William Nelson Longley

LONGLEY, William Nelson, 89 of Pensacola. A retired Lt. Commander for the USN, Bill received a new set of wings on November, 3rd 2014. He was born in Boston MA on December 31st, 1924 and joined the Navy 18 years later in 1942.

Before retiring at the rank of Lt. Commander in 1972, Bill had a long and distinguished career as a military pilot with over 11,000 pilot hours. In 1962 he was awarded a commendation of the Streamlined Stork for having flown 27 different types of aircraft, including Fat Albert & Helicopters, between Pensacola and San Diego for a record 600,000 miles in 414 days without incident. It was the highest mileage ever recorded for that time. Bill served as a test pilot for the Naval Rework Facility at N.A.S prior to his retirement. Bill received numerous medals including; (3) Good Conduct, American Theatre Area Ribbon, European African Middle East Ribbon, Air Medal, (2) WWII Victory Medal, Korean Service Medal & United Nations Medal.

Bill Is predeceased by his first wife, Eileen and survived by his loving wife JoAnn Balko Longley and his Step Son David Balko. Bill will be remembered with love and kindness by all who knew him.