28 Feb 2013
Pensacola is home to the Naval Aviation Museum, which we
visited today. A member of the Merchant Marines from the World War II
generation gave us a tour, and as is usual with tours, it brought the place to
life for me. I’ll mention just two of the many planes on display.
One is the only American plane, a Dauntless dive bomber, still
in existence from Pearl Harbor. It went on to fight at the Battle of Midway and
limped back with over 200 bullet holes and inoperable landing gear on one side.
At the carrier the crew was told to bail out and ditch the aircraft, but
because the co-pilot was wounded, they decided to try to land anyway, and
managed to do it successfully. The plane was returned to be a trainer plane at
Lake Michigan and ended up at the bottom. Years later it was recovered and
restored for this museum.
The second story is of a little Cessna, used by a major of
the South Vietnamese military to try to escape at the end of the war. He packed
his wife and five children into the plane and took off in the direction where
he believed he might find an American aircraft carrier. When by good fortune he
found the carrier, he dropped notes explaining his predicament until one of the
notes was retrieved from the flight deck. The carrier was already so crowded
with U.S. planes and helicopters that a senior officer on board told the
captain “Your career is over if you push any of those helicopters overboard!”
But the captain disobeyed and discarded enough helicopters from the flight deck
that the little Cessna could land, putting human life ahead of equipment. The
Vietnamese family ultimately settled in Pensacola and all have become very
successful here.
It seems we have timed our visit for unseasonably cold
weather, depending on which expert you consult. We've taken three walks to the beach and needed to bundle up every
time, although Great Husband did wear shorts once so he could walk briefly in
the Gulf of Mexico. We are collecting shells for the grandkids to play with
later on this trip.
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| On Santa Rosa Island. Wind-blown snow. Oops. Wind-blown sand. |
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| Boardwalk through the dunes on Santa Rosa Island |
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| Cold waters of the Gulf of Mexico |
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| The great Corsair, flown by Pappy Boyington with the Black Sheep Squadron |
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| Blue Angels |
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| Some stylish digs in Pensacola |
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And more stylish digs in Pensacola Beach.
We like the pastel colors. |
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| Back to the beach in our winter coats |
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| Aaargggh, maties! |
Peg Leg Pete’s Oyster Bar is a popular and lively restaurant
in Pensacola Beach, and we had a wonderful dinner there. Mine was blackened grouper
with Cajun sauce, sugar snap peas, rice pilaf, and garlic bread. Fabulous!
Great Husband has been eating an anti-migraine diet for 5-6 weeks now with
great success, so eating at a restaurant was a special treat. We’re counting on
no ill results.
I'm guessing that the Vietnamese pilot, by placing seven people on board, was well outside of the weight-and-balance envelope of the Cessna. Probably made the thing tough to fly, let alone land on an aircraft carrier! What an incredible story.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's a phenomenal story. Those who witnessed that large family emerging from the tiny plane were absolutely amazed.
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