James D . Ramage James D . " Jig Dog " Ramage ( 19 July 1916 – 21 July 2012 ) was a naval aviator in World War II and a major factor in putting nuclear - capable aircraft aboard aircraft carriers . Before retirement he attained the rank of rear admiral . A graduate of the United States Naval Academy class of 1939 , he served on the aircraft carrier before being sent to the Naval Air Station Pensacola for flight training . He rejoined the " Enterprise " in 1943 , and became executive officer , and later commanding officer of Bombing Squadron Ten ( VB - 10 ) , flying the SBD Dauntless dive bomber . He saw his first combat in the Battle of Kwajalein in January 1944 , and participated in the attack on Truk in February and landings at Hollandia in April . During the Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944 , he led 12 Dauntlesses and 17 other aircraft from " Enterprise " in a maximum - range twilight attack against the Japanese fleet , and was personally credited with crippling a Japanese aircraft carrier , probably the " Ryūhō " . He later commanded Bombing Squadron Ninety - Eight ( VB - 98 ) , a California - based training unit . After the war , Ramage attended the first postwar class at the Naval War College , where he wrote a thesis on nuclear weapons and carrier aviation . He became the navigator of the escort carrier , and participated in Operation Sandstone at Enewetak Atoll in April and May 1948 . In March 1950 , Ramage went to Sandia Base , where he was assigned to the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project ( AFSWP ) , writing and reviewing nuclear war plans . After becoming jet qualified in F9F Panther , he assumed command of Carrier Air Group 19 , which embarked for Korea on the . He then assumed command of VC - 3 , a large composite squadron that acted as a transitional training unit . He became chief of the Sea Base Striking Forces Planning Unit ( OP - 05W ) in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations in Washington , DC in June 1955 , and then entered the National War College in July 1957 . After graduating a year later , he assumed command of Heavy Attack Wing One , and then of the seaplane tender , . He returned to the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations as head of Special Weapons Plans in 1961 , and in 1963 , received command of an aircraft carrier , the . As a flag officer , he was Commander Fleet Air NAS Whidbey Island , Commander Carrier Division Seven during the Vietnam War , Commander Naval Air Reserve , and Commander Tenth Naval District / Caribbean Sea Frontier / Commander Fleet Air Caribbean from 1973 to 1975 . He retired from active duty in 1975 . He was involved in the ultimately successful campaign to rename Waterloo ' s ConWay Civic Center as the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center , in honor of the Sullivan brothers , and appeared in The History Channel series " Battle 360 " , in which he recounted many of his experiences as a member of VB - 10 . Early life . James David Ramage was born in Waterloo , Iowa , on 19 July 1916 , the son of David S . and Flora Groat Ramage . He had an older half - sister Mary from his mother ' s first marriage , and a younger sister , Betty . His father was a machinist by trade , who arrived in Waterloo as a salesman . He became a farmer , but lost the farm during the Great Depression . He then worked at the Waterloo Trust and Savings Bank until it failed , and then ran a Maxwell and Chalmers car dealership . Ramage was educated in Waterloo at Francis Grout , McKinley School and finally East Waterloo High . In 1934 , he entered Iowa State Teachers College in Cedar Falls , Iowa . That year , he was nominated for the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis , Maryland , by the local U . S . Representative , John W . Gwynne , as an alternative candidate . The 1934 Vinson - Trammell Act created additional vacancies at the Academy , and Ramage was appointed . At the Academy , he acquired the nickname " Jig Dog " from the phonetic alphabet for his initials . He graduated from the Academy and was commissioned as an ensign on 1 June 1939 . At his request , was posted to the aircraft carrier , which was then based in Hawaii , as a deck officer . Through some crewmates , he met Orville Tyler , the Vice President of Bishop Bank . Ramage married his daughter , Emeleen Tyler , on 4 September 1941 , before leaving for flight training at the Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida . World War II . The United States entered World War II while Ramage was in training at Pensacola , learning to fly on N3N s , OS2U s and finally SNJ s . On graduation in May 1942 , he was posted to VS - 3 , a scouting squadron . He was promoted to lieutenant ( junior grade ) on 1 June 1942 , and lieutenant on 1 August 1942 . He returned to Hawaii , where he was assigned to the cruiser in November . After some effort , he managed to get himself reassigned to the " Enterprise " . Ramage reported to the " Enterprise " in Noumea in February 1943 . After qualifying to land on a carrier in Noumea in April 1943 , he was assigned to Bombing Squadron Ten ( VB - 10 ) , one of the carrier ' s two dive bomber squadrons flying the SBD Dauntless as its executive officer . Shortly afterwards , the " Enterprise " returned to Pearl Harbor for overhaul , and Ramage returned to the United States with his wife . The squadrons of Carrier Air Group 10 , of which VB - 10 was a part , were reequipped with new aircraft , with VB - 10 receiving new SBD - 5s to replace its older SBD - 3 models . Air Group 10 returned to Hawaii in November 1943 , and the whole group qualified for night operation , making two night landings on the " Enterprise " in January 1944 . Ramage saw his first combat in the Battle of Kwajalein in January 1944 , and participated in the attack on Truk in February and landings at Hollandia in April . He became commander of VB - 10 in March . On the evening of June 20 , 1944 , during the Battle of the Philippine Sea , Ramage led 12 Dauntlesses , 12 F6F Hellcat s and 5 TBF Avenger torpedo bombers from " Enterprise " in the maximum - range attack against the Japanese fleet . He later recalled : He was personally credited with crippling a Japanese aircraft carrier , which naval historian Barrett Tillman believes was the Ryūhō . Ramage made a slow and deliberate return to the " Enterprise " in order to conserve fuel , but on reaching it found that its deck was obstructed by a crashed aircraft , and he had to land on the instead . Only one " Enterprise " plane was lost in combat , although five more were lost operationally through accidents , crash landings or dirching at sea . Only one of these was an SBD . For his part in the battle , Ramage was awarded the Navy ' s second highest honor , the Navy Cross . His citation read : The superior performance of the " Lexington " and " Enterprise " squadrons that were still equipped with the old SBD compared with those equipped with the new Curtiss SB2C Helldiver caused great concern , and serious consideration was given to going back to the old aircraft . For this tour of duty , in addition to the Navy Cross , Ramage was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross twice and the Air Medal six times . In September 1944 , Ramage received his last wartime assignment , as commanding officer of Bombing Squadron Ninety Eight VB - 98 , a California - based training unit . He remained with VB - 98 until July 1946 . Post - war . After the war , Ramage applied for the first postwar class at the Naval War College . He wrote two theses , one on the possibility of future conflict with the Soviet Union , and the other on nuclear weapons and carrier aviation . This would eventually lead to new prospects , but on graduation Ramage could not obtain another flying assignment , and instead was posted to the escort carrier as its navigator . In this capacity , he participated in Operation Sandstone at Enewetak Atoll in April and May 1948 . In July , he was assigned to COMNAVAIRPAC as a personnel officer . In March 1950 , Ramage went to Sandia Base , where he attended an indoctrination course on nuclear weapons . In June was assigned to the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project ( AFSWP ) , and was promoted to commander in July . While waiting for his Q clearance , he was put in charge of a board investigating a crash of an AJ Savage , then the Navy ' s frontline nuclear bomber , an aircraft that did not impress Ramage . After his clearance came through , he worked in the AFSWP ' s Operations Division , writing and reviewing war plans . After becoming jet qualified in F9F Panther s at the Fleet Air Gunnery Unit ( FAGU ) , Ramage assumed command of Carrier Air Group 19 in December 1952 . His squadrons carrier qualified on the USS " Yorktown " in June 1953 before embarking on the . The ship sailed for Korea , where a ceasefire had been in effect since July 1953 . Alan Shepard flew as his wing man . At the end of this cruise in June 1954 , he assumed command of VC - 3 , a large composite squadron that acted as a transitional training unit at Naval Air Station Miramar in California . He became chief of the Sea Base Striking Forces Planning Unit ( OP - 05W ) in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations in Washington , DC in June 1955 , and then entered the National War College in July 1957 , where he was promoted to captain on 1 August . Once again he produced a dissertation on nuclear weapons . On graduating a year later , Ramage once again expressed a preference for a flying job , so he received command of Heavy Attack Wing One , which was based at the Naval Air Station Sanford . This wing consisted of the nuclear attack squadrons flying the A3D Skywarrior , detachments from which were posted to the aircraft carriers . The post was a senior one for a captain ; Robert Goldthwaite had held the post while he was a rear admiral . Ramage had never flown the A3D before , so he started by becoming carrier qualified on it , which required eight carrier landings . To his surprise , he found that the aircraft was easy to fly , and he was successful at lifting the training level of the entire wing . Still too junior to be considered for command of an aircraft carrier , he received command of a seaplane tender , . He then returned to the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations as head of Special Weapons Plans ( OP - 604 ) in July 1961 . He was awarded a Master of Arts degree from George Washington University in 1963 . In July 1963 , he received command of an aircraft carrier , the . Despite having limited experience with ships , Ramage had no trouble adjusting to commanding one . He never felt though , that commanding a ship was an enjoyable as flying an aircraft . The ship won the Arleigh Burke award for most improved crew . Around this time , his marriage broke up , and he became divorced . He was remarried in Rome on 14 August 1964 , to Virginia ( Ginger ) Keesling Cordes . She had two children , Randy and Karen Cordes . Returning to shore duty in Washington , he was assigned to Joint Task Force 2 , which was charged by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara with investigating whether it was necessary to have aircraft that could fly at low altitude at supersonic speeds . This was the subject of considerable debate between the Navy and the Air Force at the time . Tests were carried out at Sandia Base with the OV - 1 Mohawk , A - 1 Skyraider , A - 4 Skyhawk , A - 6 Intruder , F - 4 Phantom , F - 105 Thunderchief , B - 52 and B - 58 Hustler aircraft . In January 1966 , he became chief of staff of Carrier Division Seven , which was commanded by Rear Admiral James R . Reedy , flying his flag from the aircraft carrier . This formed part of Task Force 77 , which was cruising off the North Vietnam ese coast at Yankee Station during the Vietnam War . North Vietnam was divided into Route Package s , which allotted certain areas to the Navy , and Ramage ' s role was to coordinate the Navy ' s part in Operation Rolling Thunder . For this he was awarded the Legion of Merit . He also spent a brief time as commander of the aircraft carrier after its skipper had a heart attack . Ramage was promoted to rear admiral on 1 July 1967 . As a flag officer , became Commander Fleet Air NAS Whidbey Island , another training command , this time specializing on the A - 6 Intruder . His tenure was short , for in April he was assigned to the staff of the Commander - in - Chief , U . S . Pacific Command ( CINCPAC ) , Admiral U . S . Grant Sharp , Jr . , which was responsible for the overall direction of the war in Vietnam . For his service at CINCPAC , Ramage was awarded the Navy Distinguished Service Medal . In 1970 , he assumed command of Carrier Division Seven , which was still off the coast of Vietnam . For this , he was awarded a second and third Legion of Merit . In April 1972 , Ramage became Commander Naval Air Reserve , based at Naval Air Station Glenview in Illinois , for which he received a fourth Legion of Merit . His final assignment was as Commander Tenth Naval District , Caribbean Sea Frontier and Commander Fleet Air Caribbean from 12 June 1973 to 23 August 1975 . He retired from active duty in January 1976 . Later life . Ramage was a member of the Carrier Aviation Hall of Fame , and in 2006 , was inducted into the American Combat Airman Hall of Fame in Midland , Texas . He was involved in the ultimately successful campaign to rename Waterloo ' s ConWay Civic Center as the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center , in honor of the Sullivan brothers , five brothers from Waterloo who died when the was lost during World War II . In 2008 , Ramage appeared in The History Channel series " Battle 360 " and recounted many of his experiences as a member of VB - 10 . On 21 July 2012 , he died at his Coronado , California , home of congenital heart failure , and was buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego . He was survived by his daughters Jamie and Jaleen , and his step daughter Karen . He had four grandchildren and four great grandchildren . A scholarship was established by the Tailhook Educational Foundation in his honor . Jig Dog Ramage Award . In 2001 , the Tailhook Association established the annual " Jig Dog " Ramage Award to recognize the air wing - aircraft carrier team with the best performance as an integrated unit and excellence in Navy carrier operations .