"Al,I remember that night,luckily I was TAD to the master at arms.Either one of us could have been on the flightdeck when it happened.Do you remember an f-4 crashing into the rounddown in heavy seas during carrier quals?Flight operations on an…"
"I remember charlie,he was a good guy and really intelligent.Did you know he got pulled over for speeding coming back from leave in that big ole bonneville he had.He must have been hauling it because they arrested him for reckless driving and he…"
"Hey Max it's great to have you onboard. You might remember me for falling off an airplane and breaking my arm. You're right ,being on the line crew was one of those great life experiences that you don't even realize at the time . We were young and…"
"Hi Mac, good to have you with us .What part of the country do You live in ?Seems like I'm the only one in the south (near Nashville TN.) . I 've been blessed with a good wife of 28 years, 2 kids and one grandbaby . Bring us up to speed on what…"
"Thanks for posting all those pics Paisan,man you had the mother lode.Sure wish I had gotten off the ship at Rota but I had duty on the way in and restriction on the way out."
"John,that was Bowie Md. but I don't remember many details of the trip.I think Hooper was with us and you guys met up with somebody and went on.Your right about that van,it broke down on the way back to Oceana and I spent the night in it.Woke up…"
"John,remember going out in the Jax Beach area one night in Smitty's Jeep with a couple bottles of rum,I think Harv was with us. On the way in to the base we started picking up buddies that were walking.When we got to the gate there must have been 12…"
"Got another one.BB,harv,and john at Randy's disco in Jackson Fla.we Had driven my VW from Oceana .The night ended with john spewing all over a table then BB and harv got in a fight over who was gonna sit in back with him."
"Hey Paison,How bout that night at cecil field we each had a fifth of whiskey .Less than a hour later saw you finish yours so I chugged the rest of mine.Rest of the night pretty blurry but I think BB was there.I pukked and you guys wrestled my…"
"Oh yea,anybody remember that newyears eve party when wally wrecked that beautiful 67 camaro into farmers mustang and somebody's VW.Guess I got a few brain cells left ,though I did try smoke 'em out.Finally gave it all up and life is great sober."
"wow,the floodgates are open now.Paison,I'd recognize anywhereJohn Stempfle,how the heck are you?I,ll send some messages as soon as I get a little time."
"Hey harv,it's great to hear from you.Looks like you're holding up well,must be all that clean living.I found Al almost by accident a while back.I googled VA-85,clicked on military.com and his picture was on the home page.I nearly fell out of my…"
Hey Woody,
Good to hear from you. Glad life has treated you well. I've been in Florida, near Orlando for the last twenty some years. Married 31 years, a boy, girl, son in law, and two grandsons. This has been fun catching up with the old scroundrels. Looking at everyone's pictures, I can't believe we were all so young and pretty. I hope we can all get together sometime in the not too distant future.
Later - Mac
Wallys 67 camero I bet he is still crying over that one to this day when you see what kind of money they are worth wasn't that on the street that paison lived on.Woody was it you that had the vw bug we made the trip from Jax to oceana in.
Ahoy James
I'm not sure how far Smyrna is from Knoxville but I thought I add this comment anyway.
I am forming a Navy Club in Knoxville and would be honored to have you as a member. If you would like to know more, email me or add a comment to my profile. Hope to hear from you soon.
I was in the AE shop from '75 to '78. Worked the flight deck last two years. I remember the inflight mishap with one of our planes and an EA6B. One pilot parachuted right into a Vigilante and my Divo told me to put the pieces in a trash bag.
Comments
Hi James,
This Bev, Max's wife.
I wanted to let you know that Max passed away unexpectedly on Sept 17, 2016.
His service will not be until January 27, 2017, when our son can be here from Bahrain.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sptimes/obituary.aspx?pid=182629879
Jim,
Are you planning on atttending the VA 85 reunion in September in Va Beach? I will definately be there, it would be good to catch up on old times.
Good to hear from you. Glad life has treated you well. I've been in Florida, near Orlando for the last twenty some years. Married 31 years, a boy, girl, son in law, and two grandsons. This has been fun catching up with the old scroundrels. Looking at everyone's pictures, I can't believe we were all so young and pretty. I hope we can all get together sometime in the not too distant future.
Later - Mac
I'm not sure how far Smyrna is from Knoxville but I thought I add this comment anyway.
I am forming a Navy Club in Knoxville and would be honored to have you as a member. If you would like to know more, email me or add a comment to my profile. Hope to hear from you soon.
Good to have you onboard!
Do you remember what "farmer's" name was?