Monday 21 Nov. 1977

"I looked at my bottle of Vitamin C's & noticed that they're .50 grams instead of the 50 milligrams that I'd been thinking they were. I've been taking 8 - 10 pills a day to equal what I thought was the 500 milligrams a day that I'd been taking. Now I realize why I've felt so bad the last 2 weeks or so. . . I've been OD'ing on Vitamin C.

Got a letter from from Don Hay and a package from home today also. Then later I got a letter from Will & another one from home. So I wrote a few letters before hitting the sack."

Sunday 20 Nov. 1977

"Roger & I worked the whole night on the fwd camera, as of now (10:00) it still doesn't work. Day crew got the fwd C/L camera working, but there's more to do on it.

We started an inventory of all the spare parts in the shop. It has to be done before we leave Yokosuka. Looks like no Special Lib's in Japan. I may get to Tokyo, but I doubt it. I probably won't get off base."

Saturday 19 Nov. 1977

"Aft centerline camera broke this morning. It looks like we'll be working in Yoko, there's a lot that needs to be done. Chief got the aft camera working but the fwd one is down, something wrong with the CCU. (Camera Control Unit)

Slept awful, my back hurt when I got up. I feel really paranoid, I don't know why or about what though."

Friday 18 Nov. 1977

"Vice Admiral 'Somebody' (I don't remember), came on board today. I was in my rack when he got here. He is the Commander of the 7th Fleet.

Got no mail today. Went to bed after lunch. We were UNREP'ing with the 'Sacramento' when I got up at 23:00."

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Though I didn't remember at the time, I now know that the admiral was Vice Adm. Robert B. Baldwin. He came aboard and transferred his flag to the Kitty Hawk, thus making it his flagship, once we entered the operational theatre of the Western Pacific.

link to UNREP info 

Thursday 17 Nov. 1977

"One good thing about these hours that I work, I'm only eating 2 meals a day. I eat at lunch around 10 o'clock and then mid-rats about 12 hours later. I might even lose weight.

Got a letter from home today, but still nothing from Sue or Diane."

Wednesday 16 Nov. 1977

"Flew cycle ops all morning, about 4 hour cycles. Had a GQ at 08:45, lasted til about 10:30. Went to bed at 13:00 & slept poorly til10 minutes to midnight. I felt awful when I got up. That mattress hurts my back."

Tuesday 15 Nov. 1977

"PAYDAY today, only 12 more til I'm home! Passed thru a storm this morning. Saw lightening in the distance.

(Later)
Got paid $49.00, more than I expected. They had a "smoker" on the hanger deck this afternoon, I can't understand a bunch of grown men beating each others brains out just for fun. Got some ear plugs, slept a lot better tonight, except for the heat. Found out that Nara may be too far to visit when I'm in Japan. We'll see."

Monday 14 Nov. 1977

"A normal day. Moved into the Arresting Gear berthing today, tried to sleep from 16:00 to 21:00 but didn't sleep much at all. Between there being no ventilation in the racks, and all the noise that the AB's make, it's a wonder anyone can sleep. I ended up sleeping for 2 hours behind the equipment rack before I went to work."
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The A/G berthing compartment was located aft on the 03 deck directly beneath the flight deck and between 2 of the 4 arresting gear engine machinery rooms. I had moved from the OE berthing, which was much farther forward & down one deck on the 02 level.

Sunday 13 Nov. 1977

"The Lens went down just before the launch. Had to fly the MOVLAS most of the day. We isolated the problem to the LSO panel, the chief is fixing it..

Got the rest of my shots, I had to wait in line for over 2 hours. I got to bed finally at 16:00 & slept til 02:00, 2 hours late for work. While I was asleep, an F-14 came in and hit four S-3's when he landed. He hit the noses of the S-3's with his starboard wingtip."

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The "Lens" refers to the Fresnel Lens Optical Landing System (FLOLS). Because of the failure of the Lens, we rigged the MOVLAS (Manually Operated Visual Landing Aid System) as the back-up system. In this photo you can see the MOVLAS lit with the FLOLS dark behind it. (For more info on the optical landing systems click on this link)

 As for the incident with the F-14 (think "Top Gun"). The LSO (Landing Signal Officer) lined up the Tomcat too far to starboard. I heard later that one of the plane's landing lights was out and that he misjudged the plane's horizontal position. The S-3's (Viking) were parked with their noses just outside the foul deck/safety line and about 6 to 12 inches of the F-14's wingtip hit the fiberglass radar dome of each Viking. Imagine seeing them pop like light bulbs as each was struck by the wing. I watched the PLAT tape of that landing numerous times during this cruise.

(Click on this link  to read an interesting article from the pilot's POV of a similar night landing.)

Saturday 12 Nov. 1977

"Went to PLAT today. Checked out of OPS & into Air Dept. I found out I'll be getting flight deck pay. Started working night shift, 24:00 to 12:00, tonight. I'm LPO of the shop. I'm easing my way into the routine of the shop slowly, it'll take a few days. Got a dawn launch to prepare for, also got to get the deck edge cleaned."