William P. Driscoll

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William Patrick "Willy Irish" Driscoll (born March 5, 1947) is a retired United States Navy commander and one of the Navy’s two flying aces from the Vietnam War, along with Duke Cunningham. They are the Navy’s most recently minted aces.

Driscoll earned the Navy Cross for his role in a 1972 dogfight with North Vietnamese MiGs. He also received two Silver Stars, a Purple Heart, and ten Air Medals, and he was nominated for the Medal of Honor.

Born in Boston, he earned a BA in Economics from Stonehill College in 1968 and an MS in Systems Management from USC in 1978. He joined the Navy in 1968 through Aviation Officer Candidate School, became a Naval Flight Officer, and served as a Radar Intercept Officer in the F-4 Phantom II.

As a lieutenant, he flew with VF-96 aboard the aircraft carrier USS Constellation, teamed with Duke Cunningham. They achieved five MiG victories during the war. The best-known day was May 10, 1972, when they fought 16 MiG-17s after bombing a ground target; Cunningham shot down two MiGs and Driscoll downed one before their aircraft was hit and they ejected. They were rescued.

Driscoll flew 170 combat missions, logged over 3,300 jet flight hours, and made about 500 carrier landings. He later became an instructor at TOPGUN, then switched to the F-14 Tomcat and taught at VF-124. He left active duty in 1982 but stayed in the Navy Reserve, flying F-4s and later F-14s, and retired as a Commander.

After the Navy, Driscoll worked in real estate in San Diego and continued to serve as a consultant and speaker on military aviation, including as a TOPGUN advisor and addressing many graduating classes.