caption serviceyears branch commands birth_place awards placeofburial_label birth_date nickname rank image article_title name
admiral ronald j. hays 1950 - 1988 united states navy pacific command urania , louisiana navy -lrb- 3 -rrb- distinguished flying cross -lrb- 6 -rrb- bronze distinguished star -lrb- v -rrb- navy commendation medal -lrb- v -rrb- service medal -lrb- 3 -rrb- silver star place of burial 19 august 1928 happy admiral ronald j hays.jpg ronald j. hays
 ronald j. hays
ronald j. hays

ronald jackson hays -lrb- born august 19 , 1928 -rrb- is a retired united states navy four star admiral who served as vice chief of naval operations -lrb- vcno -rrb- from 1983 to 1985 ; and as commander in chief , united states pacific command -lrb- uscincpac -rrb- from 1985 to 1988 .
admiral hays grew up in urania , louisiana , a sawmill town which was owned `` lock , stock , and barrel '' by the q.t. hardtner family .
in high school , `` happy '' hays worked as the butcher 's assistant in the company store .
there , mr. hardtner took notice and succeeded in gaining a u.s naval academy congressional appointment for `` happy . ''
hays graduated from the united states naval academy in 1950 and served on a destroyer for one year prior to commencing flight training .
after a series of operational aviation assignments , including a tour as an experimental test pilot and two combat tours in vietnam flying the all weather attack a-6a intruder , he was ordered in 1969 to the pentagon , washington , d.c. , for duty on the staff of the chief of naval operations .
between 1969 and 1988 his career path was divided between fleet aviation assignments and resource management positions in the pentagon .
during this period significant assignments included : commanding officer , roosevelt roads naval station , puerto rico director , navy program planning commander , carrier group four director , office of program appraisal deputy commander in chief , atlantic forces commander in chief , u.s. naval forces europe vice chief of naval operations commander in chief , u.s. pacific forces as commander in chief pacific forces , admiral hays commanded all u.s. military forces in the pacific theater .
he retired from military service in october 1988 and entered the commercial world as a director on several boards , including civic and non-profit organizations .
he also served as a consultant for the parsons corporation , a global engineering firm .
admiral hays is a graduate of the naval war college , newport , rhode island ; test pilot school , patuxent river , maryland ; federal executive institute , university of virginia ; and flight safety school , university of california .
a doctorate of humanities title was awarded him by northwestern state university , natchitoches , louisiana .
in 2005 , he was honored as a distinguished graduate of the u.s. naval academy .
he was recognized as a distinguished eagle scout .
recognition for his military service includes the navy distinguished service medal -lrb- 3 awards -rrb- , silver star -lrb- 3 awards -rrb- , distinguished flying cross -lrb- 6 awards -rrb- , bronze star with valor device ; air medal with strike/flight numerals , and the navy commendation medal with valor device .
he also received personal awards from the heads of government of korea , japan , thailand , and the philippines and the gray eagle award .
his current work is the development of the pacific aviation museum in historic pearl harbor , of which he is chairman of the board .
