North Attleboro High School Alumni Association

Rear Admiral John A. “Jack” Moriarty
Joseph W. Martin, Jr. Distinguished Alumni Award
2007

Whatever one’s chosen path in life, it is those that aspire to be the best at what they do that most often find themselves reaching the pinnacle of their field. Such is the case with John A. “Jack” Moriarty.

Sitting in good, old Community Theatre in downtown North Attleboro as a young teenager in the early 1950s, Jack watched with a keen interest as the action unfolded on the screen. Watching the likes of Ronald Reagan lead a band of brave, young U.S. Navy Fighter Pilots as they waged war in the Pacific in films like Hell Cats of the Navy gave this young man a sense of the path he would follow into his adult life—that of a U.S. Naval Aviator.

A graduate of the North Attleboro High School Class of 1956, Jack continued his education at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and was commissioned as an Ensign in the U.S. Navy in 1960. During the following year, he completed flight training school and in July, 1961 earned his designation as a United States Naval Aviator.

While in the Navy, Jack continued his education and earned numerous and notable degrees, including but not limited to a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 1972 at the University of Rhode Island, a Masters Degree in International Affairs in 1974 from George Washington University, and a Masters of Business Administration in 1992 at Jacksonville University.

By the time he retired in 1993 as Rear Admiral, Jack had earned numerous awards, commendations and medals. His combat flying experience alone included 180 combat missions in Vietnam, over 5,000 flight hours in more than a dozen different aircraft and over 1,200 aircraft carrier landings. His service decorations include the Legion of Merit with Gold Star, the Meritorious Service Medal with Gold Star, two individual Flight Medals, 15 Flight Strike Medals, The Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Bronze Star, and nine Navy Commendation Medals.

Through it all, Jack never lost his humility or his perspective. In his view, his professional accomplishments, his distinguished service to our nation, and his success after high school ranks second to his accomplishments in his personal life as a husband and father. The husband of 48 years of his high school sweetheart Carol (Bonifazi) Moriarty, and the father of five terrific children, Jack points to his bride, his children, and his experiences growing up in North Attleboro as the most rewarding aspects of a truly remarkable and distinguished life.