ordnance Station in Indian Head, Maryland, in 1980.

Survivors include three daughters, Mariellen Klick of Alexandria, Diana Lynch of Littleton, Colo.; and Kimberly Jones of Leesburg; one son, John Steece of Frisco, Colorado; two brothers, Philip Steece of Southern Pines, North Carolina, and Robert Steece of Huntsville, Alabama; and four grandchildren.

Memorials may be sent to the VA Medical Center, Voluntary Services, Martinsburg, West Virginia 25401.

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