Robert George McClure

Red, as he was known to almost everyone, was born 16 December 1940 to Carl and Dorothy McClure in Youngstown Ohio. Red was the eldest child and was followed by two sisters, Kathleen and Deborah, once Carl came back from his naval service in the Pacific war.

Red went to Struthers High School, playing tuba in the band and working as a mechanic in a local service station, graduating in 1958. He then attended Youngstown State University until 1960 while working in the test lab at Youngstown Sheet and Tube steel mill. In 1960 he accepted an appointment to the United States Naval Academy and graduated with the class of 1964.

He married his high school sweetheart, Judith Maxwell, on graduation day and they began their Navy life together in Pensacola Florida for flight training. Red initially selected Maritime patrol but upon arriving to his class in Corpus Christi was drafted as a jet pilot and sent to Beeville TX however a few very close calls in the A-4 training squadron resulted in his transferring to the Surface Navy.

Moving to San Diego he reported to USS Chevalier DD-805 as communications officer and Drone Anti-Submarine Helicopter (DASH) pilot. The DASH was a very early unmanned aerial vehicle. He completed two Pacific deployments in 1966 and 67 including time on the gun line off the coast of Vietnam. Returning home he packed up the family and moved to Charleston SC and reported to USS Tattnall DDG-19 as DesDiv 62 Operations officer completing a Mediterranean deployment in 1968-69. With Judy and two very young children at home Red decided to resign his commission in 1969 but the Navy extended him for a year for an in country Vietnam tour. After moving back to San Diego Red received training and experience in river patrol boats (PBR) then reported in June 1969 as Executive Officer of River Division 543 in Cua Viet. In December 1969 he took command of River Division 515 in Chau Duc, moving to Ha Tien and Rach Soi. Despite the duty extension, the monsoon that flattened their base, the day and night patrolling, sometimes running out of fresh water, and occasional firefights, Red said the last tour was the best job he ever had with the best people. He immensely enjoyed getting reconnected with the RIVDIV515 men and attending reunions in later years.

After discharge from the Navy in 1970 Red was hired as an engineer at Pacific Bell in Orange CA. In 1977 he transferred to a district engineer job with PacBell in Santa Rosa CA, moving the family to Sonoma CA where they settled on a couple of acres and began raising animals on a small scale including horses, sheep, and chickens. After a 1 year exchange with AT&T in New Jersey, Red left and started a small firm providing contract planning and engineering to telecommunications companies, moving the family (and horses and sheep) back to Sonoma.

In 1985 he took a Vice President position at another communications contractor and moved to the east coast in Annapolis MD, ending the livestock phase and beginning the sailboat phase. With the kids out of the house Red and Judy comfortably settled in to Chesapeake Bay living. In 2000 he semi-retired and took on work as a home inspector, enjoying the experience of seeing houses built from Colonial times to present. They both enjoyed quite a bit of travel during this time including Europe and Asia.

In 2012 Red and Judy completely retired and moved to Sun City, Texas. They enjoyed the excursions, the social networks and friends, their cats, and driving their golf cart to the local restaurants. Red was active in the woodworking shop, computer center, assisting local youth in robotics, and tracking family genealogy.

The rock of his life was Judy, his wife of 58 years, who struggled with Alzheimer’s in the last year and followed him into the afterlife just five weeks after his departure. He is survived by son Scott, daughter Beth, grandsons AJ, Connor, and Doug, and his sisters Kate and Debbie. The whole family is united in grief, love, and thankfulness that we had Red in our lives.

There will be a memorial and inurnment service for Red and Judy at the US Naval Academy columbarium on 11 October 2022 at 2:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, if so desired, a donation may be made in their memory to the Tunnel to Towers 9/11 Institute at T2T.org.