GGU Alumni Spotlight: Raymond Fairbank

Raymond Fairbank grew up in Chicago, near the flight path of O’Hare International Airport, where he developed a desire to fly as he watched planes maneuver daily over his home. Following high school graduation, he attended Wright Jr. College in Chicago with ambitions of becoming an Air Force pilot. He discovered that the Air Force required four years of college education. Disappointed but not daunted, he learned that the Navy required him only two years of college to become a Naval Aviation Cadet. 

In 1964, he joined the Navy, stationed in Pensacola, Florida, for flight training. Soon after, the Gulf of Tonkin incident led to the US engagement in the Vietnam War, placing Raymond and his classmates into active duty. The 18-month training program was longer than usual due to a hurricane in Florida, causing the cancellation of flight operations. He completed basic training in Pensacola, then transferred to Corpus Christi, Texas, to conduct flight training. 

Raymond was also trained as a Naval Justice Officer and was stationed in San Diego, CA. Twice, he was part of an operational squadron stationed in Vietnam, then later transferred to operations in Italy and the Philippines to aid with Vietnam naval operations. Raymond later moved to San Francisco, where he enrolled in Golden Gate University and graduated with honors. Raymond was honorably discharged after more than 11 years of active-duty service, including service as an anti-submarine pilot for four and a half years and an assignment onboard the USS Permit, a fast-attack submarine. 

Following his service in the Navy, Raymond raised a family, and years later, he escorted his oldest stepdaughter, Ann, to a recruitment office at Travis Air Force Base. The Air Force recruiter told Raymond, "You have some additional years left in your service. Do you want to fulfill that here?" Raymond and his daughter looked at one another, then raised their right hands in unison, joining The United States Air Force and were both deployed to Operation Desert Storm. 

Raymond shared that his stepdaughter’s enlistment and his re-enlistment led him to meet his future wife, Linda, a flight nurse during Desert Storm. They have shared 31 years of marriage, and he is equally proud of his wife's military and post-military service. Currently, Linda is a Clinical Evaluator of Veterans’ Homes for the Washington State Veterans Administration. Only the 2nd woman in history, Linda served as the State of Washington's Commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars.