Bio, McKamey, John B.

Name: John Bryan McKamey
Rank/Branch: O3/US Navy, pilot
Unit: VA-23 USS Midway
Date of Birth: 10 July 1935 (Greencastle IN)
Home City of Record: Fillmore IN
Date of Loss: 02 June 1965
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 185200N 1052600E (WF456859)
Status (in 1973): Released POW
Category:
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: A4E
Missions: 21

Other Personnel In Incident: none - other losses same day, same area,
included Ltjg. David Christian

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 30 June 1990 from one or more of
the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence
with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W.
NETWORK 2023.

SYNOPSIS: On June 2, 1965, an EA1F "Spad" electronics aircraft launched
from the USS MIDWAY for assistance in a search and rescue mission over North
Vietnam. While circling the scene of an [unnamed] A4E pilot's ejection over
the South China Sea, the Spad was hit by enemy fire and was observed to
crash land and burn on the nearby coast.

On that same day, two Navy A4E aircraft were shot down in the general area
that the EA1F rescue aircraft was circling. One of them was flown off the
USS MIDWAY by LTJG David M. Christian.

The second A4E lost on June 2, 1965 was flown by LT John B. McKamey. McKamey
was captured by the North Vietnamese and held prisoner for the next eight
years. He was released in Operation Homecoming on February 12, 1973.

Updated February 1997 with information provided by J.B. McKamey
John McKamey retired from the United States Navy as a Captain in 1986. He
and Nancy reside in Florida. They have 3 children and 9 grandchildren.

http://www.pnj.com/article/20100219/NEWS01/2190317
NAS funeral honors local Vietnam POW

Capt. McKamey commanded base from 1982-84

Troy Moon • tmoon@pnj.com • February 19, 2010

There were two flags prominently displayed at Thursday's memorial service for retired Navy Capt. J.B. McKamey at Pensacola Naval Air Station, where he was commanding officer from 1982 to 1984.

His coffin was draped with a U.S. flag, a symbol of the country that McKamey swore to defend and, if needed, give himself in sacrifice to preserve. Then, next to the coffin, there was the stark black-and-white POW/MIA flag that symbolized the reality of true sacrifice.

McKamey, a prisoner of war for nearly eight years in a North Vietnamese prison camp, died at his Pensacola home on Feb. 9. He was 74 years old.

Six of eight pallbearers at Thursday's service at the Naval Aviation Memorial Chapel were also former POWs. They described a brave man who never lost his sense of humor during his 2,813 days in captivity in Hanoi, North Vietnam.

"He was always happy," said Ken Fisher, 73, a retired Air Force colonel who was McKamey's bunk mate in captivity for nearly three years. "He used to play a game with cards that he made out of toilet paper. He'd deal out a few cards and point to one and ask me 'What does that represent? Think about it.' I'd say 'four' and he'd say, 'No, it's two.' He was just making it up; winging it as he went along."

McKamey, a Naval aviator, was shot down on June 2, 1965. He was released on Feb. 12, 1973. He remained in the Navy, eventually becoming Pensacola Naval Air Station's commanding officer.

His former command chaplain, retired Navy Capt. Earl Boyette, said anyone who visits NAS will see McKamey's influence as soon as they enter. During his command, a new security building at the entrance was built, and was originally designated as Building No. 666. But McKamey had just finished a weekend course studying the Book of Revelation from the Bible, where the number 666 is listed as "the number of the beast." Boyette and McKamey both thought the number might not be appropriate, as the building is the first structure greeting base visitors.

McKamey ordered the number changed, and today the building is No. 777.

"When it came to matters of faith," Boyette said, "even building numbers mattered to J.B. McKamey."

McKamey is survived by his wife, Nancy McKamey, three grown children, nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

He is buried at Barrancas National Cemetery