“Forever Loved, Never Forgotten”
The Navy Gold Star Program is eternally grateful for the sacrifice of those Service Members who have died in service to our country. To help us to never forget, we have set up this tribute page to honor and remember the memory of those lives. If you would like to honor the memory of your Sailor, Soldier, Marine, Airman or Coast Guardsman through the Navy Gold Star website please submit your thoughts and a photo.
Lieutenant Paul Fridley was lost at sea on August 31, 2021 while conducting flight operations aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) off the coast of San Diego. His aircraft suffered a mechanical failure shortly after landing resulting in the loss of all five crew members.
Paul was born in Rota, Spain and grew up in Annandale, Virginia. Paul came from a proud Navy family where both his grandfathers, his father and both of his sisters all served in the Navy.
Paul was an outstanding student attending W.T. Woodson High School in Fairfax, Virginia where he was captain of both the football and lacrosse team. Paul was awarded a NROTC scholarship to the University of Virginia where he majored in Mechanical Engineering, but Paul’s greatest achievement at UVA was meeting and marrying his wife Sarah.
Loved by many, Paul is greatly missed by all who knew him.