VC-12/VAW-12 Newsletter JULY 2006
VC-12 VAW-12 Squadron Reunion
September 22-24, 2006
Crowne Plaza Hotel
2200 Centerville Road Herndon, Virginia 20170 703-471-6700
Special Group rate $79. = 9% tax
Cut off date two weeks prior to event
Hospitality room, Complimentary meeting rooms, Scheduled tours from the Hotel
Contact: Melissa.geter@cwhotels.com
1-800-Holiday
Register with Dick Bray
585-538-4252
Cost to register is $100. per person (That is $200 per couple)
(That includes some meals)
(For local members who wish only to come to banquet Sept 24th cost $35. per person)
Send $100 to him at 765 Hosmer Rd Churchville, NY 14428 leighbray@hotmail.com
Website: www.vc12vaw12.org
All the old newsletters;
for members list: www.vc12vaw12.org/members/members.html
Chairman: Seykowski, Edward CWO4 607 N 70 E Valparaiso, IN 46383 219-462-3636 edseykow@juno.com FAX 219-462-2168 1959-1962 AT2 Karen
Treasurer, Scribe, & Membership Chairman for dues:
Roger G. Smith, MD Office: 256 SE 2nd Av. Hillsboro, OR 97123
503-628-2229 home; Office 503-648-4171; FAX 503-648-4172 NEW OFFICE NUMBERS rgs@coho.net
Dues are $10 a year for those who get the newsletter by post. New year starts at the reunion.
Many who get the newsletter by e-mail offer dues and we are grateful. We send e-mail newsletter to all who wish to see it regardless.
We are nearly 1600 members. There are a lot of people we have not found.
We have listed groups by detachments. Send me your request and I'll share your detachment list with you so you can contact the guys you want to meet at reunion. Tell us who you remember and let us help you find him/them. We have too many new contacts since the reunion to list them all. We have many incomplete detachment rosters. Send for yours and help me complete the lists. I call a lot of guys who have no interest, but if their old buddies call them, that may be a different matter. Our membership continues to grow. We have found people through the Navy Memorial Foundation and Military.Com.
People who send me old newsletters from the squadron and old orders, social notes, watch bills, cruise book lists and rapid recall bills have been very helpful.
Every once in a while I find a new member referred from a member who recalls where his old buddy is now.
Surprisingly few men that I have heard of have taken the roster of their cruise and made calls to old friends. That is another way to improve the list. Many of those rosters have names with incomplete addresses. Studying them may yield clues to where they may be now—wives names, birthdates or birth years, hometowns etc may be very helpful in finding men with more common names.
VAW-12 Books at the VAW Store
We have copies of GUPPY PILOT at $27.50 each post paid. This is a book written by Roger Smith about squadron flying. His address is 256 SE 2nd Av Hillsboro, OR 97123. 80 color photos and some others. Naval history, sea stories, personal reminiscence.
We do not have copies of SAILORS IN THE SKY by Jack Sauter, but inscribed copies can be purchased from him directly for $19.95 at 235 Robby Lane, New Hyde Park, NY 11040. This is an enlisted aircrewman’s view of the Korean War from the back seat of an AD3W operating off the Lake Champlain. Jack is the president and editor of the magazine for that ship’s reunion group to this day
HANOI COMMITMENT the story of 7 years a prisoner of the North Viets. Purchase from the author for $15. plus postage. CAPT James A. Mulligan 912 Five Points Rd Virginia Beach, VA 23454-2642
20 WAS EASY by Harry Mead is available for $8.95 plus postage by writing to the author at 38 N Alder Drive, Orlando, FL 32807-5030. There is a chapter about VAW-12
VAW-12 Patches on sale for $5 for dues paying members and $8 for those not paying dues. Write to editor (Roger Smith) 256 SE 2nd Av. Hillsboro, OR 97123
We have a new supply now. There was a delay in February while we waited for our new supply to come in.
NFO wings are still available at $50.
For those of you planning to come to reunion in Washington in September, it is time now to make a reservation and let Dick Bray know you are coming and send him some money. Do it now so you will be “Charlie on Arrival.”
Map to the hotel from airport http://www.google.com/maps?q=2200+Centreville+Road,+herndon&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=38.964748,-77.388039&spn=0.057126,0.134754&om=1
MR. DAVID NORTH WILL BE OUR SPEAKER AT THE VC-12/VAW-12 REUNION ON 22-24 SEPT 2006.
Editor of Aviation Week and Space Technology since 1995
Former Naval Aviator
Remembering the Bay of Pigs April 16, 1961
By Philip W. “Flip” Shoemaker, DDS PA; Captain DC USN Retired
On April 15th 1961 an American aircraft carrier was on station 30 miles south of the Bay of Pigs. Its 4 escort destroyers were already shelling the beach. We were supposed to support the invasion by air and sea. The invasion force, which was on board four deep draft ships coming from the staging area in Nicaragua, were poorly suited for the shallow Bay. We had the Cuban leaders on board. We had eaten with them, laughed with them and become friends.
The aircraft carrier had a complement of three attack squadrons — 2 A4D Skyhawk squadrons and 1 AD6 Skyraider squadron accompanied by and AD5W radar plane detachment and a detachment of helicopters. These squadrons were going to launch to attack previously briefed and designated targets ashore based on CIA and local Cuban information. The Guppy radar plane was to provide continuous airborne control. Just as the launch was to begin with the jets on the forward catapults, 30 seconds before scheduled launch, word was passed from Pri Fly to stand down. Word came that President Kennedy had taken the decision not to support the invasion. We were told that the political climate in Washington was such that we would have to abort our help.
We cried. How could we do this? We would launch anyway, but no targets would be attacked. We would avoid any combat situations and return at our normal recovery time—4.6 hours for our Guppy. We stayed in the air longer to assure there would be no retaliatory strike from the beach catching us unaware. The attack aircraft cycle was much shorter.
We returned to the carrier. The four escort destroyers were recalled and left the area immediately, leaving the invasion force on the beach exposed and undefended. We saw the invasion force ships beached and burning. The next day, the 16th, Castro’s forces attacked, sinking or beaching the remaining invasion force ships, capturing or killing many of the invasion force troops. A very few were able to escape to the mountains to the east. Final word from the Cubans on the beach: “You son of a bitch quitters; we will fight to the death.” They did. I hated Kennedy for years for allowing this to happen, but only found out in later years that the whole sequence of events had been set up by the previous Eisenhower administration, Kennedy having just assumed office.
The ship, of course was the Essex. The squadrons were VA-34, VA-43, and VA- 175 plus our Det 45 and helos from HS-9. I learned at the last reunion there was another carrier battle group 100 miles south of us in case it had been needed. When I was at my OMS residency at University of Alabama Birmingham the department head of Oral Head and Neck pathology was Dr Mario Martinez, who had been a member of that invasion force. He had escaped to the mountains, returned to Havana in hiding, and eventually escaped to the US. He was in a closet with 6 others when a search party came looking for participants, but strangely in their hurry they passed him by. He looked me in the eye; we were friends; he never mentioned it.
Best always, Flip
The editor had responded to Flip’s invitation to comment:
My comment on the political issue you raise is this:
Eisenhower set it up knowing the Russians would react with a threat. I expect he was prepared to defy the threat but Kennedy wasn’t. Kennedy learned fast though that the Russians now took him for a patsy and he had to take greater risks the next year.
I am puzzled by the deep draft ships in a shallow bay story. By 1961 we certainly knew how to do landing operations from the WWII experience. Was there a problem getting the force onto the beach?
Best always, Roger
To which Flip replied:
Roger- A couple of comments: The invasion force was in charge of their own operations. From what I have heard, the CIA training camps were poorly organized and the training was hurried and poor. You would have thought they would have had some input into the ships to be used. From the person I talked to at the reunion, who was on the carrier 100 miles to the south, they had no idea Essex & co were at The Bay, and wasn't aware of it until our conversation. They didn't know about the action until they heard it on the news. (Flip has forgotten who he talked to about this at the FWB reunion who was on the farther out carrier.)
My understanding during the pre-launch briefing was that there were no hard targets assigned, only what supported the invasion, ie-beach area and whatever Castro was going to bring to repulse it. Flip
(Note: Flip Shoemaker and the Editor engaged in further discussion which was omitted as it touched on current political issues, so not appropriate for this newsletter. The same will be edited out of any responses to this story.)
I served on the Forrestal in 65-66 and was the LCPO for VAW-123. Our quarters were just under #3 wire and the explosion on July 29, 1967 blew a hole in our lounge area. Thankfully and, in part, because I preached "Safety, Safety, Safety," we did not even get anyone in our squadron hurt. We were about 6 miles off Ven Naugh where the strike was going on and I was discussing materials with the Chief Bos'n on the sponson starboard side between the elevators. We were watching the fireworks when the "General Quarters" sounded. I immediately went to our crew's quarters and saw that they had all made it out. Then went to the Ready Room to get orders from LCDR Lambert (exec) and then accounted for all our personnel including officers. "All present or accounted for." The fire had gotten a lot worse and threatened the Ready Room and we were told to go forward of hanger bay #1 and the 1 level or above. The ship was just one bulkhead from going down. On the way up I saw the movement of munitions from the after magazine to the forward magazine with a lot of personnel getting in the way. I took over the supervision of the movement and then proceeded to the area designated. There is a revised Cruise Book coming out within the next few months (edited and ready for print). Contact Pfried59@aol.com for copies @ $50 ea. I made Warrant Officer 7 days after return to Norfolk. By the way, I was told that the munitions crew moved 42 tons in one hour, a naval record.
CWO3 Paul W. Meyn
15529 Floyd St
Overland Park, KS 66223
913-897-1623