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Show WES ORDGRE F BR 23,2004 from the tail of the plane. And they circled the island several times trying to decide exactly what to do to get him down. They couldn't land, they couldn't ditch out on the water or anything-it would kill him for sure-so fmally a chief petty officer and a pilot, lieutenant, JG, asked the skipper of the squadron there if they could take a plane up and see if they could get him. The skipper couldn't approve it-it was endangering both planes and all the lives-but the skipper said, "I'm going into my office." So he took off and more or less indicated, well, if you take it, it's on your own. But they did. It was an open cock-pit bi-plane, a two-wing bi-plane, and an open cockpit so they could get up to him. They flew up underneath him. The chief got in the front cockpit and he stood up there and he was going grab him and cut the shroud lines with a knife, so he'd drop in the cockpit. Well, they got up there and they finally got close enough and just about the time he grabbed his legs, there was a little bump in the air and the propeller hit the shroud lines and cut them, so the chief didn't have to cut them. But he dropped in the cockpit and the chief held onto him and they went and landed, of course, and saved his life. But the Marine said that he was conscious all the time this took place until he dropped into the cockpit. When he dropped in there he passed out. But they had a write-up in the San Diego paper about it, but I just happened to see most of that. I didn't actually see them grab him and pull him in. BEC: What an incredible story. WES: Then, in Pensacola, when I was in the training squadron, it was on the main base there until they dispersed us among the different various squadrons. I was a mechanic and was sent to a squadron that just opened up a new field, Ellyson Field, and they just got a few new airplanes soon after that. The old planes they were training cadets |
