Buies Creek–In 1972 Navy SEAL Lt. Spence Dry was navigating the waters of the Red River in North Vietnam on a secret mission to rescue American prisoners. The rescue attempt failed due to strong coastal currents, but Dry would not rest until he had convinced his superiors to let him lead a second attempt by helicopter. Tragically, he was killed while attempting a rendezvous with his submarine when he jumped from the helicopter into the North Vietnam Sea, but his heroism and that of his crew went unrecognized until an article written by two of Dry’s buddies was published.Campbell University history and government professor Mike Slattery and Gordon I. Peterson, both Naval Academy classmates of Dry’s, weren’t satisfied when Dry’s death was ruled “accidental” to protect operational secrecy. So, bit by bit, they went about uncovering the treacherous operational hazards encountered in Dry’s mission, including the initial launch from an underwater submarine, the long hours submerged in enemy waters as they waited for rescue, the strong tidal current and sea state that foiled mission success and the high risk of detection by aggressive enemy patrol boats on the Tonkin Gulf.Armed with this information and a desire to set the record straight, Slattery and Peterson wrote “Spence Dry, a SEAL’s Story,” published in the July 2005 edition of the journal “Proceedings,” a publication of the U.S. Naval Institute. When it caught the eye of retired naval captain John D. Chamberlain, skipper of Dry’s submarine the Grayback, the article set off a chain of events. Determined to validate Dry’s bravery and that of his crew, Chamberlain volunteered to initiate and submit the paperwork supporting a combat award for Dry. He worked closely with Slattery and Peterson using the recently unclassified messages, documents and eye witness accounts that the co-writers had gathered for the article. In February 2008, Dry was finally awarded the Bronze Star that recognized the heroism and sacrifice made by him and his crew. The award was presented at the United States Naval Academy.”At an award ceremony in Memorial Hall, Lt. Spence Dry was posthumously presented a Bronze Star Medal with Combat Distinguishing Device for heroic achievement in connection with combat operations against the enemy,” Slattery writes. “Following the ceremony, several of those who knew Spence gathered for a very special reunion. Although it had been over 35 years, our memories were still fresh and the old stories flowed and maybe a tear or two.”Slattery has also completed another article about Dry, “Teriyaki Shrimp: A Tribute to a Classmate and SEAL Teammate,” to be published in the May edition of “Shipmate.”Slattery, who served two tours in Vietnam, began his Navy career in 1961 by enlisting in the Naval Reserves during his senior year in high school. He began active duty with the Pacific Submarine Force in Pearl Harbor in 1963, and served aboard the U.S.S. TANG as quartermaster until his appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy in 1964.Prior to his retirement in 1994, Slattery served as the chief of staff for the Joint Special Operations Command at Fort Liberty, N.C. and two tours at the Pentagon with the Chief of Naval Operations staff and the Chief of Naval Personnel.
Campbell professor instrumental in recognition of dead hero