October 21, 1922 - August 21, 2016 Rodney L. Harrison passed away at the age of 93 after a brief illness of cancer. He grew up on a farm near Trappe, Maryland, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Ormond L. Harrison. For the last several decades, he lived on the Severn River in Annapolis, Maryland. During WWII, he enrolled in the Navy V-5 Aviation Cadet Program. Rodney graduated from flight training in Pensacola, FL, in August, 1943, Aviator Number 5172, with a commission in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. He was assigned to Squadron VMSB-142 to pilot the Dauntless (SDB) Dive Bomber. After training in California and Hawaii, the squadron was initially based in Emirau, in the Bismarck Sea, flying missions in the North Solomons Combat Zone. During the Luzon Invasion, his squadron repositioned to Zamboanga, flying strikes throughout the Sulu Archipelago. By war's end, Rodney received the Distinguished Flying Cross with Gold Star in lieu of second award and the Air Medal with Gold Stars in lieu of second through seventh awards, for his courage and expert airmanship during 54 missions. After returning to Oxford, Maryland, he worked for a yacht design-builder, Wiley's Boatyard, before entering Washington College Class of 1958. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics, which he followed with a year of graduate studies in aero and hydro dynamics at Johns Hopkins University. During the next decade, he worked for a series of small Naval Architecture firms in the Annapolis and Washington, DC, area. Significant projects included extensive government and commercial ship work. He was especially proud of his role in designing the "Ridgely Warfield", a 100-foot catamaran oceanographic research vessel operated on the Bay and outer continental shelf by the Chesapeake Bay Institute, a subsidiary of Johns Hopkins University. From 1971 until retirement in 1989, Rodney was a key member of Westinghouse Oceanographic Division's Naval Architecture Group. Most of his work involved the design and testing of experimental underwater devices for the U.S. Navy. Rodney's wife of 25-years, Lieutenant Nancy Pugh Harrison, U.S. Navy Nurse Corps, pre-deceased him in 1973. Throughout his life, he enjoyed coastal sailing from Maine to Florida. He was a member of the Tred Avon Yacht Club and Severn Sailing Association where he raced avidly for a number of seasons. Rodney prized his cars, especially his red Alfa Romeo Duetto, enjoyed travel adventures that often included squadron reunions, was a voracious reader, an opinionated conversationalist and a keen observer of nature around him. After retiring, he joined his good friend, Anne Brice, in helping run her horse farm near Annapolis. Always an engineer, he enjoyed puzzling through complex issues, frequently returning to his drafting skills to help develop solutions. In addition to Anne, he is survived by his sister-in-law, Barbara Pugh Bloodsworth, of Princess Anne, and numerous nieces, nephews and their children, all of whom meant a great deal to Rodney. A memorial service will be held at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church, Pleasant Plains Road, Annapolis, at 11:00 am on Wednesday August 31. Burial will be private at the Old Whitemarsh Cemetery in Trappe at a future time. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the National Naval Aviation Museum, 1750 Radford Boulevard, Suite B, Pensacola, FL, 32508, (800) 327-5002. These memorials will be used for conservation of the Marine Corps aircraft, including a Dauntless Dive Bomber, in their collection.
Published in The Capital Gazette on Aug. 25, 2016