Randy "Duke" Cunningham has passed

[ST0RM]

Duke passed away yesterday, in Little Rock Arkansas. He was 83.
We know his Naval history and then his post service troubles, but in the end he was still a man who served his country and achieved Ace status. 

A close friend of mine was neighbors with Duke, in Hot Springs, and kept me updated on his declining health over the past year. Because of this, I was never able to make it out to meet him in person. He told Mike he was just so tired...



 

[scoobs]

Unfortunate news.  Multiple generations of my family knew Duke quite well, ranging from the NAS Miramar social scene of the 70s & 80s to subsequent San Diego political events; somewhere I've got a Topgun ballcap he autographed for me as a kid.  Sadly during my own time as a Tailhooker he was conspicuously absent at events and courses which he would have would have normally attended - "Irish" Driscoll filled in.  I gather that in recent years he was somewhat welcomed back into the fold and showed up at official events.

 

Adios Duke - the Pete Rose of Naval Aviation.

Edited August 28, 2025 by scoobs

[eraucubsfan]

I remember watching this VHS nonstop when I was a kid. Unfortunately missed him at Oshkosh a few years ago

Edited August 28, 2025 by eraucubsfan

[S K Loh]

RIP and God Bless.  

 

S K Loh

 

[GW8345]

Rest easy CDR, we have the watch.

[Anjun]

Whatever his flaws off the battlefield, his skill as a fighter pilot was undeniable. Rest in peace, Duke.

[hemspilot]

I'd say that his actions post service did completely tarnish his achievements as a fighter pilot for me, he did not live up to the standards expected of a fellow naval aviator and officer.

So yeah, whatever.

Edited August 31, 2025 by hemspilot
added text.

[Geoff M]

I guess in the end he was just human.

[scoobs]

21 hours ago, Geoff M said:

I guess in the end he was just human.

That’s putting it mildly.  Duke’s transgressions predated his transition to politics - following Vietnam he effectively became a navy celebrity and was deemed “untouchable”; he got caught on multiple occasions doing shady stuff that would have gotten lesser mortals a court martial.  But he was Duke and a blind eye was turned and he was allowed to quietly retire as middling O-5; upon transitioning to politics, the same shadiness again came out and eventually became his downfall.  It’ll be interesting to see whether or not if he is laid to rest at Arlington, because currently he doesn’t qualify for it.

 

I respect the man’s professional achievements - to quote Papa Scoobs “he’s got 5 more MiGs than me”.  But heroism on the battlefield doesn’t give you a pass from being a decent & lawful human being.  Lest we forget, we also recently lost another Navy ace whose post-navy public service was far different:

https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/americas-last-wwii-ace-pilot-dies-103

 

Edited September 1, 2025 by scoobs

[HOLMES]

Rest In Peace Sir.

May you be Blessed in Heaven.

[scoobs]

One aspect of Duke Cunningham's saga that long interested me (and likely others on here) is his legendary dogfight with the mythical North Vietnamese ace known as "Col Toon" - who was this guy?  Well, the recent book Combat In The Sky: Airpower and the Defense of North Vietnam 1965-1973 (Naval Institute Press, 2023) by Dong Sy Hung, a retired Vietnamese Air Force MiG-21 pilot, has the following entry: 

 

In its entire history the VNPAF has never had a "Colonel Nguyen Toon" and no Vietnamese pilot ever shot down thirteen U.S. aircraft. The young pilot Tra Van Kiem had only a little over two hundred hours of flight time and this was his very first air combat mission, but he was able to carry out air combat maneuvers so skillfully that Cunningham thought that he was flighting the legendary Colonel Toon: 

 

In the VN-U.S. veteran pilot meeting in San Diego in September 2017, while discussing the 10 May 1972 engagements, the VNPAF delegation detailed all the information about the legendary but unreal Colonel Nguyen Toon and the last combat for First Lieutenant Tra Van Kiem.

 

On October 2018, while he was discussing that air engagement in the VN-U.S. meeting in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Randall Cunningham remembered that he engaged many Vietnamese MiG pilots but he had never before encountered such a matchless and staunch opponent as First Lieutenant Tra Van Kiem.  The air combat of 10 May 1972 lasted nearly three minutes, during which the MiG pilot had twice won the favorable position to fire at him.  Lieutenant Cunningham had to dodge Tra Van Kiem's bursts before he could regain his mindfulness to use all his flying experience, training, and skills for his victory.  

 

In October 2018, with the assistance of Vietnamese veteran pilots and the Tra Van Kiem's family, Randall Cunningham realized his wish.  He visited pilot Tra Van Kiem's family to whom he offered a banner tribute: "Tra Van Kiem fought for his country with honor and skill.  I honor him as I do friends I lost."  A lot of Vietnamese and U.S. media coverage considered the visit by Cunningham to Tra Van Kiem's tombstone in Khanh Hoa Province as a manifestation of the policy to "put aside the past and together build the future" for Vietnam-U.S. relations.

 

Sure enough, there are articles and photographs in Vietnamese media documenting Cunningham's 2018 trip to Vietnam - although conspicuously no American media accounts, almost like Duke didn't want word of the trip to get out and spoil the Col Toon story that he'd been telling for nearly 50 years!

https://tuoitre.vn/chiec-mig-17-kieu-hung-46-nam-truoc-20181022091201488.htm

 

In one of his last public appearances at EAA in 2023, Cunningham and Driscoll retold their (very polished) story.  During the Q&A, the "Col Toon" question came up and Duke tap-danced around it with an entertaining and slightly more toned down response, but not a truthful and complete answer - classic Duke!  One other bit of trivia: apparently both Duke and Irish were awarded the Purple Heart for bumps and scratches they received in their ejection - although photographs taken of them in the days afterwards show no signs any bandages or injuries.  In his final years Duke was real fond of that hat...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 17, 2025 by scoobs

[Crease]

If John Kerry can write up and wear one for catching a grenade fragment (his own) while blowing up a stack of rice bags, I suppose Cunningham and Driscoll can wear one for ejecting over the Gulf.  At least theirs involved actual combat.

[GW8345]

6 hours ago, scoobs said:

One aspect of Duke Cunningham's saga that long interested me (and likely others on here) is his legendary dogfight with the mythical North Vietnamese ace known as "Col Toon" - who was this guy?  Well, the recent book Combat In The Sky: Airpower and the Defense of North Vietnam 1965-1973 (Naval Institute Press, 2023) by Dong Sy Hung, a retired Vietnamese Air Force MiG-21 pilot, has the following entry: 

 

In its entire history the VNPAF has never had a "Colonel Nguyen Toon" and no Vietnamese pilot ever shot down thirteen U.S. aircraft. The young pilot Tra Van Kiem had only a little over two hundred hours of flight time and this was his very first air combat mission, but he was able to carry out air combat maneuvers so skillfully that Cunningham thought that he was flighting the legendary Colonel Toon: 

 

In the VN-U.S. veteran pilot meeting in San Diego in September 2017, while discussing the 10 May 1972 engagements, the VNPAF delegation detailed all the information about the legendary but unreal Colonel Nguyen Toon and the last combat for First Lieutenant Tra Van Kiem.

 

On October 2018, while he was discussing that air engagement in the VN-U.S. meeting in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Randall Cunningham remembered that he engaged many Vietnamese MiG pilots but he had never before encountered such a matchless and staunch opponent as First Lieutenant Tra Van Kiem.  The air combat of 10 May 1972 lasted nearly three minutes, during which the MiG pilot had twice won the favorable position to fire at him.  Lieutenant Cunningham had to dodge Tra Van Kiem's bursts before he could regain his mindfulness to use all his flying experience, training, and skills for his victory.  

 

In October 2018, with the assistance of Vietnamese veteran pilots and the Tra Van Kiem's family, Randall Cunningham realized his wish.  He visited pilot Tra Van Kiem's family to whom he offered a banner tribute: "Tra Van Kiem fought for his country with honor and skill.  I honor him as I do friends I lost."  A lot of Vietnamese and U.S. media coverage considered the visit by Cunningham to Tra Van Kiem's tombstone in Khanh Hoa Province as a manifestation of the policy to "put aside the past and together build the future" for Vietnam-U.S. relations.

 

Sure enough, there are articles and photographs in Vietnamese media documenting Cunningham's 2018 trip to Vietnam - although conspicuously no American media accounts, almost like Duke didn't want word of the trip to get out and spoil the Col Toon story that he'd been telling for nearly 50 years!

https://tuoitre.vn/chiec-mig-17-kieu-hung-46-nam-truoc-20181022091201488.htm

 

In one of his last public appearances at EAA in 2023, Cunningham and Driscoll retold their (very polished) story.  During the Q&A, the "Col Toon" question came up and Duke tap-danced around it with an entertaining and slightly more toned down response, but not a truthful and complete answer - classic Duke!  One other bit of trivia: apparently both Duke and Irish were awarded the Purple Heart for bumps and scratches they received in their ejection - although photographs taken of them in the days afterwards show no signs any bandages or injuries.  In his final years Duke was real fond of that hat...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If I may;

 

- If you have an issue with Cdr. Cunningham wearing the Purple Heart Medal then you should take it up with the Dept of Navy, they are the one who awarded him that medal and I see no reason why he couldn't wear it proudly since he did get wounded in the service of his country.

 

- One does not have to "show" any injuries to be awarded the Purple Heart Medal, remember, ejecting from an aircraft is a violent event and aircrew often sustain internal injuries that last the rest of their life. 

 

- The Col. Toon thing was created by the DoD during the Vietnam War and echoed by the DoD for years after the war, he's just repeating what the DoD was putting out for decades.

 

You seem to have an issue with Cdr. Cunningham, if that is the case that's your prerogative but to come on here to disparage a decorated service member's memory reveals what kind of individual you truly are.

 

Since you stated that Cdr. Cunningham retired as a "middling O-5", what did you retire as?

 

GW

 

 

[scoobs]

20 hours ago, GW8345 said:

If I may;

 

- If you have an issue with Cdr. Cunningham wearing the Purple Heart Medal then you should take it up with the Dept of Navy, they are the one who awarded him that medal and I see no reason why he couldn't wear it proudly since he did get wounded in the service of his country.

 

- One does not have to "show" any injuries to be awarded the Purple Heart Medal, remember, ejecting from an aircraft is a violent event and aircrew often sustain internal injuries that last the rest of their life. 

 

- The Col. Toon thing was created by the DoD during the Vietnam War and echoed by the DoD for years after the war, he's just repeating what the DoD was putting out for decades.

 

You seem to have an issue with Cdr. Cunningham, if that is the case that's your prerogative but to come on here to disparage a decorated service member's memory reveals what kind of individual you truly are.

 

Since you stated that Cdr. Cunningham retired as a "middling O-5", what did you retire as?

 

GW

 

 

Hey, Duke was free to wear a hat with whatever earned decoration (Navy Cross, Silver Star, DFC) he wanted - but it's interesting that he chose to go with a Purple Heart - a decoration that usually elicits sympathy.  I've flown in ejection seat aircraft and I'm well aware on the potential ill effects - I've also seen the photos of him taken later that day where he's standing and smiling for the camera.  Apparently the flight surgeon hooked him up but for whatever ill effects he suffered, it didn't prevent him from flying tactical aircraft for 15 more years!  

 

I don't believe that I have a issue with guy - but I'm not gonna hero-worship him either.  Not sure if you ever met him or just know him as a talking head from The History Channel but as I previously stated my family has unique insight into the guy over decades of personal interaction - Dad was as a fellow Naval Aviator and contemporary with him at Miramar in the 70s and 80s, Granddad (a WW2 Naval Aviator with similar decorations) was a golfing buddy and campaign contributor, my sister once worked in his campaign office, and I met him on several occasions.  Duke was known quantity - as they say at Topgun, he had his goods, bads, and others.  If I wanted to crap on the man's memory, I'd bring up the unsavory stories but they're out there for those who are interested.

 

I bring up "Col Toon" because even after 50+ years, we still don't fully know what happened on 10 May 1972.  Duke's first two MiGs were confirmed by other U.S. aircraft, but his legendary duel with "Toon" is entirely based on Cunningham (and to a lesser extent Driscoll's) testimony.  I've tried to track down an original copy of the after action report and the means of confirmation of his fifth "kill" but have come up blank - but I know that there were other fighter pilots who were there that day who believe that the third MiG incident was heavily embellished if not entirely invented.  

 

Yeah, I said "middling O-5" - and that's not a dig against the rank of Commander (I punched out as a O-4 (Sel)).  I used it because, given's Duke's extraordinary combat record and self-proclaimed legendary fighter pilot prowess, you would think he have easily made Fleet VF CO, CAG, and beyond - but he didn't.  And there are very good reasons why... 

 

His passing is unfortunate, because regardless of his faults, Duke Cunningham was arguably the most famous Naval Aviator of the Vietnam era and his departure reflects the fading away of this generation.  I'm fortunate to have known many of these heroic and extraordinary Americans, men who ably served across the various aviation communities and who are largely anonymous to the general public.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 18, 2025 by scoobs