Power for Peace
On July 26 I posted an article about Israel and also discussed the need for Power for Peace. Today I would like to share with you all some of my life experiences while I was on the great Attack Aircraft Carrier, USS RANGER (CVA-61) in the 1962-1964 time frame.
The pictures of the Carrier with the human flag on the flight deck was done on Flag Day. I know, I was there. I am in the flag somewhere. The picture in the middle is from another time frame when I was not in USS RANGER; but the message is still germane. I sincerely believe in the concept of "Power of Peace."
While I was asssigned to RANGER I was a Yeoman (administrative clerk) assigned to the Operations Office. The Operations Officer was an interesting Officer who often shared his Sea Stories with us. He was a survivor of the Bataan Death March.
When we went to sea I was on the night shift from 6:00 P.M. until 6:00 A.M. In addition to field day (cleaning and waxing the deck) the night shift was responsible for publishing and distributing of the daily flight schedule when ever we were conducting air operations. Air operations are a fact of life in an aircraft carrier and way back then the schedule was printed on paper. My task after the schedules were printed and stapled together was to distribute the schedules to each stateroom of the pilots embarked from the assigned Air Wing. Additionally, other offices and Officers of the Ship's Company needed the schedule to also plan the day for their respective departments/divisions. Way back then, each catapult shot of an airplane required 250 gallons of fresh water which had been converted to steam. Therefore the Chief Engineer was always keenly interested in the number of launches scheduled for the coming day. Additionally, the bridge team consisting of the Navigator, the Officer of the Deck, the Quartermasters and of course the Captain had to be aware of the launch times and have the ship speeding into the wind. In order to safely and efficiently launch a jet aircraft you need 25 knots of wind over the deck. There are several ways of doing this. The most effective way is to steer into the wind and hope that it is blowing at 25 knots. Otherwise the ship needs to be traveling at 25 knots.
If you desire to visit a Carrier Web Site with a whole history of Carrier Information of the USS RANGER (CVA-61) along with the pages and a plethora of images from the Sailors who served in this great ship I would encourage you to visit:
This site was developed by a Shipmate of mine. He did not make a career of the U. S. Navy; but his work with this web site reflects the pride that he had, and displays to this day by his dedication to keeping this site up to date.
Thank You for your visit today.
Power for Peace
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