US Navy November 1962 to April 1966

Dec 1964 to Nov 1966 off the coast of Nam

Our planes were on the first wave of Rolling Thunder

We were the first carrier group to go into the Gulf of Tonkin

When we arrived back in the US, we had been on deployment longer than any other surface ship since World War II.

Other fun stuff
When we left for Vietnam it was 89 days before we saw land again.

We were the first ship to ever retrieve a Sea Plane at sea

We had a plane hit the ramp at rear of the ship, did a complete flip landing on its wheels.  The pilot was unhurt and back in the air in about 10 minutes, yes in a different plane.

We had a very good Captain of the ship
