I have witnessed a lot of history in my life

I have witnessed a lot of history in my life.

January 31, 1968, 50 years ago today I was a 19 year old Radioman/Seaman serving as one of the 3000 plus crewmen aboard the Aircraft Carrier USS Oriskany (CVA-34). The Oriskany was returning from a 7 ½ month deployment to the western Pacific Ocean.


During this deployment we visited Hong Kong, two different ports in Japan (Sasebo and Yokosuka), Subic Bay in the Philippines and Pearl Harbor in Hawaii (twice). We spent much of the deployment operating in the Tonkin gulf, off the coast of North Vietnam on what we called "Yankee station".


During this deployment we were witness to the tragic fire aboard USS Forrestal that cost the lives of 134 Forrestal crewman. We, along with many other ships on Yankee Station, gave what assistance we could to the Forrestal, during and after the fire.

During this deployment the late Senator John McCain (then Lieutenant commander John McCain) launched his A4 Skyhawk aircraft from one of the catapults on our ship and was shot down over Hanoi. He was captured and began his long imprisonment in North Vietnam. He had been a pilot aboard the USS Forrestal and was involved in the fire there. After the fire he transferred to a squadron on our ship.

During this deployment the USS Pueblo (AGER-2) was attacked and captured by North Korean forces along with her crew. 83 members of the Pueblo crew spent 11 months as prisoners in North Korea. At the time of the capture i was the operator on the ship’s primary Teletype communications channel. I was chatting with the operator on Guam when we told me he had just relayed a flash message to Washington regarding the capture. Thus, I was one of the first people in the world to hear of the incident. I mentioned the Pueblo news to some of my fellow Radiomen as I passed through “Radio Central” on the way to lunch a few minutes later. Before I had finished my lunch, down on the Oriskany mess decks, the rumor mill was already passing around the news.

In some ways these events from 50 years ago seem like they happened just a few months ago….. In other ways they seem like, well, 50 years ago, ...a lifetime ago.

Early on the morning of Jan 31, 1968, we steamed under the Golden Gate bridge and the Bay Bridge and tied up at the pier at Naval Air Station Alameda, CA. The same pier, I might add, where Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle loaded his B25 bombers aboard USS Hornet (CV-8) for the famous WWII “30 seconds over Tokyo” raid.



A commercial frequently seen on TV in those days claimed that serving in the U.S. Navy was “not just a job...it’s an adventure”.   I couldn’t agree more.