Rear Admiral Harold
(Harry) G. Rich (US Navy Retired), age 94 of Harpswell died on Monday, January 20, 2020 at Mid Coast
Hospital. Born in Searsport, Maine on January 2, 1926, he was the youngest of
four children of Irving P. and Loretta S. Rich. He proudly joined the Navy
eight days after graduation from Union High School in Union, Maine in 1943. He
completed flight training and was commissioned as a naval aviator in June 1946.
His first assignment was flying R5D(DC-4) aircraft in Air Transport Squadron
Eight (VR-8) in Hawaii, during which he flew 127 missions to Berlin as part of
the Berlin Airlift. He was assigned to several squadrons, including flying
P2V-7s in Patrol Squadron Twenty-Three (VP-23) at NAS Brunswick, Maine. His
first command tour was in Patrol Squadron Eight (VP-8) at Patuxent River,
Maryland. His sea duty was aboard two aircraft carriers, USS Intrepid (CVA-11)
and USS Wasp (CVS-18). During his tour as Operations Officer, Wasp was the
primary recovery ship for the Gemini 9 and Gemini 12 spacecrafts. He then
returned to Brunswick as Chief Staff Officer of the Fleet Air Wing for two
years and a brief stint as Executive Officer/Commanding Officer of Brunswick
Naval Air Station. His second command tour followed at NAS Bermuda as
Commanding Officer of the Naval Air Station and Commander of the Bermuda ASW
Sector. While in Bermuda, he was selected for Flag Rank and, for the third
time, returned to Brunswick as Commander Fleet Air Wings, Atlantic. His last
operational tour was as Commander, Iceland Defense Force of Keflavik, Iceland,
where he was awarded the Grand Knight's Cross with Star of the Icelandic Order
of the Falcon. He then returned to Washington as Deputy Chief of Naval
Personnel for Human Resource Management. He retired from the Navy in 1978 after
35 years of active service and returned to Maine, where he resided in Harpswell
for over four decades and was active in civic affairs. While living in
Harpswell, he served as a member of the
Brunswick Base Closure Task Force in both 1995 and 2005, was a Board
Member of the Cundy's Harbor Library for 15 years, was a founding member of the
Board of Directors and then Director Emeritus of the Brunswick Naval Aviation
Museum, and served for nearly 20 years as President and then as President
Emeritus of The Friends of Peary's Eagle Island. In 2018, a street at Brunswick
Landing (former Navy Base) was named after him. He is survived by his three
children, Sally Rich and her husband Adam Hewison of Harpswell, Michael Rich of
Chuluota, Florida, and Steven Rich and his wife Bonnie of Oveido, Florida, as
well as by his two grandchildren, Kate Fergus and her husband Colin of
Columbia, Maryland and Andrew Rich of Chuluota, Florida. Harry's family would
like to thank the wonderful staff at Avita of Brunswick for all their hugs,
kisses, and great care.
A funeral
service will be held at 10 AM on Tuesday, February 25th at Stetson's Funeral
Home, 12 Federal Street, Brunswick.
In lieu
of flowers, the family suggests that memorial donations be made in his name to:
The Friends of Peary's Eagle Island, P.O. Box 43, Harpswell, ME 04079 or
Brunswick Naval Aviation Museum, 179 Admiral Fitch Drive, Brunswick, ME 04011.
Memorial
condolences may be expressed at stetsonsfuneralhome.com