The Lake Minnetonka Chapter awarded a Quilt of Valor to Plymouth Vietnam Veteran Jere Mackin, the husband of Lois Mackin, our former chapter and state registrar. Quilts of Valor are awarded to veterans who were touched by war with this heartfelt expression of gratitude. Quilts of Valor are carefully sewn by chapter members.
Mr. Mackin grew up in Osage, Iowa. After graduating high school in 1960 received a Congressional appointment to the United States Naval Academy, graduating with a B.S. in Naval Science in 1964. He later earned an M.S. in Physics from the Naval Post-Graduate School.
His naval career included service in five Navy ships, all but one of which were
guided missile destroyers, as division officer, department head, executive officer,
and commanding officer. Jere’s ships were homeported in Honolulu, Hawaii;
Norfolk, Virginia; and San Diego, California, and conducted multiple deployments
to the western and southern Pacific, including two Vietnam War deployments.
Jere’s warfare specialty was Surface Warfare Officer.
In addition to his afloat service, Mr. Mackin served a brief in-country Vietnam tour, an
instructor tour in Newport, Rhode Island, during which he received the Navy’s
Master Instructor designation and multiple tours at the Naval Sea Systems
Command in Washington, D.C., in weapon systems acquisition. His final tour
before retiring in 1991 was Program Manager, PHALANX Close-In Weapon
System.
Mr. Mackin was awarded the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal, the Navy Unit Commendation, the National Defense
Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Ribbon, several
Republic of Vietnam unit citations, and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal.
After retiring from the Navy, Jere worked for BAE Systems, retiring for the second
time as a Technical Fellow.
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