A Veteran's Journey

Trivia Questions (Answers @ end)

1. In what movie (and who said it) did we hear, “Your ego is writing checks your body can’t cash.”?
2. Who said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”?
3. What song (and who sang it) contains the following lyrics?
   When I’m watchin’ my TV and a man comes on and tells me
   How white my shirts can be
   But, he can’t be a man ’cause he doesn’t smoke
   The same cigarettes as me

---

I was going to blog this week about a liberation that happened during WWII…

April 14, 1945 – 75 years ago today, my father was one of many who helped liberate the Buchenwald Concentration Camp, near Weimar, Germany. It was my intent to blog in detail about that liberation, of what he and others did, what they saw, and what they came away with. I wanted to honor the Allies and the men of the 80th Infantry Division. In fact, I had already written the blog and was ready to post.

However, because of everything we are all facing during this current pandemic crisis, I’m going to hold off posting about Buchenwald at this time. Even though these events happened 75 years ago, it’s something that we should Never Forget. Instead, I’ll just post a photo I took of the main gate when Becky & I were there a few years ago.

And now, to this week’s blog post…

Aircraft Carrier Flight Deck Operations

I was watching Top Gun last night… well, to tell you the truth, I really only watch the first 15 minutes, since that part involves fighter aircraft, launches & recoveries off a carrier, and other awesome random flight shots. After that, well… let’s just say I’ve seen it. The best part of the movie is the first 15 minutes.

In fact, my wife now knows everything there is to know about flight deck operations by listening to me explain every little minutiae, every time Top Gun comes on. It finally got to the point where I quit pushing “pause” after a short 3-second clip and spending the next 5 minutes telling her about the holdback bar, the shuttlecock, the “Shooter” signals, and why there are so many men with different colored jerseys on the flight deck.

After a dozen or so times of glancing over to her “rolling eyes,” (you know that look) I figured the first 15 minutes of the movie was enough.

Am I the only airdale that does that?

There are plenty of movies and documentaries about flight ops aboard an aircraft carrier. But, what else does a sailor do aboard the ship at sea, when not on duty? In my case, when outside of flight operations. I know it varies among all of us, but here are a few things I remember most during my personal “down time.”

Bow Flying

Even though I spent most of my working days on the flight deck of USS Kitty Hawk, I also spent a lot of my “off time” on the flight deck. One of the things I remember vividly, and I’m sure most everyone did the same at one time or another, was to stand on the bow and lean forward over the safety nets. Back then, we called this “Bow flying.”

I’m sure there are several of you that “accidentally” fell into the safety nets, especially at night, but I never had the nerve. There’s something about having that fresh, clean, salty air in your face. And, if you were wearing a foul-weather jacket, you could unzip it, hold the bottom out like wings, and almost “fly” over the water.

Even today, when I’m walking outside and a stiff wind blows in my face, I close my eyes and… I remember.

When my wife & I went on a cruise a few years ago (my first, since leaving Kitty Hawk), I tried to demonstrate the technique on the bow of the cruise ship. It just wasn’t the same, since there was a 4-foot rail in the way. But, it did bring back some great memories.

When my kids were younger, I tried to explain the “flying” sensation, but they just rolled their eyes. However, when the movie Titanic (1997) came out and the scene—you remember that scene—when Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose (Kate Winslet) were on the bow, hanging out over the railing… flying… My kids finally understood what I’d been trying to explain to them for years.

Poker?

A lot of my buddies played poker during their down time. I was never any good at it. I’d play Hearts or Spades, but not poker. I know some guys would come off the flight deck, play almost all night, get a couple of hours sleep, then be back on the deck for another day of flight ops.

My tall, lanky friend, “Stretch,” a fellow Yellow shirt director, told me one time he played poker all night and lost $2,000. Then the next night, he’d win it all back. And hence the term, “It’s not just a job, it’s an adventure.”

The Smoking Lamp is Lit!

I read somewhere that on a good day, you can see about seven miles to the horizon at sea level. When you’re on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier, about 60 feet above the waterline, you can see about twelve miles. At night, we used red lights in the compartments that opened up to the outside of the ship, thus reducing the amount of ambient light. We didn’t want to alert any “non-friendlies” who may be shadowing the ship.

I also read that at night, you can spot a lit cigarette at two miles, but I don’t know that for a fact… I didn’t smoke.

When you heard the announcement, “The smoking lamp is lit,” it was like a 1MC alarm for people to scatter about the ship to the various designated smoking areas. Yeah, right. I know guys smoked in the catwalk—there were those “designated” hidden spots.

Fortunately, for me, I never picked up the habit. I’m thankful for that, especially since both of my parents died way too young of smoking-related diseases.

The Forecastle

I know most people want to pronounce this, “Four castle,” but for the life of me, I can’t… I just can’t. It’s the “Fokes hole,” dadgummit.

And, it is one of the most interesting places aboard the ship. I spent a little time in the forecastle, peering out through the portholes where the anchor chains pass. That was quite a sight, watching the bow cut through the water like a knife through warm butter.

I didn’t realize it until I researched for my Navy book that each link of chain on Kitty Hawk weighed about 360 pounds and there was enough room for more than a thousand feet of anchor chain. That’s a lotta chain.

The Bomb Farm

On the starboard side of the island, just outside of the Crash compartment, there’s an area designated as the “bomb farm.” This is where the aircraft squadron ordnance crews stored their armament.

It took a little while for me to get used to walking out the Crash compartment and seeing dozens of these 700-pound bombs side by side, next to Sparrow and Tomahawk missiles.

The Sparrow missiles were about ten feet long and about six inches in diameter. The nose cone was made of ceramic material that could take the heat of friction during supersonic flight.

They were also great for sharpening knives and since I always carried a four-inch Buck folding knife with me, I would stop every now and then and sharpen my knife on the missile nose cone. Of course, no one was around to tell me not to.

Before I got to Kitty Hawk, one of the Crash crew decided he wanted a “personal” knife sharpener. The rumor was that he walked outside the crash compartment one night and whacked the nose cone of a Sparrow missile with a ball-peen hammer, cracking it into several large pieces. He never got caught for it, but when he left, he forgot to take his “souvenir” with him.

I was assigned his locker when I first checked into Crash, so I was the proud owner of a piece of a Sparrow missile. I still use it as a knife sharpener, too. The curvature of the piece of cone fits right on my thigh—perfect for sharpening knives.

Sunrises, sunsets

Perhaps the most special memory I have of being at sea (not including flight operations) is the beauty of watching a sun rise or sun set from the flight deck. When you’re at sea in clear blue ocean water, it’s easy to lose yourself in the beauty of God’s world. On clear, calm days, the cool breeze coming over the bow, the slight smell of salt in the air, and watching the sun in the background… I just get lost trying to describe it.

There are tons of photos on many of my Facebook Navy groups and they’re all better than mine, but nothing will replace the feeling of being there, on the flight deck of Kitty Hawk, taking it all in. Those are probably my best memories that I can easily “pull back” from years ago.

Stay safe, my friends. We’re all in this together.

Until we meet again,
Andy

Andy Adkins is a US Navy veteran (’73-77) and the author of several books. His newest novel, NEVER FORGET, is the story of A Vietnam Veteran’s Journey for Redemption & Forgiveness. NEVER FORGET is FREE (eBook, PDF) for all veterans. Download your FREE copy HERE.

Answers:

1. Top Gun (1986); James Tolkan (“Stinger”)
2. Thomas A. Edison
3. I Can’t Get No Satisfaction (1965); The Rolling Stones; written by Keith Richards & Michael Jagger