05/21/2026
AAPI Spotlight
Born on June 13, 1935, Gordon Ross Nakagawa had a deep interest in science and service. While pursuing his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, Nakagawa participated in the Naval Reserves Officer Training Corps program. He later attended the Naval Postgraduate School for his Master of Science in Electrical Engineering and, in August of 1958, completed training to become a Naval Aviator. Nakagawa completed two deployments with the A-6 Squadron on the USS Yorktown. His squadron was the first to conduct a successful night attack on a surface-to-air missile in October 1967.
Following his deployment, Nakagawa taught guided missile design at the US Naval Academy in Maryland until 1971, when he began serving with an attack squadron on the USS Enterprise. While participating in Operation Linebacker II, enemy forces shot down Nakagawa’s aircraft. He was captured alongside two other men and taken to Hỏa Lò Prison. He was held in captivity for four months, being released in March 1973. Despite his time in captivity, Nakagawa became skipper of the USS Enterprise’s attack squadron. He also flew cover missions during the evacuation of Saigon on April 20,1975.
Captain Nakagawa's distinguished career as a naval officer included flying 185 combat missions in the A-6 Intruder during four combat deployments to Vietnam. Captain Nakagawa was also Commanding Officer of the Naval Air Station Pt. Mugu, coordinated all major design competitions for Naval Aviation at Naval Air Systems Command, and in his final active duty assignment, was Chair for Tactical Analysis at Naval Postgraduate School Monterey.
During his service, Captain Nakagawa was awarded two Legions of Merit, two Bronze Stars, two Purple Hearts, two Meritorious Service Medals, the Distinguished Marksman (Rifle) Medal, the Distinguished Pistol Medal, the POW Medal, and various other campaign, service, and individual awards.
