Then starting his fourth tour in Vietnam, Dry, 26, was a quiet leader, a man who could relax over a beer with his shipmates and loved the Moody Blues, according to several who knew him.
His death was the worst in a series of mishaps that marked Operation Thunderhead.Īfter Dramesi and other prisoners signaled their escape plan to American planes flying over the Hanoi Hilton, the Pentagon hatched Thunderhead to help them. Spence Dry was the last Navy SEAL to die in Vietnam. Loyalty to a lost comrade led a pair of Dry’s Naval Academy classmates to piece together the story of their friend’s death and nudge the Navy into giving him his due.Īnd loyalty brought John Dramesi, one of the POWs whom Dry had set out to rescue, to Annapolis for Monday’s ceremony.ĭry’s story “is a demonstration of the kind of dedication to purpose… that binds us together in terms of being true military men,” Dramesi said. Melvin Dry, Spence’s dad, through a lonely, quarter-century quest to secure recognition for the men of Operation Thunderhead.
His fatal jump came in a quest to reach SEAL teammates aboard a submarine, the Grayback, patrolling off the Vietnamese coast. Loyalty to his shipmates arguably cost Spence Dry his life. E-Pilot Evening Edition Home Page Close Menu
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