NHA Lifetime Member #284 Theodore “Ted” Lavoot
Theodore Lavoot passed away on November 8, 2025, at the age of 89. He was born on October 8, 1936.
Theodore “Ted” Lavoot was aboard a helicopter hovering over the Mediterranean Sea when he saw a Navy jet smack against the water’s surface and crash. The Quincy native sprang into action, jumping from the helicopter – roughly a 30-foot plunge – in order to bring the injured pilot to safety.
“It was like jumping off the (Quincy) quarries, except I never did that,” Lavoot said with a laugh. “My mom did, but I never did.”
Nearly 58 years after this harrowing rescue halfway across the world, Lavoot is finally being honored by the U.S. government. Late last month, a yellow envelope from the Navy was sent to Lavoot’s home in California, where he has lived for the past five decades. Inside the envelope was the Navy and Marine Corps Medal, the second-highest decoration the Navy awards for non-combat heroism.
It is the same medal awarded to then-Lt. (jg) John F. Kennedy after the sinking of his PT boat in World War II
“I had no idea I was eligible for that,” Lavoot, 77, said last week during a visit to Massachusetts. Lavoot, along with his wife, Terri, were in town to attend the Quincy High School Class of 1954’s 60th reunion at The Neighborhood Club of Quincy.
At the reunion, Lavoot received an ovation from 85 of his classmates after they learned of his medal.
“That felt pretty good,” said Lavoot, who retired in 2004 after a long career as an aviation electronics manager for Northrop Grumman.
Lavoot speculated that the reason he received the decoration – which is an octagonal bronze medal depicting an eagle holding an anchor – so many years later was because Congress ordered the Department of Defense to comb through its records about 10 years ago. He suspects the Navy, during the bookkeeping process, came across a record of his rescue and realized it qualified for decoration.
The rescue itself came in October 1956 when Lavoot was serving aboard the aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea . Lavoot was in the passenger seat of a HU2 helicopter, assisting with the takeoff of a F2H Banshee, a single-seat fighter jet.
After the jet crashed, the helicopter’s pilot, Lt. Francis J. Cronin, USNR (Navy Helicopter Pilot Designator # R-2896, 3/19/1956, HTU-1) hovered above the water and Lavoot jumped in to rescue the jet pilot, who injured his back when his parachute deployed.
A temple service will be held at Temple Beth Ohr, located at 15721 Rosecrans Avenue, La Mirada, CA, 92626. The service is scheduled for November 19, 2025, starting at 10:30 am. A live stream of the service will be available at the following URL: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84088456600?pwd=5QchWd55FKcVmWdjbqPQRCbNrBIzTw.1.