Father-in-law of John Edwards
Vincent Anania, 87, father of Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of onetime Democratic presidential contender John Edwards, died Saturday of heart failure in Chapel Hill, N.C., his daughter said in a statement.
A native of Marianna, Pa., Anania was the first in his family to be born in the United States, Elizabeth Edwards said in a statement. He attended the University of Pittsburgh and later the U.S. Naval Academy, where he played football and was selected as an All-American in lacrosse, she said.
He graduated from college a year early in 1944 and served in the Navy on the heavy cruiser Quincy. He also served in the Korean War and in Vietnam. In 1958, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for piloting an aircraft that carried 13 others to safety after it had been attacked by two MiG jet fighters during a surveillance mission off North Korea.
After retiring from the military, he served as commanding officer of the Naval ROTC program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was also an assistant lacrosse coach.
He will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
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