Beaufort’s Nils Sandberg,79, joined the United States Navy in St. Louis in 1965. After OCS in Newport, R.I., he trained as a helicopter pilot at Naval Air Station Pensacola, earning his wings in 1967. He then served with a helo antisubmarine squadron out of San Diego, including a western Pacific deployment aboard USS Bennington (CVS-20).
He then transitioned to Huey helos before being assigned to the Delta area in Vietnam. He flew 600 hours in Vietnam, used his Huey to extract wounded Navy men (It’s not designed for that), and earned two individual action Air Medals and 33 strike flight Air Medals. After that he returned to San Diego to train others on the larger Sea King helo.
His next assignment was deployed with the Air Wing Staff aboard USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63). In 1976 he attended the Defense Intelligence School at Bolling AFB in Washington, D.C., before being assigned to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Office of the Chairman) in the Pentagon. In 1980 he left active duty and joined the Naval Reserve with periodic duties in St. Louis and Washington and finally for the Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic in Norfolk, Va.
He retired in 1994 as a Navy Captain (O-6) with 29 years of service. He then continued to work in finance and investments until 2001 when he and his wife, Suzie, moved aboard their boat and lived for 6 years, traveling between the Chesapeake Bay and Florida waters when they discovered Beaufort and then they settled here.
Compiled by John Chubb, American Legion Post 207. For Veteran Of The Week nominations, contact jechubb1@gmail.com.
