Lieutenant Colonel Leland C. Ritter was the first Commanding Officer of HMM-265 when the squadron was formed at MCAS New River in 1962. He celebrated his 100th birthday on January 20, 2022. Here is a link to some remembrances of his time as CO, beginning with an email from his daughter, Kay Grasso. The information she provided was sent to all of our members who had served under him, which triggered the round-robin discussion shown at “Discussion of early days at New River under LtCol Ritter” (must be logged in to view).

Here is a short video of LtCol Ritter’s 100th birthday celebration as an Honored Guest at a MCRD San Diego Recruit Graduation Ceremony

And finally, here is his military career in his own words. He truly is one of “The Greatest Generation.”