Coast Guard Aviation Association (Ancient Order of the Pterodactyl)

TODAY IN COAST GUARD AVIATION HISTORY - 23 NOVEMBER 1991 (2 OF 2): a Sikorsky HH-60J #6012 assigned to Air Station Traverse City, MI and crewed by CDR Tom Walters (AC); LT Larry Musarra (CP); AD1 Mark McCabe (FM) and ASM2 Jim Metza (RS) launched in response to a Cessna 172 crash in the Upper Peninsula near Marquette, MI in challenging conditions with a severe winter storm blanketing the entire Great Lakes region, lowering ceilings to 100 feet and reducing visibility to 1/8 of a mile in heavy snow, which caused ice to form on the aircraft. It was the first test of the newly acquired HH-60J in extreme winter weather conditions. The Cessna, carrying 5 people, crashed in a snowstorm while flying from Chicago to Marquette, MI on the afternoon of 22 November. Air Station Traverse City launched the ready H-60 but they encountered severe ice and snow along with the onset of darkness, they diverted to an airport in Wisconsin where they got snowed in. A second aircrew was called in Saturday morning for the second launch before sun-up. Most of the aircrew had flown together extensively in Kodiak so they had great confidence they would find the crash site in spite of the weather. After crossing Lake Michigan visibility dropped to near zero in heavy snow. Approximately 10 miles from the crash site, the aircrew detected a weak emergency signal and tuned the DF system to home in on the crash. Within a few minutes, the aircrew saw a fire with the survivors gathered around it in a heavily wooded area. They deployed the rescue swimmer and recovered the survivors with the copilot and flight mechanic providing guidance during difficult hoists in white-out conditions. With the survivors on board, they headed for Marquette Airport where they landed and awaited the ambulances who were following snow plows from town. After the survivors were passed to the ambulances they took off and headed east out over Lake Superior until they could cross the Upper Peninsula in an obstacle-free area. However, the ceiling and visibility conditions worsened and the pilots decided to climb above the weather. They broke out at about 9,000 feet and continued back to Traverse City without further issues. LinkedIn character limit - learn more here: https://lnkd.in/gisTDkEn CDR Walters and LT Musarra earned Air Medals for this mission - while ASM2 Metza earned the Coast Guard Commendation Medal (CITATION below) and AD1 MacCabe earned the Coast Guard Achievement Medal. LT Musarra - https://lnkd.in/gsgdebfc ASM2 Metza - https://lnkd.in/g78Umaw9 ROV Missing Awards: CDR Walters - Air Medal; AD1 MacCabe - CGAM. Follow us on Instagram: https://lnkd.in/gXq6HCaN #helicopter Lockheed Martin GE Aerospace U.S. Coast Guard

TODAY IN COAST GUARD AVIATION HISTORY - 23 NOVEMBER 1984 (1 OF 2): a Sikorsky HH-52A #1421 assigned to Air Station Miami, FL and crewed by LTJG Michael K. Van Doren (AC); LTJG Brandt R. Weaver (CP) and AD3 Thomas W. Hanson (FM) launched in response to the 46-foot pleasure craft SUGAR BEAR with four persons aboard foundering in extremely heavy seas 90 miles east of Miami in deteriorating visibility due to darkness, blowing seas, and winds exceeding 50 knots. The aircrew located the vessel and after coordinating hoisting instructions with the aircrew and the SUGAR BEAR - the pilot and flight mechanic expertly guided the helicopter over the deck of the distressed vessel and began a series of hoists while remaining clear of the wildly slashing outriggers and tuna tower. During the second hoist, when the rescue basket became entangled with the boat’s rigging, the pilot and flight mechanic demonstrated superb flying skills, conning commands and crew coordination to free it. With three victims safely evacuated and no one to control the vessel’s heading, the last person was directed into the water. The aircrew then conducted a difficult, no-reference hoist from the sea, and successfully evacuated the last of the four survivors to safety. LTJG Van Doren earned the Distinguished Flying Cross for this mission while AD3 Hanson earned the Air Medal and LTJG Weaver earned the Coast Guard Commendation Medal - CITATIONs below. LTJG Van Doren - https://lnkd.in/gDmG9HXY AD3 Hanson - https://lnkd.in/gsmgU2nK LTJG Weaver - https://lnkd.in/gDhivw4e ROV Missing Awards: none. Follow us on Instagram: https://lnkd.in/gXq6HCaN #helicopter U.S. Coast Guard US Coast Guard Academy U.S. Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association Lockheed Martin GE Aerospace The Distinguished Flying Cross Society

TODAY IN COAST GUARD AVIATION HISTORY - 22 NOVEMBER 1934 (2 OF 2): a Douglas RD-1 ‘Dolphin’ seaplane (“ADHARA”, V-111 - in 1933, Coast Guard rescue aircraft were named after stars) assigned to Air Station Cape May , NJ and crewed by LT Richard L. Burke (AC); LT Edmund E. Fahey (several articles say Fales, but there was no U.S. Coast Guard Aviator named Fales and Fahey was assigned to Cape May at the time) (CP); MoMMC George English (FE) and RDX Charles Evers (RM) launched to medically evacuate 18-year old (some articles say 6-year old) Armistead O'Neal from Ocracoke Island, NC bleeding to death from a wood chopping injury. There was no doctor available and due to the isolated location he was in, relief by a plane seemed the only chance of saving his life. Although darkness was approaching and the weather looked heavy and hazy with a 250 mile night blind flight (this refers to flying on instruments in the clouds - which was a dicey proposition in 1934^^^), the very apparent serious condition of the injured warranted making the risky flight and Lieutenant R . L . Burke took off at 3 :55 P. M. and proceeded in the ADHARA to the assistance of the injured man. Darkness set in at 4:30 and from then on it was night flying through haze and clouds until 8:30 at which time a landing was made in the sound off Ocracoke Island amid fish stakes, mud flats and other obstacles to the plane. However, a safe landing was made although the plane ran aground on mudflats in the sound. The patient was brought aboard the plane from a rowboat. He had been injured about 11:30 A.M. that date and was bleeding profusely when brought aboard the plane. The plane took off safely at 7:45 P.M. amidst fish stakes, unlighted buoys and mudflats. Arrived at Norfolk Naval Air Station at 8:30 P.M. and the patient was rushed to hospital in a waiting ambulance which had been requested from the plane. The pilot and crew of the plane on this hazardous flight have received official commendation from Secretary the Treasury, Morgenthau, and no doubt deserve it. Would love to know more about this statement "The pilot and crew of the plane on this hazardous flight have received official commendation from Secretary the Treasury, Morgenthau, and no doubt deserve it." - an award? A Letter of Commendation? Learn more about Richard L. Burke here: https://lnkd.in/g_EF69yU ^^^ = recall that only five years earlier, on September 24, 1929, US Army LT Jimmy Doolittle, became the first to use only instrument guidance to take off, fly a set course and land. Thank you to Daniel Joseph for the news clippings. ROV Missing Awards: maybe “official commendation from Secretary of the Treasury Morgenthau”? Follow us on Instagram: https://lnkd.in/gXq6HCaN #aircraft Boeing US Coast Guard Academy U.S. Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association Pratt & Whitney

/// COLD CASE - NEED HELP /// TODAY IN COAST GUARD AVIATION HISTORY - 22 NOVEMBER 1968 (1 OF 2): a Sikorsky HH-52A #1460 assigned to Air Station San Francisco, CA and crewed by unknown (AC); unknown (CP) and unknown (FM) launched in response to a Japan Airlines DC-8 with 107 persons aboard that disappeared from the radar during final approach to San Francisco International Airport. When the aircraft launched, visibility was 3/4-mile in fog and the ceiling was 300 feet. The aircrew located the aircraft in the water 6,100 yards from the runway with people on the wings boarding life rafts. Within seven minutes, two additional helicopters and a U.S. Coast Guard boat were on the scene. All 107 persons were saved. Jerry Mohlenbrok sends: I was stationed at SFO when this accident occurred. Unfortunately, I don't remember the names of the 1460's crew members, but I launched with LTJG Joe Coleman in H-52A #1388 to assist in the rescue. We didn't actually do much as the pax and crew were taken ashore via boats, including a 30' UTB assigned to the Air Station. I do recall looking at the airplane sitting in the water with no visible damage - it was surreal, especially in the foggy conditions. As I recall, the fact that the landing occurred during low tide was fortunate in that the aircraft settled in the mud just short of the runway - I think the tidal range is in excess of 8 feet, so at high tide, the outcome might not have been so fortuitous. The aircraft was lifted onto a barge and then offloaded at the Air Station ramp for the short tow to the UAL maintenance facility. Quite amazing that it lived to fly again for a long time, although the name was changed. Gary Van Nevel and Bill Wolfe, as well as Joe Coleman were stationed there at the time. Maybe they have more recollections. ### Lots of information on the plane crash - not much on the Coast Guard piece - would love some audience participation for this one. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/gVtgHkEE and here (video): https://lnkd.in/gfpWKYN8 ROV Missing Awards: unknown. Follow us on Instagram: https://lnkd.in/gXq6HCaN #helicopter Lockheed Martin GE Aerospace US Coast Guard Academy U.S. Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association

TODAY IN COAST GUARD AVIATION HISTORY - 21 NOVEMBER 1994: an Airbus Helicopters HH-65A #6588 assigned to Group/Air Station Corpus Christi, TX and crewed by LCDR James A. McEwen (AC); LT Stu Dutton (CP); AD3 Troy A. Cantrell (FM) and ASM1 Roger M. Westerhoff (RS) launched in response to a serious explosion and fire on Seagull Energy E&P Inc's offshore natural gas rig at approximately 6 PM on November 20, 1994. Another HH-65A #6551 was launched shortly after and crewed by LT Sal Palmeri (AC); LTJG Kurt Richter (CP); AM3 Robert C. Mahan (FM) and ASM1 Allen Yates (RS). Kirk Kelley was the foreman on the platform, along with two other men, Wesley Ardoin and Greg Weber,. They all worked for a Cypress contractor called Baker Maintenance and Operation Services. At about 5:50 p.m. Kelley, Ardoin and Weber were preparing to eat dinner when the a gas alarm went off. Kelley, who was on the phone, shouted to the others to close down the gas well. "As soon as I got that out it blew," Kelley said. "I saw the fireball hit me. I knew it blew me back, but I didn't know how far. I knew I was on fire. I knew I didn't have any hair. I thought my ears were gone. It hurt, and then it didn't hurt." Kelley, as it turned out, had been burned over 59 percent of his body; his back, legs, hands and feet took the worst of it. Ardoin and Weber had burns over 35 and 63 percent of their bodies, respectively. The three men -- barefoot, their clothing shredded -- spent 15 hours on the crumpled platform before the U.S. Coast Guard rescued them. Ardoin's eyes were swollen shut and Weber was in shock. Kelley served as their nurse and counselor during the ordeal, which was only beginning. The explosion turned the rig into a mass of twisted, burning metal making it impossible to land on the rig's severely damaged helipad, requiring the crew to hoist the rescue swimmer and victims from a precarious position between the rig's crane and the still burning remains of the destroyed helipad. LinkedIn limit - more here: https://lnkd.in/gmmB2cJr LCDR McEwen earned the DFC for this mission while AD3 Cantrell and ASM1 Westerhoff earned the Air Medal. Similarly, LT Palmeri, AM3 Mahan and ASM1 Yates earned the Air Medal. LT Dutton and LTJG Richter earned Coast Guard Commendation Medals. CITATIONS below: LCDR McEwen - https://lnkd.in/g7CKPJZM AD3 Cantrell - https://lnkd.in/ejZGayik ASM1 Westerhoff - https://lnkd.in/eTz6ePTq LT Palmeri - https://lnkd.in/gcBPyEUs ASM1 Yates - https://lnkd.in/gA8A7YXi ROV Missing Awards - LT Dutton & LT Richter - Coast Guard Comm Medals. Follow us on Instagram: https://lnkd.in/gXq6HCaN #helicopter Airbus Honeywell Rockwell Collins

TODAY IN COAST GUARD AVIATION HISTORY - 19-20 NOVEMBER 1950: a Sikorsky HO3S-1G helicopter #unknown assigned to Air Station San Francisco, CA and crewed by LCDR Gordon H. MacLane^^^ (AC) and AO2 Gerdo W. Peyton (FM) launched in response to severe flooding 140 miles southeast in Fresno County, California. The Newspapers described these two U.S. Coast Guard Aviators as "Heroes of the Kings River Flood". Although very ill with the flu, MacLane flew for 16 hours saving 36 people from "tiny islands in the seas of muddy swirling water". The entire Coast Guard contingent consisting of 2 twin-engined observation planes###, the helicopter, an amphibious truck and a communications truck conducted daring coordinated air ground rescue operations and saved 74 lives. ### - one article mentions "Two other coast guard planes from San Francisco, piloted by LT Glenn Thompson (CG Aviator #514) and LTJG Milton McGregor (CG Aviator #529), flew aver the flooded area spotting survivors for MacLane and surface rescuers." Helicopter pilot CDR Gordon H. MacLane, 31, summed up 14 hours of air rescue operations today by declaring: "I was going up and down so "It was wicked. Aviation mechanic Gerdo W. Peyton and myself were In the air from 6:30 yesterday morning until 8 o'clock last night. "Our Job was to pick up people stranded in areas where ground equipment could not go. We had two planes spotting for us, but it was our job to find the dry spot and pick up those poor people. Physically it was about the toughest assignment I have had yet. MacLane left a sick bed with a severe cold to do a Job of rescuing 38 persons, Including a 3 year-old baby. "My toughest job yesterday was after sundown when we had to fly under high tension wires 40 feet off the ground to rescue nine persons trapped by the roughest water I have seen in a long time. "They were in Pierce's tavern on the bank of the Kings river near Mlnkler. There must have been a good 20 feet of water on all sides. We were able to land on an elevated highway a few hundred yards away. We got them across to the road two at a time, using a rope to pull them in. ' "Taking off was even tougher. That wind was whistling through the trees, and God that air was turbulent They were damn happy to get out. They had been stranded there since Saturday night." AO2 Peyton earned a Commendation Ribbon*** (this differs from a Letter of Commendation) - CITATION below. I was unable to locate an award for LCDR MacLane. AO2 Peyton - https://lnkd.in/gSfiKTSW *** = The Coast Guard Commendation Medal was created in 1947 as a ribbon - in 1959 it changed to a medal. LinkedIn character limit - learn more here: https://lnkd.in/gD4_WsxQ ROV Missing Awards: LCDR MacLane - unknown. Follow us on Instagram: https://lnkd.in/gXq6HCaN #helicopter Lockheed Martin Pratt & Whitney

/// COLD CASE - NEED HELP - anyone have contact with Smith? /// TODAY IN COAST GUARD AVIATION HISTORY - 19 NOVEMBER 1983 (4 OF 4): a Sikorsky HH-52A #1444 assigned to Group/Air Station North Bend, OR and crewed by LCDR Lewis Dunn (AC); LT Steve Hilferty (CP) and AD2 Brian Smith (FM) launched at night in response to the 350-foot Japanese freighter BLUE MAGPIE with 19 Korean sailors aboard grounded and breaking up on the Yaquina Bay north jetty in challenging conditions including “40-knot-crosswinds" and 18-foot-high breakers slamming onto the starboard side of the freighter. On 19 November 1983, BLUE MAGPIE was en route to Vancouver, to pick up lumber, after unloading a cargo of Salvadoran coffee in Long Beach, California. Caught up in a storm, the ship attempted to take shelter in Yaquina Bay, but smashed into a coastal rock jetty and broke apart, causing a major oil spill. From an article on Dunn’s retirement: “Dunn flew a HH-52 helicopter out of North Bend Air Station in Oregon into a terrible storm that night to save a Korean crew that had run aground in a 350-foot trawler. As winds gusted to 60 knots and heavy rain blinded him, Dunn lowered his chopper to within a few feet of a wildly swinging cargo-handling mast. Crew chief Brian Smith, watching from the rescue door, guided his pilot. ``It was like driving through Norfolk blindfolded with the guy beside you telling you where to go,'' said Dunn. The ship was rapidly breaking apart. Dunn and his crew took 10 men in the first load, six more than they were supposed to carry. After dropping them off at a nearby airport, they returned two more times to save the rest.” Three U.S. Coast Guard aviators stationed in North Bend received medals Tuesday for their "extraordinary and meritorious achievement" in the rescue of 19 seamen last November. LCDR Lewis Dunn and AD2 Brian Smith earned awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the highest peace-time medal normally awarded for aviation exploits. LT Steve Hilferty had to disembark the helo at Newport field. The medals were presented by Rear Adm. Harold W. Parker, commander of the 13th Coast Guard District. Dunn CITATION below: https://lnkd.in/gbMRS_4u ROV Missing Awards: AD2 Smith - Air Medal. Follow us on Instagram: https://lnkd.in/gXq6HCaN #helicopter Lockheed Martin GE Aerospace The Distinguished Flying Cross Society

TODAY IN COAST GUARD AVIATION HISTORY - 19 NOVEMBER 1943 (2 OF 3): an "amphibious aircraft" Douglas RD-4 (possibly tail number V-132) assigned to Air Station Miami (Dinner Key), FL and crewed by LT Ira H. McMullen and AMM 1/c Ross H. Terrien launched in response to two men who had parachuted from a US Navy TBF from Opa-Locka that had an engine failure during glide bomb training eight miles offshore near Fowey Rocks Light. I have limited information on this case and was hoping for some audience participation. Terrien earned the Navy & Marine Corps Medal for going into the water to aid these men - interestingly, I learned today that the Navy and Marine Corps Medal falls between the Air Medal and DFC in precedence. I found the lengthy Air Medal CITATION in a 1940s Commandant's Bulletin - I found the shorter CITATIONS in a WWII "Book of Valor" put out by the Coast Guard Historian's Office many years ago... AMM 1/c Terrien's Navy and Marine Corps Medal CITATION: https://lnkd.in/gC22ifGn LT McMullen's Air Medal CITATION:https://lnkd.in/gfF93Thf I found this in a May 1944 Bureau of Naval Personnel Bulletin: *Ross H. Terrien, AMM1c, USCG, Steilacoom, Wash.: During the rescue of two members of a plane lost off Fowey Rocks Light, Fla., 19 November 1943, he courageously went over the side of the rescuing aircraft and, swimming against gigantic waves, carried a line to the weak and exhausted men, who were then hauled aboard. ROV Missing Awards: none follow us on Instagram: https://lnkd.in/gXq6HCaN #aircraft U.S. Coast Guard Boeing Pratt & Whitney

TODAY IN COAST GUARD AVIATION HISTORY - 19 NOVEMBER 1943 (1 OF 3): The Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King, USN, approved and designated U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Brooklyn at Floyd Bennett Field, New York as the very first “Helicopter Training and Development Base”. The location was ideal as it was only 73 miles to the Sikorsky Plant in Stratford, CT. This base trained a total of 102 helicopter pilots and 225 mechanics during WWII, including personnel from the US Army Air Force, US Navy, United States Marine Corps, Coast Guard and the British Army, Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Navy. The training portion was to be “under the supervision of the CNO’s Aviation Training Division Op-33,” and the development program remained under the Bureau of Aeronautics. [Excerpt from "Wonderful Flying Machines: A History of U.S. Coast Guard Helicopters" by Barrett Thomas Beard] However, Erickson did not wait for this approval; he had moved the three Navy helicopters and students to Floyd Bennett Field the first week in November. The first helicopter flown there by Erickson was received with less than an enthusiastic welcome. LTJG Stewart Graham, who piloted the craft, with Erickson along on the flight, remembers that, after landing: "We weren't received or greeted with open arms. The Air Station personnel looked at the machine, then at us, in bemusement, as if to say, 'Better you guys in that contraption than us." Erickson wrote of the move, “Captain (William J.) Kossler (who we honored yesterday on the anniversary of his passing in 1945) was instrumental for having this station designated as the first Military or Naval helicopter base.” The timing of the move to New York and the needed arrangements seemed to fall easily in place, thanks to Kossler. Eventually, on 3 January 1944, CDR Frank Erickson flew the first ever rescue flight by helicopter when he piloted a HNS-1, carrying two cases of blood plasma, from Floyd Bennett Field to Manhattan to Sandy Hook, New Jersey, during a violent storm, for the treatment of Navy crewmen from the destroyer USS TURNER, which had exploded and burned off New York Harbor. While at Floyd Bennett Field, Erickson and his team went on to develop equipment such as the hydraulic hoist, rescue slings and baskets, floats that permitted helicopters to land on water and techniques like landing and taking off from vessels at sea and hovering in all weather and wind conditions. ROV Missing Awards: none. Follow us on Instagram: https://lnkd.in/gXq6HCaN #helicopter Office of the Chief of Naval Operations United States Air Force Lockheed Martin Clinton Machine Co.

/// Anyone know Michael Brady - would love a copy of his Air Medal /// TODAY IN COAST GUARD AVIATION HISTORY - 18 NOVEMBER 1994: a Sikorsky HH-60J #6034 assigned to Air Station Elizabeth City, NC and crewed by LT Jack Newby (AC); LT Michael Brady (CP); AT2 Matthew Moyer (FM) and ASM2 Michael Thomas (RS) launched at night in response to the 49-foot Hinkley ketch PILGRIM with three aboard and its engine disabled and sails in tatters, and in danger of foundering in 40-foot seas in the dead of night 100 miles offshore being pummeled by 55-knot winds in the Gulf Stream. This sailboat was caught in the remnants of the same winter storm that produced yesterday's case with the MARINE FLOWER II. The aircrew was engaged in the nighttime rescue of three crewmembers from the sailing vessel PILGRIM, which was encountering treacherous seas associated with Hurricane GORDON, 100 miles east of Elizabeth City, North Carolina. The aircrew found the PILGRIM being battered by 30-to 40-foot seas, her sails in ribbons, the mast support partially ripped from its mount, and the engine dead. After a thorough evaluation of all rescue options, the aircrew made the tough decision to deploy the rescue swimmer. Although this option exposed the rescue swimmer directly to the perils of the stormy seas, it offered the crew of PILGRIM their best chance of survival. Each time the rescue swimmer was deployed, a member of PILGRIM's crew went into the water. With the dark skies above and black fearsome seas below, the pilot was forced to hover at night, with no other visual references except for the huge, foam-covered seas sweeping past the searchlight's beam. Storm-force winds and the sea's constant tossing of the basket and survivors made positioning of the helicopter a physical battle. The rescue swimmer was forced to battle extreme seas and 50 knot winds in order to reach the victims. Once each victim was in tow, he swam towards the basket only to have it ripped from his grasp by the pounding waves. After each recovery, the rescue swimmer - exhausted from the previous hoist - volunteered to reenter the water. The final hoist was the most demanding. The last victim was swept well past him, with only the screams and a strobe attached to the victim to indicate his location. LinkedIn character limit - learn more here: https://lnkd.in/gm8uc8dW LT Newby and ASM2 Thomas earned the Distinguished Flying Cross while LT Brady and AT2 Moyer earned the Air Medal for this case - CITATIONS below: LT Newby - https://lnkd.in/eEAgmCzJ ASM2 Thomas - https://lnkd.in/gSypC5UQ AT2 Moyer - https://lnkd.in/gfzkj6CT ROV Missing Awards: LT Brady - Air Medal. Follow us on Instagram: https://lnkd.in/gXq6HCaN #helicopter U.S. Coast Guard Lockheed Martin GE Aerospace