The Oklahoma Traveler with Oklahoma Medal of Honor recipient Capt. Richard McCool, U.S.N., KOTV

In 2003, Capt. Richard McCool U.S.N. (Ret) was one of two surviving Oklahoma-native Medal of Honor recipients.
He was born in Tishomingo, Oklahoma, in 1922, but claimed Norman, Oklahoma, as home.
Photojournalist Michael Woods and I visited with him at his home on Bainbridge Island, Washington, and his story was broadcast on KOTV/Tulsa in May, 2003.
Capt. McCool, who served in the United States Navy for 35 years, passed away on March 8, 2008, at the age of 86. Captain McCool is buried at the Naval Academy Cemetery in Annapolis, Maryland.
On September 14, 2024, in Pensacola, Florida, the U.S. Navy commissioned its newest ship, the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock, LPD-29, as the USS Richard M. McCool Jr.