In Remembrance James Paul Virtue
Captain, USNR (Ret.), Class of 1967

Jim Virtue, the Battalion Commander of the UW NROTC class of ’67, passed away comfortably at home in Covington, Washington on November 27, 2021. He had been treated for metastatic colon cancer for the past nine years. Jim and his wife Jerri met the challenge by staying positive and continuing to live life to the fullest as long as he was able.

Following his UW graduation and commission he reported to Pensacola NAS for Aviation School, obtaining his wings and flying his first jet - a T33. Jim served 11 years of active duty and was first stationed at Whidbey NAS assigned to the VQ1 squadron “The Black Bats” flying the EA-3 in high altitude reconnaissance missions. The next three years were spent flying out of Atsugi NAS Japan and Navy Base Guam with 178 missions over Vietnam searching for land-based SCUDs and missiles. He often recalled memorable times at the Da Nang Officer’s club and at the Cubi Point Bar at the Philippines’s Cubi Point NAS. Shore Duty followed with a move to Monterey, California for Naval Post Graduate school in 1972. There he completed double master's degrees in Operations Research and Weapons Acquisition. His following sea duty tour was for three years stationed again at Whidbey NAS in the Replacement Air Group which transitioned from the EA-3 to EA6-B while he was assigned to the Electronic Attack VAQ133 “Wizards” air reconnaissance squadron. He had tours in the Mediterranean and North Atlantic aboard the USS John F. Kennedy with over 300 aircraft carrier landings. This was followed by his last shore duty station teaching calculus at the Naval Academy.

Jim continued his proud Navy career in the Reserves for the next 12 years flying P-3’s out of Jacksonville NAS and then at Joint Base Command at McDill AFB, achieving the rank of Captain in 1989. His awards include the Distinguished Flying Medal and 17 Air Medals.

Jim’s post active-duty Navy career continued to capitalize on his radar specialty knowledge working for the Sperry Corporation on multiple projects including program manager for the new NEXRAD weather radar system; later, working on ESM antiwarfare and satellite projects at Lockheed; and eventually, working at Boeing on radar systems for a program to replace the E-3 AWACS military radar plane to a new jet: the 737 Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft. His work took him to military customers in South Korea, Turkey, and Australia until his retirement in 2012.

Following retirement, Jim fixed up a corvette convertible, continued to ride his motorcycle, travelled extensively, played guitar, and enjoyed life with his family - his wife Jerri and daughters Wendy and Sandra. Jim’s call sign of “Combat” fit him well. He was strong, focused, worked hard, and was devoted to the Navy and to his family. We wish him “Fair Winds and Following Seas.” His light will always shine brightly.