Capt. Eugene “Red” McDaniel, a 1952 Campbell graduate who made national headlines in 1973 after surviving six agonizing years in a prisoner of war camp during the Vietnam War, died on Aug. 7, at the age of 94.
A member of Campbell University’s Sports Hall of Fame, McDaniel was a three-sport standout when he arrived in Buies Creek in 1950, playing football, basketball and baseball. He helped lead the 1952 basketball team to a berth in the Junior College National Championship Tournament in Hutchison, Kansas.
After graduating from Campbell in 1952, he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Elon in 1954. McDaniel then embarked on a distinguished career in the service of his country by enrolling in Naval Aviation Training in 1955. He received his Naval Aviator’s Wings in 1956.
On May 19, 1967, while flying on his 81st combat mission over North Vietnam as an A-6 Intruder pilot, McDaniel was shot down near Hanoi. He was listed as “missing in action” until 1970, when the Hanoi government acknowledged that he was being held prisoner.
A POW for more than six years, he was released on May 4, 1973 after the Vietnam cease-fire.
McDaniel was the subject of an award-winning Campbell Magazine feature story in October 2018. In it, he talked about his college days at Campbell — where he met his future wife, Dorothy Howard — and his conversion to Christianity. He also shared more about his experience in Vietnam, where he was one of the most brutally tortured American prisoners following his capture. He also wrote about his imprisonment in his autobiography, Scars and Stripes.
For his service in Vietnam, McDaniel was awarded the Navy’s highest award for bravery, the Navy Cross. He was the recipient of the Freedom Foundation’s American Patriot Award, two Silver Stars, the Legion of Merit with Combat “V”, the Distinguished Flying Cross, three Bronze Stars with Combat “V”, and two Purple Hearts for wounds received at the hands of his North Vietnamese captors.
Following his military retirement, McDaniel and his wife settled in Alexandria, Virginia. He went on to become founder of the Alexandria-based American Defense Institute, a nonprofit organization created to “increase public awareness among young adults for the need for a strong national defense.” He served as director of Navy/Marine Corps Liaison to the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 1981, working daily with Congress on national defense planning and provided legislators with information vital to the strategic development of Navy forces throughout the world.
In 1994, McDaniel helped found Adult Companion Care, (now known as ACCfamily, Inc.) after his own struggles to find quality home care for a family member.
Survivors include his wife of 70 years, Dorothy Howard McDaniel of Alexandria; three children, Michael Howard McDaniel (Captain, U.S. Navy (retired)) and Leslie McDaniel Lindsay, both of Alexandria; and David Eugene McDaniel of San Diego, California, nine grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
A “Celebration of Life” service will be held at 1 p.m. on Aug. 22 at Alexandria Presbyterian Church in Alexandria.
McDaniel will be buried at Arlington Cemetery on a yet-to-be-determined date.