I believe I got my Squadrons and Fleets mixed up (there was a reason they didn't want me for a career...). I served in AMPHIBIOUS SQUADRON SEVEN attached to USS BRISTOL COUNTY LST 1198 and later the Squadron Commander. We chopped out to AMPHIBIOUS SQUADRON 3 once we crossed a line in the Pacific. So as you say Tom, 3rd Fleet to 7th Fleet. My brain thought SQUADRON 7 TO SQUADRON 3 ON outchop. My last ashore billet I worked as Training Coordinator for COMPHIBRON SEVEN as a JG. I pulled the CPR7 website and today CPR7 is the afloat SQUADRON Commander. CPR3 must be in San Diego.

http://www.cpr7.navy.mil/Default.aspx

It's been awhile. Finishing Active Duty as a grunt Lieutenant apparently I only absorbed to the Squadron level. Theater Level was beyond my capabilities....

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Originally posted by Tom K:
Not to be critical, but as 7th Fleet Intel Officer and TF 77, TF 76 COS and I must comment that the 3rd is the stateside command and the 7th is the Westpac Command. Give me some years and let's see if we ever crossed paths. I served with MAGV (61-64) USS Bon Homme Richard, - Air Group), USS Oriskany (Air Group) and USS Kitty Hawk (Air Group.). Then with NIC, (Navy Intelligne Command, Suitland) DIA, (Washington), CIA (Langley) and then JCS, Commander, 6th Fleet Staff, Commander 7th Fleet Staff, USAF 13th Air Force (Guam, SE Asia ) and a variety of Intelligence posts in CONUS. Retired May 2000, 39 years 8 mos, 21 days, but who's counting.

Tom, or Rusty: ever run into CDR Harry Jenkins? He was A-4 Squadron XO when shot down Vietnam 1968ish. He was in McCains squadron and after jail-time in the Hanoi Hilton he became CO of the Oriskanny. He was my Long EZ flying/buddy and hangar partner in San Diego.

Cdr Jenkins was the XO of VA 163 on USS Oriskany (CVA-34) when I was assigned to VFP-63 on the Westpac cruise to Vietnam in 1963-64 Since my aircraft were RF-8's we shared a ready room with VF-162 and did not operate directly with the Attack Squadrons. I did look him up in my cruise book and he was included in the Squadron photo. He became CO in late 1964 and was shot down in 1965. I had transferred hot deck to USS Kitty Hawk as Oriskany headed home for another eight months and returned to San Diego in September 1964. We probably met but I never flew with him or VA 163. We flew pre-strike recce and post strike BDA and they would be launching after we returned and recovering as we launched.

Wow! The Navy sounds really complicated. I don't even remember very much about my simple Army years.

quote:

Originally posted by Tom K:
Cdr Jenkins was the XO of VA 163 on USS Oriskany (CVA-34) when I was assigned to VFP-63 on the Westpac cruise to Vietnam in 1963-64 Since my aircraft were RF-8's we shared a ready room with VF-162 and did not operate directly with the Attack Squadrons. I did look him up in my cruise book and he was included in the Squadron photo. He became CO in late 1964 and was shot down in 1965. I had transferred hot deck to USS Kitty Hawk as Oriskany headed home for another eight months and returned to San Diego in September 1964. We probably met but I never flew with him or VA 163. We flew pre-strike recce and post strike BDA and they would be launching after we returned and recovering as we launched.

Harry Jenkins was a prince of a man. I knew him, his wife and kids for about 10 years; as I mentioned we flew experimental homebuilt aircraft (Long EZ's) together and were partners in a hangar. He was asked to speak once for the Experimental Aircraft Association chapter in SD once to relay his shootdown and captivity in North Vietnam: truly an amazing story start to finish: and brutal obviously. I believe he was something like 3rd or 4th in the U.S. chain of command in rank in the prison.
He died in his beloved Long EZ circa 1995 on the way home from the Oshkosh show and I went to his funeral in Coronado CA, where he lived. The Navy gave him an F-14 missing man formation and Admiral Stockdale spoke about Harry. He tapped out "Fair winds and Following Seas" in the code they manufactured in the Hanoi Hilton.
I am still in touch with his children:

A few years after Harry died in the Long EZ accident, his son Kirk who lived in Phoenix started attending more Rutan Design fly ins and attended Burt Rutan's birthday party in Mojave CA held every year. At Rutan's birthday party I believe circa 1996, Dick Rutan, Burt's brother and retired AF Fighter Pilot stood up at the large gathering, knowing Harry's son was present, and said that for many missions (going into years) he flew over North Vietnam he wore a POW bracelet with the name on it of US Navy Commander Harry Jenkins. He relayed that on every mission he looked below and thought of Harry. He took it off his wrist and walked over to Harry's son Kirk and presented it to him. Apparently in all the years we were involved with the Rutan aircraft community Dick Rutan had never mentioned this fact to anyone, especially Harry or his family.
The crowd was obviously awed by the circumstances of the connection between Dick Rutan (Famous brother Burt: first civilian in space program, and himself famous for flying the first airplane around the globe w/no refueling) and Harry.

Thought I'd share.

Harry T. Jenkins
http://www.pownetwork.org/bios/j/j025.htm

Dick Rutan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Rutan

Burt Rutan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burt_Rutan

quote:

Thought I'd share.

Thank you for sharing this touching story.

can i get a link to the hwh web site if we can !

quote:

Originally posted by robert and kimberly delucia:
can i get a link to the hwh web site if we can !

http://www.hwhcorp.com/