Remembering Navy Days and the EC-121K

Back in January, we had a camping trip that I haven’t blogged about yet because I wanted to include some memories from Bubba’s stint in the Navy.  We camped at Rocky Bayou State Park which I have talked about before, but the reason we went there was a desire we had to visit the National Naval Aviation Museum located in Pensacola, FL.  Bubba’s research indicated that a plane like those he flew on as a radar man for four years was on display there.  Our goal was to get a picture of him next to the wheel of the plane at age 72 to match the picture of him at age 17 while he was active military.

In addition to this plan, we wanted to see my brother, Len, who I don’t get to see very often.  We made arrangements to meet Len for lunch and then he accompanied us to the museum where he and his son, Larson, are frequent visitors.

Upon arrival we discovered that the plane, a EC-121K, was located on the tarmac with other planes and we could only get to it by taking a guided bus tour.  Len used his charm to get us all on the last bus of the day and we were able to see the plane from the bus and get some pictures, but not the picture we wanted.  We hope to go back when the Blue Angels are there because, according to Len, they open up those gates for the crowd to enter then.  The museum was very interesting and if you took time to read all the information on the different aircraft, you could easily spend the entire day there.

Bubba took this picture while in the Navy.

This is the picture taken at the Naval Aviation Museum.

Bubba loved being in the Navy.  To say that his life experiences were limited until then would be an understatement.  Since Bubba was only 17, he needed a parent’s signature to enlist.  His mother refused but his dad agreed to do it. Bubba, his best friend Johnnie Tiner, and another friend Mays Brown enlisted together.  After their boot camp training together, they pretty much went in different directions.  Bubba was very homesick.  At night he would dream of home and he says that he could hear the screen door on his back porch slamming in his dreams and wake up thinking he was home.  He soon got over his homesickness and began to experience a new life filled with travel and new experiences.

When filling out a form stating where he would prefer to be stationed, he listed Panama City, Pensacola, or Jacksonville.  He was assigned to Keflavic, Iceland.  Boy, that was a long way from Florida.  He was a radar man on a plane flying surveillance missions over the North Atlantic between Greenland and Iceland and between Iceland and Scotland.  It was at the height of the Cold War and the U.S. constantly watched for Russian submarines, ships, and aircraft.  Remember this was way before we had modern surveillance methods.  There were always planes in the air keeping us safe.  Bubba remembers being in the air during the Cuban Missile Crisis and realizing the seriousness of that situation.  (In the meantime I was just a typical teenager going through life without a care in the world other that finding a dress for the prom.) Bubba enjoyed the comradery he shared with his crew.  They had a cook on the plane who would fix them anything they wanted.  When they arrived back at the base in the middle of the night, the cooks were called to the dining hall to prepare them steak and eggs for a late night breakfast. (And yet, he weighed only 130 pounds when I met him.)

I can see why his mother wouldn't sign.
He's just a little boy!

He had over 100 flights which made him a member of the Century Club.

Bubba had the opportunity to visit New York City on his way to Iceland.  He ate his first “real” pizza while in boot camp.  He visited Puerto Rico when he flew on a nonstop flight there from Argentia, Newfoundland.  He visited Scotland where he gave his class ring to a young woman who is probably still waiting for him to come back for her.  (My attempt at humor!)  He visited Nova Scotia, the Azore Islands, explored Iceland and Newfoundland and saw an island being formed from a volcanic eruption.

He “mustered out” at age 21 from the Philadelphia Naval Yard.  He returned home and had a hard time finding employment.  He began to consider re-enlisting which his parents were strictly against and finally was offered a job at the Panama City Fire Department.  It paid nearly nothing and he helped install air conditioners for Sears on the side.  Eventually he went to the paper mill in Panama City for higher wages.

Bubba has stated many times that he regretted not re-enlisting.  Of course, hindsight is always 20/20.  The Vietnam War was coming.  It might not have been a career of flying back to base to steak and eggs in the middle of the night.  And he might not have met me.  After all I lived just up the road from him for years without meeting.  He also thinks that the military is the best option for young men who seem to be unable to figure out what they want to do with their lives.  It teaches discipline, honor, respect, loyalty and responsibility.  I think he’s probably right on that.

Of course, we plan to go back and when we get that perfect picture I’ll be sure to post it to my blog.