CAPT A.Y. “Dick” Parunak was born July 21,1910, in Freehold, NJ, to Armenian immigrants. After playing football at Ursinus, he became a Naval Aviation Cadet. In Greenland, July 1942, he became the first to land and take off from the icecap while rescuing the crew of the Army B-17 “My Gal Sal,” earning the DFC. He was CO of the US Naval Air Station, Atsugi, Japan 1958-1960, and Emperor Hirohito decorated him with the Third Order of the Sacred Treasure. In 1961, he retired to Pitman, NJ, and died Feb 25, 2007. His audio memoirs are at http://www.parunak.com/ayparunak .
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