One In A Million!!!!!

A number of years ago I had the honor and privilege to land on an aircraft carrier, The USS Independence. This wondrous opportunity came about through my dear cousin’s diplomatic connections.

Early one steamy humid spring morning, twenty one lucky people assembled at the Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong. We were quickly ushered into an isolated room where our passports were temporarily confiscated, to be carefully scrutinized. We were briefed and told that we would not be apprised of the location of our flight destination for security reasons. It was somewhere in the South China Sea, that is all we knew.

After getting the go ahead, we were driven in a small bus far across the tarmac to a remote corner of the airport, where our awaiting military turbo prop was poised between a Mongolian Airlines Jet and a Siberian Airlines Jet. It was a C -2 Greyhound which carries cargo, people and mail to the ship. Upon entering the small confines, I noticed that all the seats faced backward and that there were only two windows. Quick as a bunny, I jumped into one of the two window seats! We were given life jackets and cranials, hard plastic fronted helmets which pilots wear, to don. Half an hour into the flight, as I gazed down at the endless sparkling sea, I saw eight small specks on the water. OH BOY! What had I gotten myself into this time! Those eight specks were the fleet, the largest being The USS Independence. We were going to land on one of those specks!! The fleet was steaming toward Hong Kong from Japan, where it was based at the time. As we braced for the landing, by tucking our heads into our legs with our arms wrapped around them and our feet propped high up against the seat in front of us, the plane touched down. Upon landing, it came to a quick rough abrupt halt in under 200 feet! The plane actually has a large hook which is attached to its rear undercarriage. The hook, hopefully, catches on one of the four cables, which are stretched across the deck of the carrier, to snag it.

We were formally greeted by the fleet commander and respective captains, all of whom had attended the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island! The obligatory photos were taken and then we entered this gigantic cavernous ship. It is twenty five stories from keel to mast top and is a huge self contained floating city which can travel up to 500 miles a day! We stepped through one hatch after another, from one endless compartment to another. All these hatch doors can be sealed shut if the occasion arises.

The destination was the officers’ dining room. We were treated to a scrumptious meal while watching our arrested landing on a large screen TV. All landings and take offs are taped in case of crashes. After lunch we toured the bridge where the captain oversees the running of that enormous ship. He sits in one of the most imposing chairs that I have ever seen, it looked like a quasi Barcalounger/throne, how fascinating!

We then retreated back down below for an air show, in our honor. Almost all of the 5,000 crew members were standing on the four acre expanse! All crew members must wear life jackets while on deck. It was quite colorful since they are all color coded for each specific shipboard duty, ours were white. It was a gorgeous bright blue sky day, wherever we were located, and the water was absolutely dazzling! I was tingling with excitement and my heart was thundering in my chest! As we were wandering around, by accident, I wandered into the exhaust of an idling jet! The heat was searing and it felt like my arm was going to melt off! OUCH! The private air show was stupendous with the jets circling the ship perpendicularly! It was amazing that the movement of that giant ship was barely perceptible while gliding over the waves.

When the show was over we were, yet again, escorted back to the officers’ dining room. We received our official USS Independence caps, small photo albums and official personalized certificates which stated that we were now honorary, “ USS Independence Tail Hookers”! The fleet commander told us that not even one in one million people ever have this opportunity! Thank you, sweet cousin Richard! Who ever said that family doesn’t come in handy!

As we prepared to take leave of the ship, I hadn’t given much consideration to just how this feat would be accomplished. A routine take off? WRONG! There are four catapult lines which are each 300 feet long. The catapult functions as a pressurized sling shot capable of launching a plane in a short linear distance. We belted ourselves in and again assumed the position. The next instant it felt like we were being shot through a tunnel, zero to 150 MPH in less than two seconds!! BANG! I thought that we had crashed, however it was the end of the catapult line! WHAT A RIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The cherished keepsakes, from that splendiferous adventure, have a very special place in my home. I especially enjoy my framed tail hooker certificate. I still pinch myself every time I look at it. This framed embossed sheet of paper represents the proof that this unbelievable experience actually happened to me!