Patrick Myrick lived and died a Viking. As a 1991 graduate and then as a lieutenant in the United States Navy, Myrick gave back to his family, friends and country.
Patrick’s older brother and 1988 graduate, Bryan Myrick, said he remembers Patrick as a very positive person.
“He was upbeat and always tried to encourage his friends to see the upside of things and not to let themselves get down about things that would happen in their lives,” Bryan said.
From 1983 up to his graduation in 1991, Patrick strove to make a positive impact on the Viking community. He participated in pep events, attended football and basketball games and even embodied the Viking spirit, rallying the crowd as the school mascot for a time. Bryan said his brother was well-known around campus and broadly popular among the student body.
“He was one of those people who was really well-liked,” Bryan said. “I still run into lots of people who knew him and remember him fondly.”
In addition to his social life, Patrick enjoyed math and science inside the classroom.
“He liked working through math problems and he enjoyed doing labs and figuring out how to construct an experiment, so he could replicate it and test his hypothesis.”
This interest carried over to his college experience at the University of Washington where he studied Aeronautical Engineering. For his career path, Myrick combined his interest in science and desire to serve his country. He decided to follow the family tradition by going to Officer Candidate School and then Naval flight school where he earned his aviation wings by age 30.
“[Flying] meant a lot to [Patrick],” Bryan said. “Partly because there was such a family heritage of service and it was important to him to carry on that tradition. Patrick was all about serving the country, doing it proudly, understanding that [his service] was doing as much for him as it was for the country and for the family.”
Patrick never came home from his last deployment. He had made 325 carrier landings during his career and flew combat missions during Operation Iraqi Freedom. However, on August 10, 2004 at the age of 31, his S-3B Viking aircraft crashed on the island of Kita Iwo Jima, Japan during operations from the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis. He is survived by his wife and daughter who currently live in the San Diego area.
If enough funds are raised, Patrick’s life and contributions would be recognized and honored by memorializing his name in granite on the Northshore Veterans Memorial. While it has been over a decade since Patrick’s passing, Bryan said having his brother included in the Memorial would mean a lot to his family.
“The Northshore area was his home and to have the recognition of him having served …is really important,” Bryan said. “To have him included is very special.”
Honor those who have served and support the Memorial by
1) Donating to the memorial directly on the website, northshorememorial.org.
2) Having dinner at the Bothell Chick-fil-A on Monday, Nov. 12. from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. where ten percent of the dining sales will go towards the memorial.
3) Having dinner at the Woodinville Teddy’s Bigger Burgers on Wednesday, Nov. 14. from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. where 15 percent of the dining sales will go towards the memorial.
