Remembering Them Forever (RTF)!

Military Information:

Dates of Service 1:

Service Start Date: NA Service End Date: NA

Dates of Service 2:

Service Start Date: NA Service End Date: NA

Bio:

Paul J Stock, III AMS 3 US Navy 12/26/74-10/26/96 Bio and Navy service Paul J Stock III (or PJ as he was known to family and friends) was born 12/26/1974 in St. Petersburg, Florida.

He split his growing up years between Florida and Kansas. At the age of 12 he fell in love with jets and after seeing the movie Top Gun he exclaimed, “I’m going to do that someday!” He has three younger siblings.

His sister Christina lives in Waco, TX with her family, a brother Anthony who served 14 years in the US Army, 1st Cav, including tours to Iraq and Bosnia, and a sister Jennifer who is a middle school science teacher. Anthony and Jennifer reside in Phoenix, AZ.

Paul’s mother, Carla, lives in Ft. Worth and is a veteran of the USAF having served during the Vietnam Era. Paul’s father, Joseph (now deceased) also served in the USAF. Paul’s grandfather, Carl, lives in Belton, MO and is a retired SM Sargent with the USAF. Our family is largely comprised of military with all branches represented.

After Paul attended one semester of community college in Kansas, he elected to enter the US Navy. His aptitude scores allowed him to enter the prestigious nuclear school for service on a submarine. While he could have excelled at this, his love was flying so he opted for machinist school in Memphis, TN with his plan to eventually separate from the NCO ranks, finish his college degree so he could apply for OCS/Top Gun School. His first duty station was Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, VA.

There he served on both the USS John Stennis and the USS John F Kennedy (which included a North Atlantic goodwill tour to England and Ireland). His words to his mother upon returning to home port in Virginia and stepping off the Kennedy was, “Just you watch and see, I’m gonna fly a F-14 off her one day.” But that day never came. Paul began applying for a military college separation program with accompanying ROTC while stationed in Tennessee and was told repeatedly he had to fulfill the required 4 years before approval in that program. (Never was a Navy seaman NCO allowed permission for separation of duty station to attend college before 4 years served. Paul challenged this requirement on a monthly basis determined to finish a college degree and then petition for admission to OCS and coveted Top Gun school). However, Paul’s work ethic, multiple achievement awards and tenacity caught the attention of his senior supervisors and the Naval base Admiral in Virginia. His military records went before the Naval Board and approval was granted with only 2 years active duty. At the time of the request hearing and decision Paul was on temporary assignment to Reno, NV and was to find out his approval was granted when he arrived back at his home base. Before he could fly home, he was killed in a vehicular accident on 10/26/1996. His rank was increased to Petty Officer 3rd Class posthumously on Nov 21, 1996.