CREW'S STORIES
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A4 Hooked and Hung
HI Lonnie,
Well I'll try not to bring back too many old memories of cookin in the CPO mess! The A-4 hanging over the side, know it well, I was on deck with it, matter of fact until it went over! , I was a blue shirt trying to hangon to it!.. so much for me and 40 other guys and one scared pilot, LT Pierce, he was the kinda pilot who, when he took off thought he was in the Blue Angels and always did a straight up in the air! shoulda seen him when he realized we weren't going to keep him on deck and he pulled his ejector level with the ship! He musta bounced 4 times on the water and last thing until pickup was his chute popping open in the water. What a gas, we sent out a helo and picked him up a little beatup but not bad. The only major record I know of was in the stars and stripes. The Admiral wasn't amused. . . and we got bad press. . . and the Admiral got a fast trip to pearl to explain our side.
It seems after we cut the cable and dumped our million dollar jet in the drink, the Big E had the same problem only the pilot was knocked out and couldn't eject so over the side went Tilly and one crazy rescue sailor and hooked the harness to the jet and lifted it back on deck............
Well if you want someone to wash your dishes again in the mess! call the other guy! My god you could make a mess for me to clean up! I was glad when it was my turn for Night Cook! Yee Hawww --
Steven D. Jacobson
sjacobso@bmi.net
1964-1967
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