Captain Calvin B. Early, MC, USN (Ret), '52

Distinguished Alumnus 2007

Captain Early is a 1952 graduate of the Academy.  After three years of sea duty in high endurance cutters and icebreakers, he left active duty to pursue the practice of medicine.  He received BA, MD and PhD degrees from Ohio State University.  In 1960, he returned to active military service as a navy physician and surgeon.  He served as the chief (and only) neurosurgeon at a field hostpital in Viet Nam and went on to direct the first Navy Neurosurgery Residency Program at the National Naval Medical Center (Bethesda, MD).  He also served as Professor of Surgery at the Uniformed Service University of Health Sciences.  He retired in 1983 and went on to private medical practice in Pennsylvania.

A pilot with nearly 6,000 hours (close to 800 helicopters), CAPT Early holds a transcontinental speed record and in 2002 joined the Coast Guard Auxiliary as an Auxiliary Volunteer Pilot, helping to hone the skills of the Coast Guard Aerial Interdiction Unit.