Tom Carper inducted into Delaware Aviation Hall of Fame
Sen. Tom Carper was inducted into the Delaware Aviation Hall of Fame Nov. 6 during a ceremony at the University of Delaware. The hall of fame was established to honor aviation greats and promote public recognition of aviation’s role in the progress of Delaware and in defense of the United States. Each year, trustees select six outstanding individuals for induction, based on outstanding contributions to the advancement of flight in Delaware, achievement in aviation bringing credit to the First State, and gallantry in aviation by a Delawarean in service to the country.
Carper served on active duty as a naval flight officer during the Vietnam War. For most of that time, Carper served as a patrol plane tactical coordinator before qualifying as a P-3 aircraft mission commander in his last year of active duty. When Lt. Carper’s active-duty tour came to an end in 1973, he took a reserve commission and continued to fly an additional 18 years in the Naval Reserve as a P-3 aircraft mission commander, primarily tracking Soviet submarines in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea until retiring with the rank of captain in 1991.
“When I was 15 years old, I joined the Civil Air Patrol and sat in the left-hand seat of a little plane, and I thought, ‘This is really exciting,’” said Carper. “I’m proud to be honored among the other inductees this evening, and I’m also proud to have been able to serve my country both in the Navy and now through public service.”
As a congressman, governor and senator, Carper has been a tireless advocate for the First State’s aviation assets, including Dover Air Force Base, which is now regarded by many as the finest airlift base in the world, along with New Castle County Airport, Delaware Airpark and Delaware Coastal Airport. He has also fought to protect the Delaware Air Guard’s fleet of C-130 aircraft and modernize the Air Force’s fleet of C-5s. Over the past nine years, C-5M flight crews operating out of Dover Air Force Base have helped make the C-5M the world’s top aviation record holder.
