Trivia Questions (Answers @ end)
- Who said, “Some journeys take us far from home, some adventures take us to our destiny.”?
- In what movie (and who said), “Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary.”?
- Who sang (and what song) do we find the following lyrics?
Take me on a trip upon your magic swirling ship
My senses have been stripped
My hands can’t feel to grip
My toes too numb to step
Listen to the audio of this blog, read by Andy Adkins. Click the “Audio” button below.
Do you remember your first time? You know, your first liberty in port? I bet you do. You never forget your first time.
Even though I’d been in the Navy for two years, my first duty station was NAS Agana, Guam, a “land-based” station. I blogged about it earlier.
My second duty station in my short, 4-year Navy career was USS Kitty Hawk, CV-63. Kitty Hawk was an aircraft carrier (decommissioned in 2009 after 48 years of service) and I was honored to be a part of her crew from May 1975 – July 1977.
When I arrived aboard Kitty Hawk, I was a young, 20-year-old ABH3 (Aviation Boatswains Mate-Handler, Third-class Petty Officer), assigned to V-1 Division, Crash & Rescue. We worked on the flight deck.
(Click to enlarge)
Westpac ’75 began in the latter part of May 1975. Kitty Hawk left San Diego and was in and out of Hawaii twice prior to departing for the Philippines, our overseas home port.
This was the first time I’d spent more than just a few hours in Hawaii. While I had flown through Honolulu on my way to Guam, I only experienced the inside of the airport.
The first time in port, we had two full days of liberty. What does a sailor do while in paradise? Hint: surfing & drinking would be a couple of options. What a surprise!
I wanted to learn how to surf, so several of us from V-1 headed to Waikiki Beach. The water was warm and crystal clear, and the scenery was absolutely stunning. I thought Guam was gorgeous. But to me, this was much better. In one word: Beautiful!
Surf City!
I was out in the Hawaiian surf with a rented surfboard, not having a clue what to do. But then I was Navy—this wasn’t the first time, nor the last, when I found myself in a predicament of “not knowing what I was doing.” But, I was a water skier, so this should be easy, right?
(Click to enlarge)
My buddy pointed out a very nice-looking young lady who was surfing like a pro. He told me he’d talked with her a little earlier and she seemed quite nice and may help me learn to surf. “Her name is Karen.”
I swam over to her and with my standard Navy issue confident and cocky attitude, I said something like, “Hi. Your name’s Karen, isn’t it?” She said, “Nope, it’s Jennifer.” Damn, I fell for that… again. I apologized and then left with my tail tucked between my legs, or whatever it is when you’re on a surfboard.
After a little while longer, I got the hang of it [pun intended] and learned to surf with the help of a new friend. I really enjoyed surfing – it “freed by soul,” so to speak.
The day was hot during the peak surf time, and the sun was beating down on my back. I hadn’t put on any sunscreen, but I didn’t care. I was born and raised in Florida and spent many summers in the sun, both at Kingsley Lake and at the beach. Yeah, I’d pay for that one later.
What Bar Are We In?
“I was drinking something blue and
there was a girl dancing on our table.”
After a glorious day of sun and fun at Waikiki, our next stop… bar hopping. I don’t recall the name of the bar, but I remember that I was drinking something blue and there was a girl dancing on our table.
Drink prices were sky high—$3.50 for a cocktail. Back in Gainesville (Florida) the same drink would have only been $1.50. After a couple of those drinks, the night got a little blurry.
We stopped by another bar, the Red Door Lounge, which had a band playing country music. This was more like it (not that I didn’t like women dancing on my table, mind you). Several of the guys egged me on stage to sing with the band, so… why not?
The band welcomed an addition—another sloshed sailor. I managed to get through The Auctioneer easily, then the lead guitar player handed me his guitar and I stumbled through Wildwood Flower. I tried to sing Rednecks, White Socks, and Blue Ribbon Beer as a tribute to my fellow shipmates, but I was pretty far gone, so I quit in the middle of that one.
Everybody in the bar was laughing, probably because I was making a fool out of myself. It was not the first time and wouldn’t be the last.
USS Arizona Memorial
The next day, we visited the USS Arizona Memorial. It was officially dedicated on Memorial Day 1962. We took a ferry to get out to her. The memorial actually straddles the sunken battleship. It was quiet and serene, like a library, or a church before a funeral.
Standing on the platform overlooking her, she was not as big as I originally expected, at least not when compared to Kitty Hawk. The most visible feature of the ship is the barbette to gun turret number three—it pokes out above the water.
(Click to enlarge)
I remember looking down into the crystal clear water and thinking of all those men, more than 1,100 still entombed. It was a very solemn time for all of us. They were Navy… we were Navy.
As years have passed by, I’ve reflected on that visit many times. These courageous sailors were our age and lost their lives thirty-four years earlier defending our country, their ship, and their fellow shipmates in an unprovoked attack.
As we often say in the Navy, “Rest in Peace, shipmate. We have the watch.“
I would visit the USS Arizona Memorial again years later and experience the exact same feelings. Some things never change.
Eject, Eject!
After our first port call in Hawaii, we sailed out on May 29 for a few days of training exercises. During flight ops on the first day, an F-4 Phantom from the VF-114 squadron (Aardvarks) was conducting touch and go landings on the carrier.
I was in my usual place on the flight deck foul line next to the crash tractor. We always kept our eyes on the aircraft coming and going, just in case we noticed something wrong and could anticipate our next action.
USS Kitty Hawk, Westpac ’75
(Click to enlarge)
During one of the touch and go’s, the jet’s horizontal stabilizer locked and the Phantom went vertical. We watched the pilot apply full afterburners. But with a nose up attitude and minimal speed, the aircraft stalled.
The pilot and RIO (Rear Intercept Officer) punched out at about eight hundred feet. Davy Jones claimed another Navy aircraft with no chance of recovery. Fortunately, the two crewmen parachuted into the ocean to our starboard side. The SH-3 “plane guard” helo (HS-8 squadron, “Eightballers“) was there within a few minutes, recovering both crewmen with no injuries.
I don’t know what happened, but we later learned that it was an “equipment malfunction.” That’s the Navy’s way of saying, “it’s none of your effing business.” That was OK with me—at least they didn’t crash on the flight deck.
General Quarters!
We left Hawaii the second time on Wednesday, June 4. Our next stop would be the Philippines, a trip that would take about two weeks.
A little over a week out, Kitty Hawk experienced a major problem. One of the main engine rooms flooded around midnight. A steam line ruptured followed by a sea valve malfunction, causing the machine room space to flood. I believe everybody down there escaped with no injuries. That was the good thing.
The not-so-good thing? The CO announced over the 1MC, “Anyone with scuba equipment report to engine room #1… and bring your equipment.” That was scary.
We went to General Quarters. V-1 Division personnel moved all crash equipment and aircraft to the port side on the flight deck since the flooding caused the ship to list to the starboard side. That was a “fun” night.
But, no one died.
I was reminded that during an earlier cruise, Westpac ’73, Kitty Hawk lost six sailors to a fire in the No. 1 main machinery room. Another 38 were injured fighting the fire. I wasn’t there, but I read besides losing men, the ship remained at General Quarters for a day and a half.
The flight deck is not the only dangerous place to work on a ship.
I’ve mentioned this before: we don’t know when our time is up. Make the most of what you can when you can.
I say that “responsibly,” but then, I’m working on another blog titled, “Here, Hold My Beer!”
Stay safe, my friends.
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.
Previous blogs mentioned in this post:
Answers
- C.S. Lewis.
- Dead Poets Society (1989), John Keating (Robin Williams).
- Mr. Tambourine Man (1965), Bob Dylan; written by Bob Dylan.