Willie Driscoll (Cunningham's RIO) is likewise credited with the same five as Cunningham.
And tells a darn good yarn during the Mig Killer debrief at Top Gun.
I've saw the wall at USNFWS once, and both names appear below the silhouettes.
True, its still there. A recent Top Gun course (the last F14 course BTW) had a glass door etched with their names plus Cunningham's and Driscoll's. An impressive door!
Plus, wasn't Richie grounded as soon as he got his 5th because the headshed didn't want anything happening to their new hero?
Same thing happened to Manfred von Richthofen after a while because the Germans didnt want their hero killed. He argued against this having become bored with being the war hero parading around Germany, went back to the front line and was subsequently killed in action.
"he was initially denied a regular commission (he was orginally commissioned into the USNR)"
That is what happens to all the USN guys now.