Their Story
Remembering Valerie Delaney.
Lieutenant Valerie Cappelaere Delaney, United States Navy, was 26 years old when she died on March 11, 2013, in the crash of the EA-6B Prowler she was piloting during a training mission over eastern Washington State. She flew with Electronic Attack Squadron 129 at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington, and was posthumously promoted to Lieutenant.
Born Valerie Alice Cappelaere on May 14, 1986, she was the second of three daughters of Doreen and Patrice Cappelaere of Ellicott City, Maryland. She graduated with high honors from Centennial High School in 2004, lettering in soccer and lacrosse, and earned an appointment to the United States Naval Academy Class of 2009 on a nomination from Congressman Elijah Cummings.
At Annapolis she joined 17th Company and took on the demanding major of aerospace engineering. She was instrumental in Navy women's lacrosse rising from a club sport to an NCAA Division I team, and she mentored teammates toward aviation with the same fearlessness she brought to the field.
Selected for flight training on graduation in May 2009, Valerie trained at NAS Pensacola, Florida, flew the T-34C with VT-28 at NAS Corpus Christi, Texas, and the T-45 at NAS Meridian, Mississippi. She earned her Wings of Gold in February 2012. She met her husband, fellow Naval Academy classmate Sean Delaney, while training overseas after plebe year, and they were married at the Naval Academy Chapel in Annapolis on February 18, 2012, days after she qualified in carrier landings.
They made their home in Anacortes, Washington, where they mountain biked, snowboarded, and hunted together. Valerie is remembered for her integrity, her strong faith, and her unyielding compassion for everyone she met, and her legacy remains an inspiration to the aviators who followed her.
She is survived by her husband Sean, her parents Doreen and Patrice, her sisters Caroline and Allison, and her grandmothers Carolyn and Raymonde.
