AW2 Leslie Dean "Deano" Hood
HSL-34  SH-2F
BUNO: 150186
11/18/59-06/14/82
Hometown: Knoxville, TN
Helicopter crashed on takeoff, rolled on its side and caught fire.
Family and Shipmates Comments:
Gail L. Hood (spouse):
Dean grew up in Knoxville Tenn. He was an avid reader and played the saxophone. He crusaded for Christ in his teens and then went on to college at the university of Tennessee. His parents never allowed their children to have motorcycles, so he went naval aviation flying in the SH-2Fs. He had a permanent smile on his face from then on! In 1981 he was deployed to the Persian Gulf, at that time; the situation was referred to as the” Persian Gulf crisis”. I held my breath; we were both active duty and we were expecting our first child. We were very aware of the threat to our nation at that time. Twenty years later I have lived to experience the truth in our discussions, our worst nightmares came true on 9-11-01.
His life was so short but so full! He had everything he could dream of... a job that was a total adventure to him and a beautiful daughter, Miche'. Dean used to say he got it all, he felt complete in life. This young man was 22 years old; He was my Husband, a magnificent son, and a father. Several weeks following his re-enlistment, he was killed on June 14th, 1982 during a routine training mission. When I met him...He was flying and coaching a little league baseball team. He loved kids and they loved him back.
As for our family, Dean was our super hero! He had a funny sense of humor and was driven to excellence in anything that he focused on. His photogenic mind and attention to detail was second to none but it was that friendly "regular Joe" attitude that made him so memorable. He received several commendations. One being a Naval Achievement Award..Dean had implemented a slide presentation for identifying Soviet warships. He was consumed by this project as his squadron was planning future detachments to the Persian Gulf. The slide program allowed a more informed briefing for pilots that he would be crewing for as a anti-submarine warfare operator. He wanted to be on top of his game while on the job. Being a sea and air rescue crewman was overshadowed by his determination to be well informed as an Anti-Submarine Warfare Operator...although he lived for both of those jobs. He was a true perfectionist, a selfless man and so committed to his fellow crew. He was one of those guys that had a handshake, a smile, and a” hey buddy” for every man that he met he met. To him, they were his brothers-in-arms.
His proudest moment came while his detachment HSL-34 was stationed on the USS Peterson in the Persian Gulf. The Jessie Brown, then also stationed in the Persian Gulf, had called man overboard and Dean's crew was able to accomplish a successful rescue. There is a photo, showing dean coming off the helo that day, with a box of ice-cream tucked under his arm, a reward for a rescue well done, compliments of the Jessie Brown. He was so proud to be a part of that team.
Dean was very patriotic, we often talked about his commitment to his country, his future and his dreams...and he loved to fly! He was willing to die for what he believed in. Six months earlier a fellow AW perished off the side of a ship crossing the Mediterranean. Dean never said what the circumstances of his death were and I guess that he feared that his wife would not have allow him to re-enlist. The shoulder patch emblem says, “We may die so that others may live”...what a truism. As I read through the other memorials to these young AWs serving for our freedom, I understand the true meaning of, the ultimate sacrifice …………………but still, we miss him,everyday. In Loving Memory.

AW2 Chris Gypin:
I was in the same pipeline as Dean and knew him through AW A School, Aircrew, SAR, SERE and HSL-30 RAG. He had a heart of gold and managed to graduate each of these evolutions through sheer determination. When we made third, we went to Knoxville for the weekend and hung out with his folks. His mom sewed on our crows and made a big deal about it. It was no secret that she was proud of Dean and all he accomplished. They were good people. After the RAG, I kept up with Dean and stayed with him and his family whenever I went to Norfolk for training or refreshers. His favorite greeting was 'FACE' and his favorite meal was spaghetti and Scotch. The guy on the Cheers intro with the glass in the air and the big smile looks just like him. I remember talking with him about a couple of weeks before the crash. I had decided to leave the Navy to return to school, while Dean, with his new wife and child, re-enlisted. We were joking about it because I was always the lifer and Dean was in it for the college money. Surviving Dean were his parents, Mr and Mrs James Hood of Knoxville, Tenn, a younger brother, his wife, and his pride and joy, his daughter Mishae. The last I heard, his folks had retired and moved to Sannibel Island, Florida.

CWO4 (Ret.) Eric "Wally" Wolber
The H-2 took off from NAS Norfolk and flew around for about half-hour and went to the Heliport to do some low work (HSL-30's mat). After several bounces they heard a bang and experienced aircraft control problems. They sat on thedeck checking controllability, did a low hover, landed back on the deck. They made a bad decision that they could make it the mile or so back to runway. They picked up and had no control, the helo rolled, rotors impacted deck, one pilot was thrown from the aircraft and the other exited the burning plane. Medical examiner reported he was unable to determine if Hood was killed by the crash or the fire.
I had turned over the Aircrew Div O job to AWC Don Masden on the first of the month and was finishing advanced JEZ school at FASO. I had stopped by the hangar to clear up some mess I had left behind (nobody ever gives you a good turnover)! AW1 Gary Kuhlmey was in the Ops office and told me there had been a crash and I should go there to find out what was going on. It was a mess, I wonder!
Deano wasn't the brightest or best looking sailor I ever had. He was HSL-34 "Sailor of the Month, Quarter" in what was viewed at the time as a hostile environment for AW's. He did that in a time when the brainy AW's usually answered every order/idea with "That's too hard"! He showed me the truth in a saying we have all seen somewhere "It's your attitude not your aptitude that will normally determine your altitude." His enthusiasm was contagious and he could find something to laugh about no matter how bad things were going. I'm blessed for having known this young man, he made me a better Chief.

AW2 (Civ.) Marty Henderson:
Dean hood died exactly how it was written.
Another lesson learned...from then on the fire dept detail at the helo port was REQUIRED to be in full silver suits. It was said that they were playing cards when the incident happened... complacency I guess.
We didn't have many accidents there....after that whenever we hotpitted I usually walked over to the truck to check to see if the man was wearing his suit...they always looked at me funny but I guess they didn't realize what job we did and how we expected their help if we needed it!!

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