THE WALL OF FACES

As with all Men of Integrity, Respect and Honor of Our shared Family name.
We serve our Nation, Family and those who stand for free people.
May we never forget.

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. As long as you are remembered you will remain in our hearts forever…..

LT Tom J. Cress was a U.S. Navy pilot assigned to Attack Squadron 153 (VA-153), Carrier Air Wing 15 (CVW-15) aboard the aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea (CVA 43). In early 1961, the Coral Sea was on duty in the Far East with the U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet as part of a multi-ship carrier task force deployed off the Indochinese Peninsula. On January 6th, she was steaming near the south coast of Honshu Island, Japan, conducting flight operations when LT Cress crashed his Douglas A-4C Skyhawk (#142918) on the deck and was lost in the waters of the Philippine Sea. The accident also killed two airwing personnel and caused major damage to several aircraft parked forward of the portside flight deck. The following is a personal account of the incident by William C. Sherman: “The night Tom was killed, I was working with the flight deck crew as a yellow shirt/plane director. It was late, and Tom was overdue, every plane back but his. I saw his lights (coming in), and it looked as though he was up and down on the horizon. As he came closer to the ship, the landing signal officer gave the red light (abort landing signal), but Tom ignored it, I figured he was either low on fuel or wounded. He landed short, rupturing the (A-4’s) wing tanks. I watched the aircraft become a ball of fire, coming right at myself and my crew. It hit the first plane in the pack, then took out nine more planes on the port side of the bow. There were ordinance men and mechanics working under all the planes on the bow. Two ordinance people were killed. It continues to haunt me to this day.” Flight operations ceased following the crash and search and rescue efforts were initiated. Cress’s remains were not recovered. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and information provided by William C. Sherman (December 1999) at thewall-usa.com]

LT Cress. So early in the SEA involvement. You are remembered.

Tom has a memory marker in the Memorial Area section at Wood National Cemetery. 1st row in from the east, 1st column in from the south.