"I always knew that I wanted to fly, I just knew I wanted to fly, the thought of going up there and flying the airplane, I thought was the ultimate, and of course to be a naval aviator was the pinnacle." (Video Interview, 30:55)
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Marvin Francis Pixton, III |
Marvin Pixton [2007] | Vietnam War, 1961-1975
Marine Corps
HMM-162 (Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron); VMO-2 (Marine Observation Squadron); HML-167 (Marine Light Helicopter Squadron); VT-1 (Training Squadron); VMA-214 (Marine Attack Squadron); VMA-311
Quantico, Virginia; Pensacola, Florida; North Carolina; Vietnam; California; Rhode Island; Washington, DC
Colonel
TN
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Marvin Pixton yearned to be a pilot from an early age and was disappointed when he failed the eye exam to become a Marine pilot. However, he retook the exam and passed it, going on to a 25-year career in the Marines. He served two tours of duty above Vietnam: one in helicopters (1967-8), the other in jets (1972-3). (His unit was the last to leave Vietnam.) He preferred the former, which allowed him closer contact with the men on the ground he was supporting. He survived several near-catastrophes, once watching a plane in front of his hit a mountain in bad weather.
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