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Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:
Mr. Shawn A. Dorsch

Born April 1932 to John and Mary Dorsch. Jefferson Avenue, Portage, Pennsylvania. Mr. Dorsch's father was a coal miner. Not wanting to work in the mines like his father, after graduating from Portage High School, Mr. Dorsch enlisted in the United States Navy in May of 1951.

After enlistment he went to boot camp in Bainbridge MD. After boot camp he went to study basic aviation principles and on to Memphis TN for 6 months to study aviation electronics.

After completion of training in April-May of 1952, he joined VP-49 (the Woodpeckers) and was stationed in Bermuda (BDA) until discharged on 5/5/1955 in Boston.

While in Bermuda he served on a flight crew flying Martin PBM and P-5M flying boats operating in the Atlantic looking for Soviet submarines. He was an aviation technician operating the radar and other electronic equipment on the aircraft looking for Soviet submarines.

During his service, there was one event he recalls when they found a Soviet submarine on the surface.

During his time with VP-49 their operational area ranged from Trinidad to Newfoundland and sometimes out to Iceland/Greenland.

After his service in the Navy, Mr. Dorsch went to Pennsylvania State University where he studied electrical engineering. After college, he joined American Telephone & Telegraph where he continued working on systems to defend the United States from nuclear attack by Soviet submarines. Eventually he rose to prominence in this field and led a world-wide operation of over 1,200 people.

After retiring, at age 70, Mr. Dorsch earned his private pilot's license. On October 31, 2002 Mr. Dorsch crashed into a mountain on the North Carolina-Tennessee border in an ice storm. Amazingly, he walked away from the crash and was rescued after a 9-hour ground search by the Laurel Bloomery Volunteer Fire Department.

Three months later, Mr. Dorsch purchased another Piper Arrow and, as of 2005, was continuing to fly.

Mr. Dorsch has 4 children, and his oldest Son, Shawn is also a pilot and shares his passion for flying.

Editor's note: The National Air and Space Society files contain additional information about Mr Dorsch.