During his 24 year career as a Marine aviator, Jerry flew everything from attack jet aircraft to helicopters and fixed-wing anti-submarine planes. He started out flying A-4 Skyhawks and was fully carrier qualified. He was assigned to an East coast attack squadron during the Cuban Missile Crisis. As the war in Vietnam escalated and the Marine Corps perceived a need for many more helicopters quickly, he was part of the force transitioned into choppers to meet that need. During his two combat tours in Vietnam (1965-1966 and 1970-1971), Jerry flew primarily CH-34s and CH-46s, winding up with a total of over 1300 missions. In that time his aircraft was downed no less than 33 times, but he never had a single crewman on his aircraft killed. He helped develop the techniques required to successfully insert and remove ground troops under hostile fire. He also performed numerous medevac flights to pull wounded Marines out of harm's way.
His awards include the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross, a Purple Heart, 65 Air Medals and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry.