Dale Noyd
Encyclopedia
Dale Edwin Noyd was a decorated captain and fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force who gained worldwide attention when he became a conscientious objector
to protest the Vietnam War
.
. He attended Washington State University
and was the only member of the 1955 Reserve Officers Training Corps at WSU to be offered a regular commission, as opposed to a reserve commission.
Noyd's superior R.O.T.C. record granted him the right to select his first base assignment. Noyd opted for the U.S. Air Force base at Woodbridge, England
.
While serving in England, Noyd received a medal for landing a badly damaged F-100 Super Sabre
fighter that was armed with a nuclear weapon.
Noyd later became an instructor at the United States Air Force Academy
in Colorado Springs, Colorado
.
Noyd refused an assignment to train a pilot who would likely be sent to Vietnam and was court-martialed for disobeying the order.
Noyd's court-martial trial did not address his statements on the morality or legality of the Vietnam War, nor did it focus on his opposition to only one war as opposed to any military service.
Instead, the 10 officers judging his case allowed discussion of how Noyd's humanist beliefs might shape his character. The panel heard a theologian make a persuasive argument that risking one's life for a core belief constituted a religious act. That thesis was summarized by one prosecutor as "two religions butting heads against each other."
On March 9, 1968, the military court sentenced Noyd to one year in prison, rather than the maximum five years, and stripped him of his pension and military benefits.
for 20 years. After resigning from academia, Noyd built a boat that he used to sail to Tahiti
. He then settled in Hawaii
and returned to Washington when his health deteriorated.
He died from complications of emphysema
.
Noyd's son Erik told New York Times reporter Douglas Martin that his father kept two certificates on the wall of his study: the commendation he received for heroism, and his dishonorable discharge.
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
to protest the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
Military service
Noyd was born in Wenatchee, WashingtonWenatchee, Washington
Wenatchee is located in North Central Washington and is the largest city and county seat of Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925...
. He attended Washington State University
Washington State University
Washington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1890, WSU is the state's original and largest land-grant university...
and was the only member of the 1955 Reserve Officers Training Corps at WSU to be offered a regular commission, as opposed to a reserve commission.
Noyd's superior R.O.T.C. record granted him the right to select his first base assignment. Noyd opted for the U.S. Air Force base at Woodbridge, England
Woodbridge, Suffolk
Woodbridge is a town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England. It is in the East of England, not far from the coast. It lies along the River Deben, with a population of about 7,480. The town is served by Woodbridge railway station on the Ipswich-Lowestoft East Suffolk Line. Woodbridge is twinned with...
.
While serving in England, Noyd received a medal for landing a badly damaged F-100 Super Sabre
F-100 Super Sabre
The North American F-100 Super Sabre was a supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard until 1979. The first of the Century Series collection of USAF jet fighters, it was the first USAF fighter capable of...
fighter that was armed with a nuclear weapon.
Noyd later became an instructor at the United States Air Force Academy
United States Air Force Academy
The United States Air Force Academy is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of officer candidates for the United States Air Force. Its campus is located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States...
in Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in South-Central Colorado, in the southern portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located south of the Colorado...
.
Dissension over Vietnam
Noyd began to regard the U.S. role in the Vietnam War as immoral and illegal. In 1966 he wrote an eight-page, single-spaced letter to Air Force supervisors asking to be allowed to resign or to be classed as a conscientious objector.Noyd refused an assignment to train a pilot who would likely be sent to Vietnam and was court-martialed for disobeying the order.
Noyd's court-martial trial did not address his statements on the morality or legality of the Vietnam War, nor did it focus on his opposition to only one war as opposed to any military service.
Instead, the 10 officers judging his case allowed discussion of how Noyd's humanist beliefs might shape his character. The panel heard a theologian make a persuasive argument that risking one's life for a core belief constituted a religious act. That thesis was summarized by one prosecutor as "two religions butting heads against each other."
On March 9, 1968, the military court sentenced Noyd to one year in prison, rather than the maximum five years, and stripped him of his pension and military benefits.
Post-military life
Noyd taught psychology (with an emphasis on psychoanalysis) at Earlham CollegeEarlham College
Earlham College is a liberal arts college in Richmond, Indiana. It was founded in 1847 by Quakers and has approximately 1,200 students.The president is John David Dawson...
for 20 years. After resigning from academia, Noyd built a boat that he used to sail to Tahiti
Tahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
. He then settled in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
and returned to Washington when his health deteriorated.
He died from complications of emphysema
Emphysema
Emphysema is a long-term, progressive disease of the lungs that primarily causes shortness of breath. In people with emphysema, the tissues necessary to support the physical shape and function of the lungs are destroyed. It is included in a group of diseases called chronic obstructive pulmonary...
.
Noyd's son Erik told New York Times reporter Douglas Martin that his father kept two certificates on the wall of his study: the commendation he received for heroism, and his dishonorable discharge.