Lucky Bag Yearbook

From the 1944 Lucky Bag:

Horatio Gates Sickel, Jr.

“Bud, “as he wished to be called, made a host of friends during the three short years he spent at the Academy. His industry netted him a fine academic record; however, he did not allow his social life to lag. In the beginning he professed to be a staunch family man intent upon a graduation marriage, and he has persevered in that intention throughout his Naval Academy career. We shall hope that his marriage is as true as his courtship was. “Bud” tried his hand at football and crew, but his main success was in preaching the gospel of the wonders of his adopted home town, Coronado, California.

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The Class of 1944 was graduated in June 1943 due to World War II. The entirety of 2nd class (junior) year was removed from the curriculum.

Loss

Horatio was lost when his FJ-3 Fury crashed near NAS Patuxent River, Maryland on July 13, 1956.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

As a junior at Coronado High School in 1939, Horatio was a member of Hi-Y, Honor Society, Football, and Track. In 1940, the family lived in Arlington, Virginia.

After the Naval Academy, he served aboard the USS North Carolina until 1945.

In July 1949, Horatio was attached to the Navy’s first west coast jet fighter squadron, VF-51, a unit of the aircraft carrier USS Valley Forge temporarily based at North Island, San Diego. The squadron’s “Panthers” could travel at speeds in excess of 500 miles per hour. In 1950, he was assigned to Patuxent River.

On March 25, 1953, his children Horatio 3d and Tina were christened at the Naval Academy Chapel. His other children were John and Sally.

In January 1955, Horatio parachuted safely 30 miles south of Modesto when his navy jet fighter, an F7U Cutlass, went into a spin and crashed. He was with Composite Squadron 3, based at Moffett field. He abandoned his jet fighter at 10,000 feet and landed safely in an alfalfa field on the Borba Ranch, two miles south of Gustine.

He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

From Army At Wounded Knee:

Thanks for this well written article. CAPT HGS, IV was not a pilot but rather Surface Navy. He was killed off Funi Futi Island while a passenger in a Navy transport plane. My Uncle Bud, HGS, V was indeed a Navy Test Pilot killed in 1956. His brother and my father, John A (Jack) Sickel was also a USNA grad and Navy Test pilot. The name HGS is still carried to this day, at least in part. My son’s Name is Ryan Gates Sickel, his mother nixed Horatio. He served in the US Army in Iraq. John A Sickel, Jr, November 30, 2016

Family

Horatio Sickel, IV ‘20, his father, is also in Memorial Hall.