October 31, 2018 VADM Jerry O. Tuttle, USN-Ret. He had been fighting dementia for some time. Tributes from his fellow Naval Aviators are flooding in to honor the memory of an intrepid warrior. His greatest legacy, though, may be in his visionary determination to link information from ship and shore to bring a Common Operating picture to command and control at sea, and to the intelligence and cryptologic systems that support it.
As one officer who served with him observed, "I can think of no finer leader, mentor, warrior, innovator and friend; he was truly one of a kind and dearly loved his family, nation and Navy family. He will be incredibly missed."
Admiral Tuttle's many tours on active service included combat missions in Southeast Asia and
command of the USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67), as Naval Inspector General, Deputy and Chief
of Staff for the Commander in Chief, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, Special Assistant to the Chief of Naval
Operations and Deputy Director for Intelligence, Defence Intelligence Agency.
His military awards include the Defence Distinguished Service Medal (3); Defence Superior
Service Medal; Legion of Merit (4); Distinguished Flying Cross (3); Meritorious Service Medal
(2); Air Medal (23); Navy Commendation Medal (4) and Letter of Commendation from the
Japan Defence Agency. He is also a recipient of the Gray Eagle Award presented to the Naval
Aviator with the longest continuous active duty service in the U.S. Navy or Marine Corps. A
similar trophy, the Gray Spook Award, is also presented to the Naval Intelligence Officer with
the longest active duty service.
Admiral Tuttle was a force of nature. Rest in Peace, Admiral. You changed our world.