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Just a note to remind everyone what this weekend is for. It is not to recognize those who served in the military. That is Veterans Day. Memorial Day is to remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice to preserve our freedom. While some may disagree with what wars were fought for what reasons, those who died in service to their country do deserve recognition. Memorial Day is that day. All citizens should understand the sacrifice others have given so that we all can enjoy the freedoms that we do have. Just a thought from one veteran.
"Unarmed and unafraid" was the motto of the flight crews of reconnaissance jet RA-5C Vigilante. That was because, at the time, North Vietnam was the most heavily defended airspace on the planet and the Vigilante had no weapons. My job as an avionics tech was to start the inertial navigation, closed circuit TV and ground-mapping radar systems prior to takeoff. Then debrief the back seat guy, the Reconnaissance Attack Navigator (RAN) after the sortie. Sometimes I helped him strap in his safety gear and pull the pins to arm the ejection seat. I had hardly any interaction with pilots except a snappy salute and a good luck wish thumbs up as us Airborne Special Bombing (ASB) shop techs were the last ones to leave the plane before launch. Onboard ship we kept the ship's SINS navigation cable hooked up until the last minute to keep the system updated on longitude, latitude and speed as long as possible to make the system as accurate as possible. Lastly, was to remove the nose wheel tie-down chain and turn over command to the plane captain who directed the pilot with hand signals towards the catapult.
But I digress.
The Memorial Day holidays prior to 1967 were all about missing out a day of school and family picnics. Except those of 1967 through 1970 where every day serving the US Navy was just like any other day. Navy routine didn't come to a screeching halt because of holidays. Half the time I didn't even realize a civilian holiday had taken place until days later.
Memorial Day, or Decoration Day as my parents called it, was created to give remembrance to those who gave their lives in service to our country. And even though I had uncles who served in WWII and Korea, they all made it home alive. I can't recall overhearing any of them speak of fallen comrades during those many family picnics. The same with Independence Day or as so many call it, the 4th of July. There was no formal giving of thanks for this great country or saying the Pledge of Allegiance. We ate, we drank, we played games. That was about it.
Those innocent times ended on May 5, 1968. One of the six RA-5C Vigilante reconnaissance jets in my squadron, RVAH-1, was shot down over North Vietnam. It wasn't until March 1973, when watching TV coverage of the release of POW's, that I heard the names of LTs Giles Norrington and Dick Tangeman called out. They both survived bailing out and the years in captivity in the hell hole known as the Hanoi Hilton. Thinking they had died, I gave my respects to their memory on Memorial Days 1971 and 1972.
There's still one flight crew that needs remembering from Memorial Days 1971 to today. My squadron was onboard the carrier 'Ranger' CVA-61 off the coast of Alameda, CA. practicing takeoffs and landings in preparation for another WestPac cruise when the unthinkable happened. Here's the way it was written up in Robert Powell's book:
RIP to both of these men. You two are what Memorial Day means to me. You'd think both names are etched on the Vietnam wall in Washington, D. C. But you'd be wrong. I was told by one of the guides at a traveling VietNam wall exhibit that neither is etched onto the black granite because their deaths happened in US territorial waters, not VietNam.
This is what their jet looked like before it slipped under the waves that fateful day. The pic is of a sister Vigilante aboard 'Ranger' that day.
that's quite a story..thanks. i myself celebrated by joining thousands of other bikers at '' rolling thunder '' in d.c. yesterday. the parade from the pentagon down constitution ave. is an amazing sight. bike after bike for 3-4 hrs. waving flags, etc. to hundreds of spectators lining the curbs on both sides. lots of vets present visiting ''the wall ''. johnboy va.
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