Albert Kyle Earnest

Albert Kyle Earnest VIRGINIA BEACH - Retired U.S. Naval Capt. Albert "Bert" Kyle Earnest, 92, of Atlantic Shores, passed away Oct. 27, 2009, at Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital. He was born April 1, 1917 in Richmond, Va., and was the son of the late James Gifford Earnest and Jessie Mullan Earnest of Richmond Virginia. Preceded in death by his wife, Mildred McConnell Earnest, he is survived by daughter, Kathryn Lynn Earnest, of Alexandria, Va., son, William Kyle Earnest and his wife Janet Murray Earnest of Virginia Beach and their children, Laura Ellen Earnest of San Francisco, Jessie Carolyn Earnest and Matthew Kyle Earnest of Virginia Beach. He attended Virginia Military Institute, Class of 1938, graduating with a B.S. in civil engineering and commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant, Field Artillery, U.S. Army Reserve. He worked as assistant engineer of the VA Fire Insurance Rating Bureau until February 1942. After resigning his Army Reserve commission, he was commissioned in the US. Navy Air Corps Reserve as an ensign. His first fleet assignment was with Torpedo Bomber Squadron 8 (VT-8), reporting days after Pearl Harbor on Dec. 8, 1941. He flew the Grumman TBF-1 in its first combat use in the Battle of Midway and was the only pilot survivor (landbased). He continued serving in VT-8, aboard USS Saratoga (CV-3) on the Guadalcanal landing and the Battle of Eastern Solomons, and then landbased on Guadalcanal. With the decommissioning of VT-8, he was transferred to Fleet Composite Squadron 7. During his 31 years in the U.S. Navy, Capt. Earnest attended Naval Postgraduate School in Annapolis, Md., General Line School, Newport, R.I., and Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Washington, D.C. He commanded VA-14A May 1947-June 1948, ATG-181 at NAS Oceana Aug. 1957 - Sept. 1958, USS Estes (AGC-12) Oct. 1965 - Oct. 1966, and NAS Oceana, Nov. 1966 - Nov. 1968. Additional aviation tours of duty included Tactical Test Division (Aug. 1944 - Apr. 1947) where he was the first U.S. pilot to fly a Japanese Torpedo Bomber "Kate", Air Development Squadron Four (VX-4) and, Flight Test (Sept. 1958 - July 1960) at NATC Patuxent River, Md. He was commissioned as Navy Jet pilot No. 62, flying P-80As, P-59s, and FR-1s. He also serve two tours of duty at Attack Design Branch at BuAer/BuWeps, Washington, D.C. Capt. Earnest rounded out his Naval career, serving as COMSTRIKFLTLANTREPEUR and SACLANTREPEUR in Paris France in the early 60s, Operations Analyst at INSGENLANTFLT, Norfolk, before retiring as Assistant Chief of Staff (Logistics), SACLANT, Norfolk, in 1972. Upon retirement, Bert served as Executive Secretary, Operational Test and Evaluation Study Group, Cerberonics Inc. for a year, before becoming a real estate salesman and broker for Professional Realty Corp, Virginia Beach, for 10 years. His awards include three Navy Crosses, two Air Medals, and a Purple Heart, two Presidential Unit Citations with one Gold Star, Navy Commendation Medal, American Defense Service Medal, The American Campaign Medal, The Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with seven stars, the World War II Victory Medal, the National Defense Service Medial, and the Vietnam Service Medal. He was a member of the Association of Naval Aviation, Early and Pioneer Naval Aviator's Association "Golden Eagles" and Tailhook Association, Virginia Beach Sports Club, and the Princess Anne Hunt Club. A funeral will be held at NAS Oceana Chapel at noon, Saturday, Nov. 14. Arrangements made by H.D. Oliver, 2002 Laskin Road, Virginia Beach. Internment will be in the Columbarium at Arlington National Cemetery April 7, 2010. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to VMI Foundation Inc., Box 932, Lexington VA 24450 or Virginia Beach Rescue Squad Foundation, 740 Virginia Beach Blvd., Virginia Beach, VA 23451. The family wishes to thank the staff, both nurses and nurses' aides of Assistance in Living/Seaside, Heartland, and Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital for the care that they extended to him. We will miss his wry sense of humor, his compassion, and his loving care for this family. "A true Virginia gentleman."