Date: Sun, 02 Jan 2000
From:Jebakk@progworks.net
To: pdxavets@aracnet.com
Subject: Dominic 1
I was at Johnston Island in 1962 as a 2nd. mechanic and became plane captain while there. I went to Radiac school in Pearl Harbor before testing started.
I flew with crew 2, VP-9 out of Alameda, California. We had Geiger counters on each aircraft and patrols were up to 10 hours long. We patroled a given area for ships and dropped flare bundles with messages in them to tell ships the fastest way out, all for surface, above surface & under surface shots.
For high altitude shots we were locked in onboard ship and told when it was safe to come out and that was before the shock wave hit. Goggles were worn when a shot was at sea and we were on patrol. We had a 10 mile distance we had to be from ground zero. We got hit with a couple of good shock waves and I think we were closer than our 10 mile limit. We were always flying away from blast.
From what I can put together, I went through 9 shots while
there. I ran into two highschool friends on the Island. One came out of Washington, on a
P2V-7, the other was on a tug boat that was there. I still see them sometimes, we all live in the St. Paul Minnesota area.
VP-9 was the squadron I was in and flew for 3 years logging around 4000 hours flying time. I joined US NAVY on 10-30-60, and was discharged on 10-30-64. Three years at NAS
Aameda, and one year at NAS Jacksonville, Florida. All what they called prefered SEA DUTY.
John Bakken
Email jebakk@progworks.net
Keith Whittle
January 6, 2000