Fred R. Gammon – Captain, United States Coast Guard

Captain Fred R. Gammon, United States Coast Guard Reserve (Retired), 85, passed away January. 26, 2001.

Born in Fayetteville, Tennessee, January 18, 1916, he graduated from Coffee High School in Florence, Alabama. He then attended Florence State Teacher’s Collegeone year before transferring to the University of Alabama, graduating in 1939 as a mechanical engineer and North Alabama state champion in tennis.

He received his commission in the Coast Guard in 1939, and during WWII,  operated a Florida-based Coast Guard cutter in the Caribbean Sea near St. Lucia. He was later in charge of engineering at a base in Puerto Rico where he met his wife, Emmie Gene Carter, a Christian missionary, who preceded him in death in 1989.

Ordered to Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C. in 1954, he served as Chief of Engineering, Construction, and Maintenance and also taught Aids to Navigation at the Coast Guard Academy. He revised the Civil Engineering Manual. In 1971, when he retired after 32 years of service.

A specialist in tall towers as a civil and electrical engineer and knowledgeable about lighthouses, Captain Gammon was also instrumental in the construction of the western White House under President Nixon’s administration. Captain Gammon’s worldwide travel included Alaska, Turkey, Greenland, and Spain.

He is survived by his two sons, Fred and Chris; daughter, Sara; two grandchildren, Michelle and Michael; three brothers, Robert (Bu), Joe, and Jack; two sisters, Sue and Sara.

Captain Gammon was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, February 9, 2001, with full military honors and with many family members present.

GAMMON, FRED R
CAPT   US COAST GUARD

  • DATE OF BIRTH: 01/18/1916
  • DATE OF DEATH: 01/26/2001
  • BURIED AT: SECTION 6-Q  ROW 8  SITE 5
  • ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

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