Lucky Bag Yearbook

From the 1953 Lucky Bag:

JOHN EDWARD FOLEY

Doc carried the honors of Girard College well after leaving in 1945. He spent four years in the regular Navy and qualified as P.C. before entering the Academy. His record at the Academy was highlighted by his stellar half-backing on the soccer team, his efficient organizing of the Public Relations Committee, and his avid studying of the Russian language. Hard work didn’t faze him; he enjoyed working up a sweat. Doc maintained the “plebe thermocouple” to be a must for character building. His hobbies included dark room technique (Photographic Club) and the Aeronautical Engineering Club. Naval Aviation for him on graduation.

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He was also a member of the 1st Battalion staff for the spring set

Loss

John was lost on December 27, 1956 when his A-1 Skyraider crashed on Long Island, New York.

Other Information

From Pottsville Republican on December 28, 1956:

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (UP)— The pilot of a Navy plane from nearby Pomona Naval Air Station was listed as missing today following the crash of his Skyraider fighter plane in Long Island Sound off Montauk Point, N.Y.

The missing man was identified as Lt. John E. Foley, 29, whose mother lives in Philadelphia. Foley and his wife, the former Mrs. Betty Bailey, 27, of Norfolk, Va., made their home in Northfield, N.J., near here.

Ens. John Madigan, the pilot of another Skyraider accompanying Foley on a flight to Quonset Point, R.I., saw Foley’s plane crash into the sound Thursday. Madigan circled the scene for some time, but saw no sign of the downed pilot.

Foley, a former pharmacist’s mate, received an appointment to the US Naval Academy in 1949 and graduated in 1953. He won his Navy wings in February, 1955.

From researcher Kathy Franz:

John’s father, also named John, was a tiler. His mother was Pearl who worked as a packer in a drug manufacturer in 1940. John’s brother was William, and his sister was Pearl (Mrs. James Doran).

Photographs

John from the 1945 yearbook, "The Corinthian," of Girard College.