Lemoore City Council honors 37-year U.S. Navy Veteran Ernesto Vigil Tuesday night

Mayor Ray Madrigal read a moving biography of Vigil, who joined the Navy in 1951, eventually earning the Command Master Chief rank. According to son Ray Vigil, who also served in the Navy, Ernesto was the first Hispanic-American sailor in the history of the Navy to earn the rank of Master Chief.

In between, he served in several commands, from his initial assignment to Aviation Preparational School in Jacksonville, Florida to his final three deployments on the USS Kitty Hawk.

Ernesto Vigil, in uniform during his long Navy career.

During his nearly four-decade career, Vigil, divided his life between duty stations and sea duty, making stops in Jacksonville, Tennessee, Korea (aboard the USS Boxer), NAS Miramar, NAS Sangly Point, Kodiak, Alaska, Kansas, and Kingsville, Texas.

He deployed many times aboard the USS Hornet, USS Bennington, USS Shangri-La, USS Constellation and made two deployments to the Mediterranean and Western Pacific on board the USS Franklin Roosevelt. In 1971, he deployed on board the USS Midway, making a stop in Japan.

In 1974 Vigil finally ended up in Lemoore. In June of 1980, he was assigned to VFA-125 – before its commissioning – as the command’s first Command Master Chief.

He made three more deployments aboard the USS Kitty Hawk before retiring after 37 years.

He and his wife, the former Maria Gutierrez of Santa Fe, New Mexico had five children: Lola, Raymond, James, Ernie, and Paul.