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Okay you Spook men, did any of you ever do Top Gun at Yuma?  Or hot pad duty at Key West (Boca Chica)? Or smuggle Coors back to the east Oceana in a blivet?
 
jje1960 said:
O my the memories... Flat out, F4, my favorite ever.  I remember when the top speed was not listed (most probably would have torn the airframe apart).  I was stationed at Kaneohe Bay, 84'-87'.  Came close to the back seat ride, requested for my re-enlistment... real close, like that week then someone got wind of it and no-go :mad: .  Had a few friends on the VMFA side, I was over attached to 2/3 in 3rd Combat Engineers.

I feel we were lucky because any flight that did not need the RIO in the back seat we enlisted got to ride. Bombing flights were really fun. We did have to go through a training course that included a high altitude chamber and sitting in and firing an ejection seat. I have pics I took during some flights but they are packed away.
 
Molaker said:
Okay you Spook men, did any of you ever do Top Gun at Yuma?  Or hot pad duty at Key West (Boca Chica)? Or smuggle Coors back to the east Oceana in a blivet?
While with VMFA 212 in Hawai 2 of our F4s with 2 flight crews and support crew that included me were sent to Miramar for TopGun and each of us were awarded a TopGun Patch. While with VMFA 531 at El Toro we went to Yuma for a month and one of the things I remember from that was one of our F4s dropped his bombs late and wiped out several Mexican's cows that had to be paid for.
Coors beer I took 2 6-packs back to Hawaii is a carryon bag and when they inspected it all he said was good choice.

 
No Coors in a blivet.  Do remember the brown shirts surrounding a blivet on a F-4 returning to the ship from Cubi Pt.  San Miquel at sea -- priceless!!
 
San Migel was hard enough to drink at Cubi Pt. not to mention having it warm on the ship. I preferred Bloody Mary's at the Sky club just after duty section muster, the boss said something about biting the dog that bit me, so I went along. Hangover city. Oh to be young again.
 
rogertre said:
San Migel was hard enough to drink at Cubi Pt. not to mention having it warm on the ship. I preferred Bloody Mary's at the Sky club just after duty section muster, the boss said something about biting the dog that bit me, so I went along. Hangover city. Oh to be young again.
After 65 days on Yankee Station a warm San Miguel wasn't that bad.  Especially with a sweet young thing sitting on your lap at the Copacabana or East End Club.  Just watch out for the butterfly knife, though.  With those short mini-skirts, I never did figure out where they kept those dang things.
 
USN '55-'59. Home ported at the Destroyer piers in Norfolk.

Saw some limited action in the Mediterranean. I recall after 3 weeks at sea sitting in a bar in Barcelona with 2 shipmates drinking 5 cent a bottle Thor beer while feeling the hand on my knee of the blond young lady that sat down beside me - when the shore patrol came and ordered all personnel back aboard ship. Seems the British had just bombed Cairo, ships were sunk in the Canal, and that phase of the continuing mid east crisis had just begun.  The 6th fleet Destroyer force was immediately ordered into the area.

Aside from that, "What am I dong here" moment - would not trade my Navy time for any other facet of my life. Also, my Dad was exNavy (a pharmacist Mate) and was very proud of me for joining the Navy as I did.
 
[quote author=Bob Buchanan]
USN '55-'59. Home ported at the Destroyer piers in Norfolk..........
........... would not trade my Navy time for any other facet of my life. Also, my Dad was exNavy (a pharmacist Mate) and was very proud of me for joining the Navy as I did.
[/quote]

Bob it appears we were in the Navy during the same period of time, but oceans apart.  The young lady with her hand on my knee had black hair.

Your mention of the pride your Dad had in your Naval Service brought a humorous (for some) memory back to mind..........

My mother had six brothers;  five of whom were regular ARMY with considerable battle experience in Europe during WWII.  To that poor southern Illinois farming family, any reference to Americas Fighting Forces was synonymous with the word ARMY.  When a much younger brother later joined the Navy, my mother asked him why he had joined the Navy, and his answer was, "to stay out of the Army"

I'm sure he was simply stating his preference to serve in the Navy v/s the Army, but my mother apparently saw his actions as less than a sign of bravery, since years later, when I joined the Navy and my own brother joined the Marines, I recall hearing her tell anyone who asked, that she had "one son in the Armed Forces and one in the Navy". ;D

I suppose I should have corrected her, but I never did.  It hurt a little at the time, but makes for a funny story now.
 
Electrician's mate 2nd 1982-1988 USS Indianapolis SSN-697 in Pearl Harbor.

UNSR 1989-1991 USS Exploit mine sweeper out of Newport R.I.

I remember seeing the Arizona memorial every day for the first 6 months.
 
Wendy said:
That could be depressing.
To me the Arizona memorial was never depressing.  A solemn appreciation for those it entombs and a reminder of the cost of freedom, but never depressing.  The memorial was completed just before my first Hawaii visit on board the USS Midway.  The liberty launch taking us from Ford Island to mainside passed by the memorial and it was thrilling to be able to stand at attention and render a salute as we passed.
 
Tom,

When I was aboard the USS Buchanan, DDG-14, as part of the Commissioning Crew, we did our shakedown cruise to Hawaii. We pulled in the morning of the dedication of the Arizona Memorial. Manned the rail in whites for what seemed like hours. :) It is an inspiring memorial which does remind all what it takes to preserve our freedom in difficult times.
 
Jim:  On that 478 vs 490, I also noticed it was a poor photo of mine.  I think I had copied a small version of the original shot.  It pixelated pretty bad.  I believe the F4 was also the largest fighter that the U.S. ever used in combat.

If I'm not mistaken, the F4 used an Allison engine, which I did some testing of when I worked for them in 1955-56.
 
    If were talking about the F-4 Phantom, built by McDonnel Douglas, it had engines made by GE.  The GE J-79 was a single spool, variable pitch compressor with afterburner.  I think it had 17 stage compressor and 3 stage turbine.  May be wrong on my numbers after 35 years and lots of beer. In full afterburner it consumed something like 36000 pounds of fuel per hour.  That was per engine.  Amazing engine. 
 
Ron from Big D said:
If I'm not mistaken, the F4 used an Allison engine, which I did some testing of when I worked for them in 1955-56.
The F4 used two J-79 (General Electric) engines.  The F3 Demon had an Allison J-71.  Maybe that's what you worked on.
 
Molaker said:
To me the Arizona memorial was never depressing.  A solemn appreciation for those it entombs and a reminder of the cost of freedom, but never depressing.  The memorial was completed just before my first Hawaii visit on board the USS Midway.  The liberty launch taking us from Ford Island to mainside passed by the memorial and it was thrilling to be able to stand at attention and render a salute as we passed.
More my feeling about it too.
 

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