Back in my youth I had dreams of saving people in any way I could. I took the most direct route available and joined the Coast Guard. Upon testing, I qualified for aviation, and after boot camp in Cape May I was off to USCG Aviation Training Center North Carolina. Spent the better part of a year there learning everything from field triage to escaping from a submerged helicopter underwater at night.
Graduated as an airman with avionics tech qualifications, next step navigator, and was sent to my first unit on Otis AFB in Mass.
Continued on the job training there while flying search and rescue. Over the hanger doors were the words "Have to go out, don't have to come back" and there were a few times I thought the second part of that phrase would be fufilled.
Never the less, we went on.
In 1991, a huge Nor'Easter came through. I remember as the storm hit, later to become 'The Perfect Storm', how we were struggling outside the hangers with the wind, prepping the aircraft for what we knew what was coming, getting sleep if we could. With the exception of those married or with family we were all too young and invincible to be thinking of wills or demise. Between fueling and prepping our aircraft we were all laughing about being blown around.
That night and the next few that followed are etched in my memory to this day. Fly, refuel, repair, sleep a few hours, fly, etc.. We we're all exhausted but none of us would stop. Multiple search and rescues, and attempts, including many small fishing boats, the Andrea Gail, and the Satori. The flying conditions were harsh and the support from the surface ships, mainly the Tamaroa, were indispensable (the Tamaroa being a WWII decorated combat tug revamped to a SAR boat). That evening our sister chopper spotted the Satori and began rescue operations with the Tamaroa nearby for support if required.
After refuel and returning to search, word came of a National Guard chopper which had gone down. While we raced to the scene the Tamaroa had already arrived, saving 4 of the 6 crew.
The Gail we never saved, she was lost with all crew. I was on the HU-25 that was the first to spot the wreckage - floating debris including wood and line, and soon after I called a spot of a partially submerged red/orange object. When pressed by the pilot of my impression I reported an unopened survival raft. The co-piolt concurred. We reported debris consistent with catastrophic failure and unopened life raft. We continued the search for survivors for days with the Tamaroa, and the Escanaba, to no avail.
We all got medals for our actions those nights.
Many of us, including myself, felt we didn't deserve them.
Eight were lost on our watch.
Tonight I just read an article about the Tamaroa. She's being retired, and in an interesting way.
She's becoming a reef ship off the coast of NJ.
A place I now call home and a place where I became interested in reef keeping.
Its a fitting end for a ship that spent its career saving lives.
'Perfect Storm' ship will be sunk on NJ reef
Graduated as an airman with avionics tech qualifications, next step navigator, and was sent to my first unit on Otis AFB in Mass.
Continued on the job training there while flying search and rescue. Over the hanger doors were the words "Have to go out, don't have to come back" and there were a few times I thought the second part of that phrase would be fufilled.
Never the less, we went on.
In 1991, a huge Nor'Easter came through. I remember as the storm hit, later to become 'The Perfect Storm', how we were struggling outside the hangers with the wind, prepping the aircraft for what we knew what was coming, getting sleep if we could. With the exception of those married or with family we were all too young and invincible to be thinking of wills or demise. Between fueling and prepping our aircraft we were all laughing about being blown around.
That night and the next few that followed are etched in my memory to this day. Fly, refuel, repair, sleep a few hours, fly, etc.. We we're all exhausted but none of us would stop. Multiple search and rescues, and attempts, including many small fishing boats, the Andrea Gail, and the Satori. The flying conditions were harsh and the support from the surface ships, mainly the Tamaroa, were indispensable (the Tamaroa being a WWII decorated combat tug revamped to a SAR boat). That evening our sister chopper spotted the Satori and began rescue operations with the Tamaroa nearby for support if required.
After refuel and returning to search, word came of a National Guard chopper which had gone down. While we raced to the scene the Tamaroa had already arrived, saving 4 of the 6 crew.
The Gail we never saved, she was lost with all crew. I was on the HU-25 that was the first to spot the wreckage - floating debris including wood and line, and soon after I called a spot of a partially submerged red/orange object. When pressed by the pilot of my impression I reported an unopened survival raft. The co-piolt concurred. We reported debris consistent with catastrophic failure and unopened life raft. We continued the search for survivors for days with the Tamaroa, and the Escanaba, to no avail.
We all got medals for our actions those nights.
Many of us, including myself, felt we didn't deserve them.
Eight were lost on our watch.
Tonight I just read an article about the Tamaroa. She's being retired, and in an interesting way.
She's becoming a reef ship off the coast of NJ.
A place I now call home and a place where I became interested in reef keeping.
Its a fitting end for a ship that spent its career saving lives.
'Perfect Storm' ship will be sunk on NJ reef
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