Irving Clayton, III
Commander Irving Brodribb “Pete” Clayton, III, USN Retired, born 5 June 1949, passed unexpectedly into the eternal world of 1957 Oldsmobiles on 7 August 2025 after back surgery. His life’s work was dominated by the US Navy where he served honorably and passionately as an engineer on aircraft carriers. His knowledge of Navy carriers and naval aviation was encyclopedic. Most of his language was peppered with Navy “speak” and colloquialisms of the military. His father had also served in the Navy as a WW2 Naval Aviator and his Grandfather was a WW1 Army veteran who also served in the Naval Construction Battalion (SeeBees) during WW2. Pete grew up in the Northern Virginia area and was a graduate of Fairfax High School and the University of Virginia with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering (BSME) on a Navy ROTC scholarship. He also earned a Computer Science Master’s Degree at the Monterey Naval Postgraduate School and attended the Naval War College.
Pete served on the USS Forrestal (CV-59), USS Roosevelt (CV-42), and the USS Coral Sea as the Damage Control Assistant (DCA). He earned the Navy Commendation Medal and many other highly-merited and honorable awards. Pete served on the USS Ranger (CV-61) as Chief Engineer (CHENG). His last deployment was during the first Gulf War. He spent the majority of his naval career at sea.
USS Forrestal (CVA-59)
USS ORISKANY (CVA-34)
R-DIVISION OFFICER
ASSISTANT DCA
JUL 1972 – SEP 1974
OCT 1974 – SEP 1976
USS Franklin D Roosevelt (CV-42)
COMNAVAIRPAC
REPAIR OFFICER
BUDGET / FISCAL OFFICER
OCT 1976 – OCT 1977
JAN 1978 – DEC 1980
USS Coral Sea (CV-43)
COMNAVAIRPAC
DAMAGE CONTROL ASSISTANT (DCA)
TYPE DESK OFFICER
DEC 1980 – DEC 1982
JAN 1983 – DEC 1986
NAVAL POST GRADUATE SCHOOL
USS Ranger (CV-61)
STUDENT MS COMPUTER SCIENCE
CHIEF ENGINEER (CHENG)
JAN 1987 – DEC 1988
AUG 89 – MAR 92
COMNAVSURFPAC
FORCE ENGINEER
APR 1992 – SEP 1995
After retirement, Pete wrote and published extensively on military subjects. He was Project Manager in the restoration of two aircraft carrier museums: USS Midway (San Diego County) and USS Hornet (Alameda County). Pete was honored with the Admiral Arthur W. Radford Award for outstanding excellence in naval aviation history and literature by the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida.
Pete was a “car” guy from a lad and he was always exploring car dealerships to see the new cars. He worked for a while selling cars and started collecting 1957 Oldsmobiles during his naval career. He was an excellent mechanic and built many Oldsmobile engines and transmissions. Like many engineers Pete “finished” a car when the power train was completed. Spending most of his Navy service on the west coast, Pete was a long-term member of both the southern and northern Oldsmobile chapters. His secondary love was photography. He spent hours and hours taking film shots, and later, digital photographs of Oldsmobiles at car shows and wrecking yards. He would review his work on his computer daily, if not more frequently.
The principal “center of his universe” changed significantly in 2006 when he became re-acquainted, after many years, with an earlier friend. In 2007, she became Pete’s wife of eighteen years, Christy. They shared each other’s interests totally. Her horsepower had four legs (he built a barn and paddock for her) and Pete’s horsepower had four wheels.
Pete mellowed considerably in his recent years. He was generous to folks in every way. He had recently, and ironically, finished helping complete the resolution of his dear friend Bernie Buller’s estate. Pete was a living example of Christ in his Christian faith and he was comfortable in his skin.
He is survived by his wife, Christy, his two sisters, Patti and Carol, and his brother, Bobby. He also leaves behind a number of grateful Oldsmobile friends in the National Antique Oldsmobile Club (NAOC), the Oldsmobile Club of America (OCA), and the ’57 Oldsmobile Chapter. He will be missed by many of his Navy colleagues.
Anchors away, Pete! God’s Blessings, Fair Winds and Following Seas!