World War II Engen entered the Naval Aviation Cadet Program on 9 June 1942, he soloed in August and in September 1942 was sent to naval preflight school. In January 1944, Carrier Air Group 19 (CAG-19) embarked on the for transit to
Hawaii, offloading at
Ford Island. On 5 November 1944, Engen and the rest of VB-19 participated in the sinking of the
Japanese cruiser Nachi in
Manila Bay. On 23 November, CAG-19 was replaced by Carrier Air Group 20 and it embarked for transport to Hawaii and then on to
San Diego. In early 1945, Engen was assigned to the newly formed
VBF-19 at
Naval Air Station North Island and was undergoing further training in Hawaii when the
Japan surrendered. In addition to the Navy Cross, Engen was awarded the
Distinguished Flying Cross and
Air Medal for his service in the Pacific.
Korean War Engen was released from active service on 1 February 1946, although he continued to serve in the
United States Navy Reserve with VF-716 at Naval Air Station Los Alamitos. Engen worked briefly as an engineer for
Consolidated Vultee before rejoining the Navy in August 1946. From October 1946 until May 1947, he worked in pilotless aircraft programs at
Naval Auxiliary Air Station Chincoteague and the
Naval Air Missile Test Center. He attended the
University of California, Los Angeles from June 1947 until September 1948. In October 1948, he was assigned to
VF-212, serving as operations officer. He subsequently joined
VF-52, where he jet-qualified on the
TO-1 Shooting Star, then joined
VF-51, flying
FJ-1s and then
F9F-2s. In April 1950, VF-51 embarked on for a western Pacific deployment which saw the start of the
Korean War. On 3 July 1950, Engen participated in the first jet combat missions attacking an airfield near
Pyongyang and engaging
North Korean Yak-9 fighters. Engen would be awarded a further two Air Medals for his service in Korea.
Late 1950s Engen attended the General Line School,
U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California from January to December 1951. From December 1952 to December 1953 he attended the
Empire Test Pilots' School in England as an exchange officer and then served as a test pilot with
Air Development Squadron Three (VX-3) from January 1954 to June 1955. From July 1955 to July 1957 Engen was executive officer of
VF-121. From August 1957 to September 1959 he was assigned to the
Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River. In October 1959 he was appointed commander of
VF-21.
1960s-1970s In January 1962 Engen was appointed commander of
Carrier Air Group 11 and from early 1963 he served as operations officer on the . In April 1964, he received his first command as captain of the . He would command the ship until 31 August 1965 when he left to attend the
Naval War College, in preparation for taking command of . On 21 July 1966, Engen became Captain of USS
America. During this command the
USS Liberty incident took place and
America launched aircraft to engage the attackers before being ordered to recall the aircraft. In July 1967, Engen passed command of
America in
Valletta and he returned to the US. In September 1967 he received his Bachelors of Science in Business Administration from the
George Washington University. In September 1968 he was assigned to the
Chief of Naval Operations and headed the Aviation Plans Branch until February 1970. He then headed the Strategic Plans Branch until June 1971, a service for which he was awarded the
Legion of Merit. In July 1971 he was appointed
commander of Carrier Division Four and was awarded a Gold Star to the Legion of Merit for his service during this period. In June 1973, he was appointed Deputy Commander in Chief
United States Naval Forces Europe, his final command was as Deputy Commander in Chief
US Atlantic Command. Engen retired in 1978 with the rank of Vice-admiral. ==Private career==