Larry Bailey passed peacefully in his sleep in his Chocowinity, NC home on May 22nd at the age of 85. A native of Marshall, Texas, he graduated from Marshall High School in 1957, and, in 1962, he obtained a BS degree from Stephen F. Austin State College in Nacogdoches, TX and later earned a master’s degree in education from East Carolina University.
Larry was sworn into the U.S. Navy in June 1962 upon entering Naval Officer’s Candidate School at Newport, RI. Upon graduation, Ensign Bailey was assigned to the USS Leary (DDR-879) as Assistant Engineering Officer. Not finding destroyers to his liking, he volunteered for Underwater Demolition Team Replacement Training, the precursor of today’s BUD/S, or Basic UDT/SEAL, training. A career Navy SEAL, he served in a variety of leadership positions in the SEAL Teams and their precursor, Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT). He participated in the 1965 invasion of the Dominican Republic and where he first came under enemy fire. In 1967, he commanded one of the first SEAL Team TWO platoons to deploy to Vietnam, where he conducted numerous combat and intelligence-gathering operations.
Following his return from Vietnam, Larry left the Navy briefly in 1968, where he worked for a year as Executive Director of the Tarrant County, TX, Republican Party.
Returning to the Navy, Larry held Special Operations leadership roles at the US Southern Command in the Panama Canal Zone and as the Navy Section Chief at the US Military Group in La Paz, Bolivia. Returning to the US, he was one of the first Naval Officers assigned to the newly formed Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) in Fayetteville, NC. In 1982, he assumed command of Naval Special Warfare Unit TWO at the Royal Air Force Base in Machrihanish, Scotland, where he spent three years overseeing the activities of all SEAL operations in the European Theatre. Upon completing that tour of duty, CAPT Bailey received orders to report as Commanding Officer of the Naval Special Warfare Center, US Naval Amphibious Base, Coronado, CA, where he oversaw the basic training of entry-level SEALs. Larry spent his final two years in the Navy at the US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, FL, where he retired from active duty in 1990.
Larry’s awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit with Gold Star, Bronze Star Medal with Combat Valor Device, Special Warfare Insignia (SEAL Badge), and numerous other personal and campaign medals.
Larry was a prolific author and speaker on military subjects and has worked at a number of non-profit, educational, and patriotic organizations since his retirement. CAPT Bailey was a lifetime member of the American Legion, the VFW, the UDT-SEAL Association, the UDT-SEAL Museum Association, and the National Rifle Association.
Larry is survived by his wife, the former Judy Alligood of Elizabeth City, NC; his sisters, Betty Martin and Jo-Nell Rogers; and their two children, Tucker Bailey (Hillary) and Hallie Heiter (John). In accordance with his wishes, Larry’s ashes will be swum out to sea by active-duty SEAL brethren at the UDT-SEAL Museum in Ft. Pearce, FL on Memorial Day 2026.
Paul Funeral Home & Crematory of Washington is honored to serve the Bailey family.
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