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Raleigh Ernest Rhodes (June 26, 1918 – November 26, 2007), who often went by the nickname of Raleigh "Dusty" Rhodes, was an American World War II combat fighter pilot and the third leader of the Blue Angels flight team.

Pilot

Rhodes was a fighter pilot based on board the USS Enterprise (CV-6) aircraft carrier during World War II. He was shot down and captured by Japanese forces during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands in October 1942 in the Solomon Islands.

Rhodes spent in the next three years in a Japanese prison camp. He weighed 88 pounds when he was released from his captivity, during which he was starved and beaten.

Rhodes joined the Blue Angels precision flying team in 1947 after his recovery, and soon after became the flight leader. Rhodes helped the Blue Angels perfect the diamond barrel roll, a complicated aerial maneuver in which four Blue Angels jets perform a loop in a tight diamond formation before becoming inverted at the top of the formation. The Blue Angels became extremely popular with the public.

Rhodes returned to an active combat role with the U.S. Navy. He flew fighter plane missions from an aircraft carrier during the Korean War. Following the Korean War, Rhodes was stationed at several naval air stations, including the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, Monterey and the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.

Rhodes was awarded two Purple Hearts and three Air Medals during his twenty years of active duty in the Navy. He retired from the Navy in 1961 at the rank of commander.

Rhodes worked as a project planner for Lockheed Martin facility in Sunnyvale, California, for the next 30 years.

Death

Raleigh Rhodes died of lung cancer on November 26, 2007, in San Jose, California, at the age of 89. He was survived by his wife, Pauline, two daughters and a son.

Rhodes' former wife, Betty, died in 2005. His son, Raleigh E. Rhodes Jr., also died of lung cancer in July 2007.

Notes

1. ^ Los Angeles Times obituary, December 7, 2007.

References

• "Raleigh 'Dusty' Rhodes, 1918 - 2007: Combat pilot in two wars led Blue Angels [Obituary]". Los Angeles Times. December 7, 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-01-11. Retrieved 2007-12-13.
• "Dusty Rhodes". Blue Angels.org. Archived from the original on 2007-08-22. Retrieved 2007-12-15.
• Armstrong, Jim (2006). From POW to Blue Angel: The Story of Commander Dusty Rhodes. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0-8061-3764-9. Retrieved 2007-12-15.

External links

• San Jose Mercury News: Raleigh 'Dusty' Rhodes, 89
• Boston Globe: Raleigh 'Dusty' Rhodes, POW in WWII, leader of Blue Angels

v t e Blue Angels
Commanding officers	Alexander Armatas Donnie Cochran Arthur Ray Hawkins Brian Kesselring Anthony A. Less Roy Marlin Voris
United States Navy	Charles E. Brady Jr. Edward L. Feightner Arthur Ray Hawkins Amanda Lee Anthony A. Less Robert L. Rasmussen Raleigh "Dusty" Rhodes Patrick M. Walsh
United States Marine Corps	Katie Higgins Cook
Honorary members	Bob Hoover
Aircraft	Demonstration aircraft Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat Grumman F8F-1 Bearcat Grumman F9F-2 Panther Grumman F9F-8 Cougar Grumman F11F-1 (F-11) Tiger McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom II Douglas A-4F Skyhawk McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet Boeing F/A-18A/C Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet Support aircraft JRB Expeditor (Beech 18) Douglas R4D-6 Skytrain Curtiss R5C Commando Douglas R5D Skymaster Lockheed C-121 Super Constellation Lockheed C-130 Hercules Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules Miscellaneous aircraft North American SNJ Texan Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star Vought F7U Cutlass
Entertainment	The Blue Angels (film)
Other	Blue Angels: Formation Flight Simulation 2007 Blue Angels South Carolina crash List of air shows Naval Air Facility El Centro Naval Air Station Pensacola National Naval Aviation Museum

• 1918 births
• 2007 deaths
• United States Navy officers
• Recipients of the Air Medal
• Lockheed people
• Deaths from lung cancer in California
• United States Navy pilots of World War II