Patrick Nealon
Commander - Navy
My name is Pat Nealon and I would first like to thank you all for affording me the opportunity to serve our Post as Junior Vice Commander. I was born and raised in Queens Village New York, attended Our Lady of Lourdes Elementary School and Thomas Edison High School in Jamaica New York. After High School, I joined the Navy entering Boot Camp in the Great Lakes, Illinois in October 1981. Following Boot Camp and five weeks of Airman Apprenticeship training and basic aircraft familiarization, I shipped out to Naval Air Station Cecil Field in Jacksonville Florida assigned to the Fleet Readiness Aviation Maintenance Program for A-7E Corsair II familiarization and maintenance training. Upon completion of training I reported to my unit, Attack Squadron 15, Light Attack Wing One. My first deployment was in June, 1982 aboard the aircraft carrier USS Independence, I deployed to the Mediterranean Sea in support of the Marines and UN peace keeping forces in Beirut, Lebanon. We were relieved in late November on station and made it home for Christmas. After one week at home, I then reported to Naval Air Technical Training Command for Aviation Structural Mechanic Class "A” School. Finishing school in late March 1983 I reported back to my squadron for weapons training deployments in Puerto Rico and Fallon, Nevada before work ups on the Independence and then went underway for my second deployment aboard the Independence in October, 1983. We had initially deployed back to the Med and Beirut but were detoured to the Island of Grenada to provide air support for the Marine Corps and Army during Operation Urgent Fury. It was while we were in Grenada, that insurgents detonated a truck bomb at the Marine Barracks at Beirut Airport. Upon arrival in the Med off Beirut in November we flew round the clock sorties. In December, we launched an Alpha strike on Syrian positions in retaliation for the Marine Barracks bombing. We remained on station in the Med until March 1984. In October 1984 I made my third and final deployment aboard the Independence to the Med, Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean returning in March, 1985.
After the Navy I began my career in aerospace manufacturing on Long Island attending college at night. My wife Kathleen and I were married on June 6, 1997, had a bunch of kids (five, all girls). We moved from Bellerose to Malverne in 2003. I remained a member of the Bellerose Post until transferring to the Lynbrook Post in 2010. Since coming aboard I have found a camaraderie among the membership that I had not experienced since my days in the service. I’m very glad I made the switch.
After the Navy I began my career in aerospace manufacturing on Long Island attending college at night. My wife Kathleen and I were married on June 6, 1997, had a bunch of kids (five, all girls). We moved from Bellerose to Malverne in 2003. I remained a member of the Bellerose Post until transferring to the Lynbrook Post in 2010. Since coming aboard I have found a camaraderie among the membership that I had not experienced since my days in the service. I’m very glad I made the switch.
