James Franklin Bell

complications of Parkinsons disease at a Mount Vernon nursing facility. He and

his family had lived in Alexandria since 1975.

Born in Akron, Ohio, Captain Bell grew up in New York and Maryland, and

attended the University of Utah before graduating from the United States Naval

Academy in 1954. He entered flight training in Pensacola, Fla., and won his Navy

wings in November 1955. In 1965, when flying on a reconnaissance mission

aboard the USS Independence in the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of North

Vietnam his plane was shot down and he was captured. He was held captive in

Hanoi for 7 1/2 years.

In February 1973, then Commander Bell returned to the United States as part of

Operation Homecoming after spending 2,677 days in captivity. His comment then

was, “Thank God I am an American.” After rehabilitation at the National Naval

Medical Center in Bethesda, he attended the Industrial College of the Armed

Forces at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C. From August 1974 to November

1975, he was commanding officer of Fleet Composite Squadron Seven in San

Diego. He served in the Naval Air Systems Command until retirement on March

1, 1979, and then worked as an engineering consultant for A.T. Kearney and

other consulting firms in the Washington area.

In 1988, Bell was severely injured in a scuba diving accident in Cozumel, Mexico,

which brought about his second retirement. He did volunteer work for the

Corporate Angels Network and for the Congressional Medal of Honor Society

heading a program called Veterans Against Drugs.

His military honors included the Distinguished Flying Cross, two Silver Stars, two

Legion of Merit awards, two Purple Hearts, Bronze Star Medal with combat “V”

and one Gold Star, two Air Medals with Bronze Star, Navy Unit Commendation

Medal, Combat Action ribbon, NAF Meritorious Unit Commendation, Vietnam

Service Medal, Prisoner of War Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal and National

Defense Medal.

He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Dora Griffin Bell; his sister, Margaret

Jones of Hedgesville, W.Va.; his children, Tom Bell of Wake Forest, N.C.; Capt.

Matthew Bell, U.S. Navy Reserve of Fredericksburg, VA; Ann Bell Rogan,

Arlington, TX; and stepchildren, James F. Griffin, Lawrenceville, GA., and Dr.

Carrie Griffin of Woodside, Calif.; five grandchildren; six step grandchildren; and

five step great grandchildren.

Burial will be at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date.