Hall of Fame
Captain Eugene “Red” McDaniel, a former three-sport standout, was inducted into the Campbell University Sports Hall of Fame in October 2005.
Born in New Bern, N.C., and raised in Kinston, Red McDaniel arrived at Campbell in the fall of 1950 and became a standout in football, basketball and baseball. He helped lead the 1952 basketball team to a berth in the Junior College National Championship Tournament in Hutchison, Kansas.
After graduating from Campbell in 1952, he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Elon in 1954. McDaniel then embarked on a distinguished career in the service of his country by enrolling in Naval Aviation Training in 1955. He received his Naval Aviator’s Wings in 1956.
On May 19, 1967, while flying on his 81st combat mission over North Vietnam, A-6 Intruder pilot Red McDaniel was shot down near Hanoi. He was listed as “missing in action” until 1970, when the Hanoi government acknowledged that he was being held prisoner. A POW for more than six years, he was released on May 4, 1973 after the Vietnam cease-fire.
One of the most brutally tortured prisoners of the Vietnam War, McDaniel played an active role in camp communications during an organized escape attempt by fellow prisoners. He is the author of Scars and Stripes, a book telling of his six years in a communist prison. He also provided POW/MIA material for the best-selling book Kiss the Boys Goodbye.
For his service in Vietnam, Captain McDaniel was awarded the Navy’s highest award for bravery, the Navy Cross. He is the recipient of the Freedom Foundation’s American Patriot Award. He is the recipient of the Freedom Foundation’s American Patriot Award. Among his other military decorations are two Silver Stars, the Legion of Merit with Combat “V”, the Distinguished Flying Cross, three Bronze Stars with Combat “V”, and two Purple Hearts for wounds received at the hands of his North Vietnamese captors.
Captain McDaniel receives speaking invitations from business and civic organizations across the nation and requests for interviews on television and radio. His national TV appearances include The Today Show, Good Morning America, Larry King Live, Phil Donahue, The McLaughlin Show, CNBC, Crossfire, Sonya Live, CNN and C-SPAN.
During his naval career, Captain McDaniel served as Commanding Officer of the aircraft carrier USS Lexington and as Director of Navy/Marine Corps Liaison to the United States House of Representatives. In 1983, he founded the non-profit public policy group American Defense Institute to conduct research in national security issues and to increase public awareness of the need for a strong national defense.
He and his wife, the former Dorothy Howard, whom he met on his first day in Buies Creek on the steps of First Baptist Church, are parents of three children.
