April 10, 1972 part 1
Frankly Speaking
April 10, 1972 part 1
My son, Brad, chastised me about the contents of my, “Frankly Speaking April 8, 1972”. His complaints were; Where did you go? Where is Mayport, FL? What did the secret message say? What about the rest of the story? Is this a cliff-hanger?
In answer to those questions I submit the following. On April 8 we did not know anything more than a total stranger knew about where we were going, why we were going or how long we were going to be gone. Yes, it was a cliff-hanger and I was among the 5000 guys hanging over the edge of that cliff.
Mayport FL, located on the Atlantic coast just east of Jacksonville, was the homeport of the USS Saratoga CV-60.
Regarding the secret message; I did not read it. It was not addressed to me. Not only did you need the appropriate security clearance to gain access to classified information you also had to have the, “need to know” the contents.
Anyway, early Monday morning April 10, 1972 we loaded or equipment and materials aboard the Saratoga. Believe it or not, we were done loading our gear aboard the Sara by mid-morning. At that point we moved to the squadron’s avionics shop and began the process of making the area, “ship-shape”. As we worked the conversation revolved around where we were going even though we had not been told our fate. For those fortunate enough to have not been born yet and for those young enough to not know the North Vietnamese army had launched a major offensive on March 30. They had crossed the demilitarized zone and were moving toward several key villages and hamlets including Quang Tri and An Loc. There was NO doubt in our minds as to where we were going. As we discussed the matter and went about the business of securing the shop the Commanding Officer of our squadron entered the shop. After the obligatory military courtesies were exchanged the skipper told us to sit down he had some news for us.
The C.O.s first statement was simply to ask if there was any doubt as to where we were going. Of course there wasn’t. His next comment involved whether or not we felt our antisubmarine warfare skills and equipment were really needed in the operating theatre we thought we were headed for. Well, there hadn’t been any submarine activity to that point. The North Vietnamese navy had no subs. So, if we were right about our destination we didn’t need to be there. But, the Saratoga still needed the Search and Rescue component of our mission. Rather bluntly the Skipper said, “half of you are going back to Quonset”. He then told the shop chief to begin dividing the personnel appropriately. He went on to tell us that he had just had a meeting with the ships Intermediate Maintenance Activity Officer and he had requested 15 people be assigned to that department for the cruise. The skipper went on to say that he told the IMA Officer, “You get Seehorn and Austin, that’s it.” You see Bill Seehorn maintained all the TACAN (Tactical Air Navigation) equipment and Frank Austin maintained the UHF radios on the ships fighter and helicopter aircraft; so much for getting to go back to Quonset. Bill and I immediately made our way to the ship’s CommNav shop. Fortunately we didn’t have to endure the petty jealousies that immediately overtook the squadron’s shop; half go home and half go to ….(we had still not been officially told where we were going)
Bill and I had been in the CommNav shop only a few minutes when the ship’s public address system sounded, “Navy Arriving”. This was an error, but it certainly got everyone’s attention. That announcement is reserved for the Secretary of the Navy. The correct announcement should have been, “Naval Operations Arriving”. That announcement is reserved for the Chief of Naval Operations (the Navy’s top Admiral, the Chief of Staff, the Navy’s member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff). Admiral Elmo Zumwalt had shown up unannounced to address the crew prior to our departure. We were asked to make our way to hanger bay 3 for the Admiral’s talk.
(to be continued)
April 10, 1972 part 1
My son, Brad, chastised me about the contents of my, “Frankly Speaking April 8, 1972”. His complaints were; Where did you go? Where is Mayport, FL? What did the secret message say? What about the rest of the story? Is this a cliff-hanger?
In answer to those questions I submit the following. On April 8 we did not know anything more than a total stranger knew about where we were going, why we were going or how long we were going to be gone. Yes, it was a cliff-hanger and I was among the 5000 guys hanging over the edge of that cliff.
Mayport FL, located on the Atlantic coast just east of Jacksonville, was the homeport of the USS Saratoga CV-60.
Regarding the secret message; I did not read it. It was not addressed to me. Not only did you need the appropriate security clearance to gain access to classified information you also had to have the, “need to know” the contents.
Anyway, early Monday morning April 10, 1972 we loaded or equipment and materials aboard the Saratoga. Believe it or not, we were done loading our gear aboard the Sara by mid-morning. At that point we moved to the squadron’s avionics shop and began the process of making the area, “ship-shape”. As we worked the conversation revolved around where we were going even though we had not been told our fate. For those fortunate enough to have not been born yet and for those young enough to not know the North Vietnamese army had launched a major offensive on March 30. They had crossed the demilitarized zone and were moving toward several key villages and hamlets including Quang Tri and An Loc. There was NO doubt in our minds as to where we were going. As we discussed the matter and went about the business of securing the shop the Commanding Officer of our squadron entered the shop. After the obligatory military courtesies were exchanged the skipper told us to sit down he had some news for us.
The C.O.s first statement was simply to ask if there was any doubt as to where we were going. Of course there wasn’t. His next comment involved whether or not we felt our antisubmarine warfare skills and equipment were really needed in the operating theatre we thought we were headed for. Well, there hadn’t been any submarine activity to that point. The North Vietnamese navy had no subs. So, if we were right about our destination we didn’t need to be there. But, the Saratoga still needed the Search and Rescue component of our mission. Rather bluntly the Skipper said, “half of you are going back to Quonset”. He then told the shop chief to begin dividing the personnel appropriately. He went on to tell us that he had just had a meeting with the ships Intermediate Maintenance Activity Officer and he had requested 15 people be assigned to that department for the cruise. The skipper went on to say that he told the IMA Officer, “You get Seehorn and Austin, that’s it.” You see Bill Seehorn maintained all the TACAN (Tactical Air Navigation) equipment and Frank Austin maintained the UHF radios on the ships fighter and helicopter aircraft; so much for getting to go back to Quonset. Bill and I immediately made our way to the ship’s CommNav shop. Fortunately we didn’t have to endure the petty jealousies that immediately overtook the squadron’s shop; half go home and half go to ….(we had still not been officially told where we were going)
Bill and I had been in the CommNav shop only a few minutes when the ship’s public address system sounded, “Navy Arriving”. This was an error, but it certainly got everyone’s attention. That announcement is reserved for the Secretary of the Navy. The correct announcement should have been, “Naval Operations Arriving”. That announcement is reserved for the Chief of Naval Operations (the Navy’s top Admiral, the Chief of Staff, the Navy’s member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff). Admiral Elmo Zumwalt had shown up unannounced to address the crew prior to our departure. We were asked to make our way to hanger bay 3 for the Admiral’s talk.
(to be continued)
posted by Frank at 11:29 AM
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