William Marshall Roark was appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy in 1956, he graduated and was commissioned ensign on 8 June 1960 and advanced to the rank of lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

, 1 June 1964.

He attended the naval flight school at Pensacola, Florida

Pensacola, Florida

Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...

, and Corpus Christi, Texas

Corpus Christi, Texas

Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. The MSA population in 2008 was 416,376. The population was 305,215 at the 2010 census making it the...

, and subsequently reported for duty in Attack Squadron 153 on board Coral Sea (CVA-43). Lieutenant Roark was killed in action 7 April 1965 while on a bombing mission over North Vietnam

North Vietnam

The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...

.

Namesake

The United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 ship Roark (FF-1053)

USS Roark (FF-1053)

USS Roark , originally designated DE-1053, was a Knox class frigate named for William Marshall Roark. Roark was laid down on 2 February 1966 by the Todd Shipyards Corporation in Seattle, Washington; launched on 24 April 1967, sponsored by Mrs. William M. Roark and Mrs. Frank F. Roark; and...

is named in his honor.