Frankly Speaking- Isaac Campbell Kidd
I first became aware of Isaac Campbell Kidd in 1971. Isaac Campbell Kidd was one tough S.O.B. To be honest, my knowledge of him was rather limited but his impact on my activities during the summer of that year was unmatched. You see, Isaac Campbell Kidd was more accurately described as Vice Admiral Isaac Campbell Kidd, Jr., Commander U.S. Sixth Fleet.
Admiral Kidd visited the USS Saratoga on numerous occasions that summer. Unfortunately these visits were necessitated by rather unfortunate events that had occurred. First, a sea water intake manifold in one of the ship’s four engine rooms ruptured. That would have been OK were it not for the fact that the valve that shuts off the manifold was stuck in the open position. In the end that engine room flooded. The good news was that the ship was at that time making a port call to the city of Athens Greece. Hence we got to spend some extra time there. But, imagine the Admiral’s displeasure with having one of his two attack carriers on the disabled list.
Of course, there were war games going on that needed the support of a number of the ship’s aircraft and there we sat. Well the obvious answer was hey this is an aircraft carrier, launch the aircraft that were needed and get on with it. Remember where we were. Athens, Greece; home of the Acropolis, temple of Zeus, lots of antiquities…
The decision was made to launch the aircraft while sitting at anchor and dead in the water. The bow of the ship was pointed directly at the Acropolis and the pilots were instructed NOT to engage their afterburners at takeoff. The first aircraft to launch was an E2 Hawkeye needed for forward air control. The instructions were to initiate a 180 degree turn to the right immediately after launch. I observed that launch from a position in a helicopter parked on the flight deck. When the catapult fired the E2 down the flight deck the aircraft disappeared below the flight deck after takeoff. I swear it did not climb back up to flight deck level (60 feet) until it had executed the 180 degree turn. The next aircraft was an F4J Phantom. Somehow, someway he managed to keep that aircraft airborne. Finally another Phantom was readied for launch. As the catapult officer prepared to give the command to fire the catapult the pilot activated the afterburner. After the catapult launched the aircraft it immediately began to climb; the pilot executed a left turn and began to initiate a victory roll. Not the politically correct thing to do. The pilot was grounded and Admiral Kidd re-visited us in Athens.
After about 2 weeks the ship was repaired well enough to get it underway using 3 of the 4 engines. The other carrier in the Mediterranean needed a break (one of the ships had to be at sea at all times). So they hoisted the anchor and we sailed into the sunset. Well, at least that was the plan.
Down in the bowels of that 80,000 ton floating airport something caused another boiler room to stop generating the needed propulsion. The result was simple. We were no longer the USS Saratoga, CV-60. We were now a floating mass of steel and humanity driven by the ocean currents and the wind. But luck had left us adrift in an area with conditions best described as the doldrums. There was no wind and there were no currents. We didn’t drift; we simply sat there.
Now 5000 men generate quite a bit of trash. We lacked a landfill to dispose of our refuse but the sea is vast and dumping our garbage over the fantail was the prescribed manner of waste disposal. Picture all the trash generated in a city of 5000; put it all in 30 gallon trash bags and heave it out your front door. There sat the mighty USS Saratoga floating in the midst of a sea of filled 30 gallon trash bags.
Guess who flew out to inspect the damage? Yes, it was Vice Admiral Isaac Kidd. How happy do you think he was to find HIS aircraft carrier in that condition? I was told that while flying aboard the Admiral was rather upset by the scene of his U.S. Navy aircraft carrier drifting amidst all that trash.
Ok, so we had an eventful deployment to the Mediterranean, but we limped back in to Athens. Eventually our deployment came to an end. That was the end of my knowledge and interest in Vice Admiral Isaac Kidd, Jr. for eighteen years.
In 1989 I was standing in front of a war memorial. I was not looking at the names written on the memorial expecting to recognize any of them. I was just looking at a piece of history. Suddenly one name on the memorial literally jumped into my conscious recognition. The name that grabbed my attention was, “RADM ISAAC KIDD, SR.” Suddenly the name and the place had a bit more of my interest.
In 1971 the limited knowledge I had of Vice Admiral Isaac Kidd, Jr. did not include the fact that his father Rear Admiral Isaac Kidd, Sr. was present aboard the USS Arizona on the morning of December 7, 1941.
I was unaware that:
1. The senior Isaac Kidd was among the first casualties of WWII.
2. The senior Isaac Kidd was the first general/admiral the United States lost in WWII.
3. The senior Isaac Kidd was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions that fateful morning.
Interestingly enough I have learned a few other facts about the junior Isaac Kidd. These include:
1. He was enrolled at the U.S. Naval Academy by appointment of President Franklin Roosevelt.
2. He achieved virtually a perfect score on his Naval Academy entrance examinations.
3. He was commissioned as a U.S. Naval officer on December 19, 1941. Twelve days after the attack on Pearl Harbor and his father’s death.
4. He eventually achieved the rank of Admiral (4 stars).
5. He retired from active service in 1978.
6. Admiral Kidd, Jr. died June 27, 1999.
There is another chapter to the Isaac Kidd, Jr. saga that I am yet to embark on. That chapter involves the Israeli attack on the U.S.S. Liberty. I think there may be an interesting story there. My initial research of that fiasco includes another significant name, Admiral John McCain, Jr.
Admiral Kidd visited the USS Saratoga on numerous occasions that summer. Unfortunately these visits were necessitated by rather unfortunate events that had occurred. First, a sea water intake manifold in one of the ship’s four engine rooms ruptured. That would have been OK were it not for the fact that the valve that shuts off the manifold was stuck in the open position. In the end that engine room flooded. The good news was that the ship was at that time making a port call to the city of Athens Greece. Hence we got to spend some extra time there. But, imagine the Admiral’s displeasure with having one of his two attack carriers on the disabled list.
Of course, there were war games going on that needed the support of a number of the ship’s aircraft and there we sat. Well the obvious answer was hey this is an aircraft carrier, launch the aircraft that were needed and get on with it. Remember where we were. Athens, Greece; home of the Acropolis, temple of Zeus, lots of antiquities…
The decision was made to launch the aircraft while sitting at anchor and dead in the water. The bow of the ship was pointed directly at the Acropolis and the pilots were instructed NOT to engage their afterburners at takeoff. The first aircraft to launch was an E2 Hawkeye needed for forward air control. The instructions were to initiate a 180 degree turn to the right immediately after launch. I observed that launch from a position in a helicopter parked on the flight deck. When the catapult fired the E2 down the flight deck the aircraft disappeared below the flight deck after takeoff. I swear it did not climb back up to flight deck level (60 feet) until it had executed the 180 degree turn. The next aircraft was an F4J Phantom. Somehow, someway he managed to keep that aircraft airborne. Finally another Phantom was readied for launch. As the catapult officer prepared to give the command to fire the catapult the pilot activated the afterburner. After the catapult launched the aircraft it immediately began to climb; the pilot executed a left turn and began to initiate a victory roll. Not the politically correct thing to do. The pilot was grounded and Admiral Kidd re-visited us in Athens.
After about 2 weeks the ship was repaired well enough to get it underway using 3 of the 4 engines. The other carrier in the Mediterranean needed a break (one of the ships had to be at sea at all times). So they hoisted the anchor and we sailed into the sunset. Well, at least that was the plan.
Down in the bowels of that 80,000 ton floating airport something caused another boiler room to stop generating the needed propulsion. The result was simple. We were no longer the USS Saratoga, CV-60. We were now a floating mass of steel and humanity driven by the ocean currents and the wind. But luck had left us adrift in an area with conditions best described as the doldrums. There was no wind and there were no currents. We didn’t drift; we simply sat there.
Now 5000 men generate quite a bit of trash. We lacked a landfill to dispose of our refuse but the sea is vast and dumping our garbage over the fantail was the prescribed manner of waste disposal. Picture all the trash generated in a city of 5000; put it all in 30 gallon trash bags and heave it out your front door. There sat the mighty USS Saratoga floating in the midst of a sea of filled 30 gallon trash bags.
Guess who flew out to inspect the damage? Yes, it was Vice Admiral Isaac Kidd. How happy do you think he was to find HIS aircraft carrier in that condition? I was told that while flying aboard the Admiral was rather upset by the scene of his U.S. Navy aircraft carrier drifting amidst all that trash.
Ok, so we had an eventful deployment to the Mediterranean, but we limped back in to Athens. Eventually our deployment came to an end. That was the end of my knowledge and interest in Vice Admiral Isaac Kidd, Jr. for eighteen years.
In 1989 I was standing in front of a war memorial. I was not looking at the names written on the memorial expecting to recognize any of them. I was just looking at a piece of history. Suddenly one name on the memorial literally jumped into my conscious recognition. The name that grabbed my attention was, “RADM ISAAC KIDD, SR.” Suddenly the name and the place had a bit more of my interest.
In 1971 the limited knowledge I had of Vice Admiral Isaac Kidd, Jr. did not include the fact that his father Rear Admiral Isaac Kidd, Sr. was present aboard the USS Arizona on the morning of December 7, 1941.
I was unaware that:
1. The senior Isaac Kidd was among the first casualties of WWII.
2. The senior Isaac Kidd was the first general/admiral the United States lost in WWII.
3. The senior Isaac Kidd was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions that fateful morning.
Interestingly enough I have learned a few other facts about the junior Isaac Kidd. These include:
1. He was enrolled at the U.S. Naval Academy by appointment of President Franklin Roosevelt.
2. He achieved virtually a perfect score on his Naval Academy entrance examinations.
3. He was commissioned as a U.S. Naval officer on December 19, 1941. Twelve days after the attack on Pearl Harbor and his father’s death.
4. He eventually achieved the rank of Admiral (4 stars).
5. He retired from active service in 1978.
6. Admiral Kidd, Jr. died June 27, 1999.
There is another chapter to the Isaac Kidd, Jr. saga that I am yet to embark on. That chapter involves the Israeli attack on the U.S.S. Liberty. I think there may be an interesting story there. My initial research of that fiasco includes another significant name, Admiral John McCain, Jr.
posted by Frank at 3:20 PM
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