Last Vietnam era SEAL retires

CORONADO, CA, UNITED STATES

08.14.2014

Courtesy Story

Naval Special Warfare Command

By Chief Mass Communication Specialist (EXW) Brandon Raile Naval Special Warfare Group One

CORONADO, Calif. - Master Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Kirby D. Horrell, the last active duty SEAL to have served in combat operations during the Vietnam War, retired during a ceremony at Coronado, Calif., Aug. 14.

The ceremony celebrated a career spanning nearly 47 years for Horrell, who enlisted in the Navy on Nov. 15, 1967, and attended Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) as part of class 59 shortly thereafter.

Retired Capt. John McTighe, former teammate of Horrell’s, was a guest speaker for the ceremony and highlighted Horrell’s impact on the on the Naval Special Warfare (NSW) community.

"The accomplishments we’ve made since September 11, 2001 were made upon your actions," said McTighe. "We’ve built so much on your legacy."

Despite the personal recognition, Horrell shied away from discussing his own accomplishments, instead focusing on the impact of Vietnam era SEALs, as a whole, on the NSW community.

“This ceremony isn’t about me, this is really about all the SEALs who were in Vietnam,” said Horrell. “It’s about all of us who stood shoulder to shoulder fighting a very unpopular war. We built the foundation of NSW that everything today stands on.”

At the conclusion of the ceremony, after being piped over the side with his wife Terri in Navy tradition, Horrell asked the other present members of class 59 to join him in being piped over the side as a Team. One after another, more than a dozen SEALs filed across the red carpet to a standing ovation. With that final walk, Horrell concluded his Navy career surrounded by the very people with whom it had begun.

• Date Taken: 08.14.2014
• Date Posted: 08.18.2014 13:21
• Story ID: 139663
• Location: CORONADO, CA, US