A Collection of Stories and Memories by Members of the United States Naval Academy Class of 1963
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
A Collection of Stories and Memories by Members of the United States Naval Academy Class of 1963 Compiled and Edited by Stephen Coester '63 Dedicated to the Twenty-Eight Classmates Who Died in the Line of Duty ............ 3 Vietnam Stories ...................................................................................................... 4 SHOT DOWN OVER NORTH VIETNAM by Jon Harris ......................................... 4 THE VOLUNTEER by Ray Heins ......................................................................... 5 Air Raid in the Tonkin Gulf by Ray Heins ......................................................... 16 Lost over Vietnam by Dick Jones ......................................................................... 23 Through the Looking Glass by Dave Moore ........................................................ 27 Service In The Field Artillery by Steve Jacoby ..................................................... 32 A Vietnam story from Peter Quinton .................................................................... 64 Mike Cronin, Exemplary Graduate by Dick Nelson '64 ........................................ 66 SUNK by Ray Heins ............................................................................................. 72 TRIDENTS in the Vietnam War by A. Scott Wilson ............................................. 76 Tale of Cubi Point and Olongapo City by Dick Jones ........................................ 102 Ken Sanger's Rescue by Ken Sanger ................................................................ 106 CHRISTMAS AT SEA by John McCabe ............................................................ 111 UDT/SEAL TRAINING THE REAL STORY by Fred Kaiser ............................... 113 Motivation Week ................................................................................................ 114 Final Battle by Grant Telfer ................................................................................ 128 New Year's Deck Log USS Weiss by Grant Telfer ............................................ 141 MY SEABEE TOUR IN VIETNAM by Jud Pearson ........................................... 143 Vietnam Experience by Jim Ring ....................................................................... 153 Vietnam and a Nuclear Incident by Michael Krause .......................................... 157 USS OZBOURN (DD-846) ................................................................................. 160 25 March 1967 Nuclear Incident ........................................................................ 160 Operation Market Time 1965: The Beginning by Austin Seay ........................... 169 The Naval Profession and USS Carronade (IFS-1) by Stephen Duncan ........... 186 Mighty Anachronism: The Brief But Pyrotechnic Life of IFS Division by Stephen Duncan93 ........................................................................................................... 217 My Tour in Vietnam David B. A. Moore, Cdr. USN Ret. ..................................... 224 USNA63 Valor .................................................................................................... 240 Stories From the Naval Academy ...................................................................... 277 The West Point Tests by Dirck Praeger ............................................................. 277 My Unlikely Journey to a Varsity Letter by Stephen Coester ............................. 282 Herndon Monument Climb by James Cheevers ................................................ 285 Authenticity of Cannonball Recipe by Bill Kennedy ........................................... 289 Submarine Supply Officer vs XO by Bill Kennedy ............................................. 291 Most Exciting Six Minutes by JJ Calande .......................................................... 293 The Sinking of the USS Buttercup by Stephen Coester ..................................... 295 Class of '63 - The Beginning-by Stephen Coester ....................................... 297 A '63 Car Tale from Dirck Praeger ..................................................................... 312 2 Adventures in Hitchhiking by Dirck Praeger ....................................................... 317 Over the Wall by Dirck Praeger ......................................................................... 323 The Farm Boy Vs. the Language Department by Dirck Praeger ....................... 328 Army-Navy 1962 by Dirck Praeger .................................................................... 332 The Weekend Liberty by Dirck Praeger ............................................................. 336 Camping on the Shenandoah by Dirck Praeger ................................................ 339 Second Class Summer Plebe Detail by Dick Jones ...................................... 347 Mal Wright, Larry Marsh and Adm. Rickover's Picture ...................................... 351 Diego Garcia USO Show 1985 or So by Dave Moore ....................................... 354 WITNESSING A NUCLEAR EXPLOSION By Tom Kelley '63 ...................... 357 CIVIL RIGHTS AND THE KKK by Dick Jones ................................................... 358 Carrier Torpedoed by Bill Pawlyk ....................................................................... 360 Raising the Fifty Star Flag in New York City by Jon Harris ................................ 365 Army-Navy Coin Toss 1962 ............................................................................... 368 Olden Times Upon the USS TULLIBEE - by Pete Savage ........................... 370 Mister "B" by Bill Kennedy ................................................................................. 372 Space Stories by Steve Coester ........................................................................ 382 A Space Shuttle Story ........................................................................................ 382 Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster by Stephen Coester ................................... 386 Launching Apollo 11 to the Moon by Stephen Coester ...................................... 389 Class History: 1963 ............................................................................................ 414 Road Trip by Ross Anderson ............................................................................. 417 . .......................................................................................................................... 418 Best Fourth of July Ever ..................................................................................... 426 Emilo (Doc) Varanini .......................................................................................... 426 Dirck Praeger Tells another Princess Grace Story ............................................ 429 2 Dedicated to the Twenty-Eight Classmates Who Died in the Line of Duty 3 Vietnam Stories SHOT DOWN OVER NORTH VIETNAM by Jon Harris My Vietnam story: The USS Independence with Air Wing 7, including my new squadron, VA-72 (A-4E's) arrived at Yankee Station on July 1st, 1965, just in time for Independence Day. On my 63rd combat mission (ironically enough) on September 20, 1965, I joined six other pilots and crewmen having being shot down over the North. Two air force pilots (including the one captured by the Chinese and held in their prison until February 12, 1973) and the entire four man crew of a rescue helicopter looking for the other pilot, were captured and held as POWs for seven and a half years. The Alpha Strike I was on that day was the first major strike into Hanoi, meant to destroy a bridge running to the north as the major supply route from China. My plane was hit during the engagement, and I was forced to eject about halfway to the coast. Having been told that there was a rescue helo aboard a cruiser off the coast, I found an extraction position halfway up a mountain hiding in elephant grass, where I could see a village below, but would be able to be picked up if the helo came my way. After a couple of hours of praying and hoping, it did come my way, circled around behind the mountain (to dump my weight of fuel), was shot at by the bad guys causing the RESCAP A-1 pilot to strafe that area and quiet them down, and came to a hover while it let down the horse collar. As it began to ratchet me up, the helo had to turn out over the valley to gain airspeed, and I was dangling 500 feet or more from terra firma. Finally in the helo, we began taking taking antiaircraft fire as we approached the coast south of Haiphong. One blast was close enough to unbalance the rotor blades, and the pilot had to continually press (what he later told me was) the "self-balancing" button...so it was a rough ride to the cruiser...which was at flank speed the entire two hours of the rescue 4 heading directly toward the coast so that the helo would have enough fuel to make it back. It was later reported in the book, Alpha Strike Vietnam, by Jeffrey L. Levinson, that this was the first recovery of a pilot shot down over North Vietnam. Knowing how many friends, squadron-mates, shipmates, and classmates endured such interminable and horrendous experiences as POWs, there has always been a lingering sense of survivor's guilt mixed with the exultation of the moment and the recognition over the years that somehow those others on that day punched my ticket and let me get home. I have never forgotten. Fittingly enough, the Independence departed Yankee Station for our homeward trek on Veteran's Day, November 11, 1965. THE VOLUNTEER by Ray Heins It may be little noted in other states,