McGill-Toolen Hall of Fame
As of November, 2012
Crawford C. Adams*
Herb Adams
Reverend Monsignor Oliver Edward Adams*
Steven G. Alsip
Br. Matthias Amos SC
W. Terry Ankerson
Vincent P. Arata
James P. Balthrop*
Gerald K. Banks
Eleanor M. Benz
Wes Bizilia*
Dina H. Blankenship
Juanita Boddie*
Frank E. Bolling
Milton J. Bolling III
Paul G. Bonham*
Gretchen Koppersmith Boykin
Andrew D. Burch Sr.
Gerald Thomas Burch
John Harry Burton
Robert J. Cady
Christy L. Calametti
John A. Calametti Jr.
Vincent E. Calametti*
Herbert L. Callahan
Al Chamblin*
Lynn Donaghey Clapper
William E. Clarke*
J. Gary Cooper
Marvin Cornelius Jr.
Alvin Cottrell Jr.*
Ernest J. Cox
James Newton Cox*
Roderick Phillip Crawford
Anna Bailey Crow
James Kenny Crow Jr.
Jeremiah Denton Jr.
Ray Dicharry*
Rebecca Dickinson
James B. Donaghey II
Joseph Bradley Donaghey
Vincent J. Dooley
William G. Dooley
Robert G. Duke*
Edmund C. Dyas IV*
David Eckert
George W. Finkbohner III
Heidi A. Fleming
Emile F. Fritz*
Fournier J. “Boots” Gale III
Arthur E. Geil*
Mary Margaret Goff*
Patrick R. Greenwood
Thomas Gerald Gulledge
James Patrick Guy
Angelo C. Harris III
James M. Harrison Jr.
William R. Havens
Arve W. Henriksen Sr.*
Br. Martin Hernandez SC*
Denzil Hollis
Most Reverend William R. Houck
Amy Cornelius Huff
Richard McGowan Hunt*
Leo Jacob
Donald P. Kelly Jr.
John A. Kern Jr.
Frank Kerns
Benjamin H. Kilborn Sr.*
Cookie Strong Krehling
Bill Lagman*
Br. Dacian LeBlanc SC*
John T. LeGros Jr.
Thomas J. Legros
Most Reverend Oscar H. Lipscomb
Jack L. Lowrey Sr.
Peggy E. Martin
Patrick A. McAleer
H. William “Bill” McAtee
Leroy Thomas McAtee*
John L. McCarron Jr.
Harry J. McCarron III
William H. McDermott*
John M. McFadyen*
Carl J. McFarlane*
E. Walter McKean
James J. Merig Jr.*
Joseph F. Milton*
Lonnie L. Mixon
James Patrick Murphy
John E. Murphy Jr.
William Joseph Murphy Jr.
Henry J. O'Connor Sr.*
James M. Ollis Jr.
Arthur R. Outlaw*
Ed Overton*
David Ross Partridge
James D. Partridge
Sidney Francis Pearson Jr.
Joseph A. Perez*
Donald S. Pierre, Sr.
George E. Pond*
Patrick J. Ponder
W. Holcombe Pryor, Sr.
William H. Pryor, Jr.
Stephen N. Quinn
Amin J. Rathle
Michael A. Reilly
Daniel E. Reimer Sr.
John Arthur “Rip” Repoll*
Helen Hobbs Rogers
Candi Nicholas Skipper
Dennis G. Smitherman*
Gilbert Burke Strong*
Phillip C. Sullivan*
Vincent J. Sullivan
Stephen T. Sylvester
Marcus F. Thublin Jr.
Walter D. Verneuille
C. L. “Skipper” Walters Jr.
Casimir Paul Weinacker*
John W. “Wes” Williams Jr.
Jere E. Woolsey Jr.
George W. Yeend Jr.
Linda Zoghby
*deceased
Hall of Fame
ADM Jeremiah A. Denton Jr., USN (Ret)
McGill Institute Class of '42
Jeremiah A. Denton Jr. was born on July 15, 1924 in Mobile, Alabama. He attended McGill Institute, Spring Hill College, and the United States Naval Academy. As a naval officer, Denton graduated from the Armed Forces Staff College and the Naval War College. In 1964, he received the Master of Arts in International Affairs from George Washington University.
In June 1965, he began a combat tour in Vietnam. On July 18, 1965, while leading a group of aircraft from the USS Independence, he was shot down and captured by North Vietnamese troops. He spent the next 71/2 years as a prisoner of war, suffering severe mistreatment and 4 years solitary confinement. In 1966, after being tortured and under threat of further torture, during a television interview arranged by the North Vietnamese, Denton refused to condemn his country and blinked his eyes in Morse Code, repeatedly spelling out a covert message: A T-O-R-T-U-R-E. @ The interview was the first confirmation of POW torture. Denton was released on February 12, 1973, and was the spokesman for the first group of POW = s returning from Hanoi. In April 1973, he was promoted to Rear Admiral. The chronicle of his Vietnam experience, When Hell Was in Session , was published in 1976 and later aired as a television movie.
In 1977, he retired from the Navy and returned to Mobile. He was elected to the United States Senate in November 1980. He served from January 1981 to January 1987. In 1983, Denton founded the National Forum Foundation. He is heavily decorated having been awarded the Navy Cross, three Silver Stars, the Distinguished Flying Cross and many other decorations.
He was married to the former Jane Maury until she passed away on November 22, 2007. They have seven children and fifteen grandchildren.
Inducted 2002
Biography updated 10/21/08
