The Moving Wall

Last night my dad and I drove out to Elkhorn, Nebraska to see The Moving Wall. Recognized as the only true replica of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C., the Moving Wall is a perfect half-size copy of the actual memorial. A little background on the Moving Wall, it is 252.83 feet long and stands six feet in height at the vertex. It is made of aluminum with a surface painted using a two-part polyurethane gloss black. There are 58,253 names on the Wall with 395 names from Nebraska and over 850 names from Iowa.

As we initially made our way up to the wall, my dad was stopped by another Navy man who saw my dad's black USS Oriskany ballcap. The gentleman had been on an escort ship for the USS Kearsarge and he instantly shared with my dad his appreciation of the Oriskany. My dad always gets a big smile on his face when he talks with someone about the Oriskany. They both agreed that it was a shame that the "Mighty O" had been sunk. We took a few minutes to orient ourselves to the design of the Wall and how it is laid out. We were soon able to start finding the names of some Omaha men on the Wall as well as several Oriskany sailors and pilots whose names we had written down. Some of the names that we looked for were Frank Elkins, Norman Roggow, Charles Boggs and Harry Juntilla from the Oriskany, and James Fous and Miguel Keith, both from Omaha and both Medal of Honor recipients. I was also able to find John Geoghegan and Willie Godboldt, soldiers of the 7th Cavalry Regt. who died in the Ia Drang Valley in November 1965 and are located next to each other on the Wall.
The above photo is from Panel 11E which records the names of most of the Oriskany men who perished from the October 26, 1966 fire. We had a list of all 44 men and looked for them toward the bottom of this panel.
Shown in the center of the above photo is the name of Norman L. Roggow. He is the Oriskany pilot whose body was recently returned to his family in Le Mars, Iowa. I posted some more information about him on this blog back in February.
We did rubbings for several of the names to take home as momentos. The name of CDR Harry W. Juntilla was on the top line of Panel 12E, so I had to get a step ladder to reach it. CDR Juntilla was the head of CIC on the Oriskany when my dad was aboard. His name is shown at the top of the above photo with the clouds reflecting from above. When I got down and handed my dad the rubbing for CDR Juntilla, he got somewhat emotional and had to take a few steps back. It kind of catches me by surprise sometimes... these emotions are real feelings that I myself have never had to experience, the loss of a comrade or friend. For someone like me born in 1975, these are the names of the men and women who have died in service to our country. But for those who lived through those times, these are their friends, brothers, husbands, and sons. I can easily see how some of the feelings experienced at the Wall can become overwhelming.
I thought this was a touching photo that I took of a visitor reading the names on the Wall. It was just a simple, heart-felt moment that I was fortunate enough to be observing from a distance.

At 8:00P.M., all 395 names from the state of Nebraska were read aloud for those in attendance to hear, names that the Wall knows all too well. We listened in silence as the list of those both remembered and forgotten rolled on, minute by minute, and town by town. After the last name was called, a lone bugler ended the night with a soft and sorrowful rendition of 'Taps". It was a touching moment that I will not soon forget. As the wall darkened with the onset of night, my dad and I headed home as our night came to an end. I felt very fortunate to be able to see the Moving Wall that night and to be able to share in some memories and some stories of Vietnam with my father.

Oriskany's Most Colorful C.O.

Commander Richard M. (Dick) Bellinger is one of the truly unique characters in U. S. naval aviation history. “Belly One” or “Belly,” as he was affectionately known, was a one-of-a-kind fighter pilot who may have seemed somewhat of a dinosaur by the 1960’s. He was a real “throwback” to an earlier era in air combat and had a notorious reputation as a “raging bull” who often seemed out-of-control. He flew U. S. Army Air Corps bombers in World War II, transferred to the Navy after the war, and flew combat missions in Korea. He was first the XO of VF-162 "The Hunters" on the Oriskany’s and later became the squadron’s CO.

Cdr. Bellinger was shot down by a MiG on 14 July 1966 after a high-speed chase over downtown Hanoi. After Bellinger’s Crusader was hit, he tried to make it to Da Nang before his fuel ran out. He ejected from his F-8 40 miles out from the mainland and was recovered by a rescue helicopter. On 9 October 1966 Cdr. Bellinger became the first Navy pilot to shoot down a MiG-21. He was flying an F-8E (149159 AH 210) leading three other “Hunter” F-8s as escorts for A-4s from the USS Intrepid. During the flight they were intercepted by a group of MiG-21s which were the newest communist aircraft and a real leap in technology. Using two Sidewinder missiles, Bellinger was able to nab one of the MiGs marking the first Navy kill over the new MiG-21. Upon his return to the Oriskany, Bellinger was heartily congratulated by his ship mates and squadron. Cdr. Bellinger was awarded the Silver Star by Defense Secretary Robert McNamara aboard the Oriskany one week later.

Cdr. Bellinger’s Silver Star was presented to him just days before the fire that killed forty-four of his Oriskany shipmates. On the morning of 26 October 1966, the Oriskany suffered a deadly fire when a crewman panicked and threw a flare, which had accidentally ignited while being moved, into a storage locker located at the forward starboard corner of hangar bay 1. The locker contained some 650 other flares which ignite in turn. Cdr. Bellinger’s stateroom was extremely close to the locker where the flares were ignited. His only way out of his cabin was to rip out an air conditioner unit and wriggle his naked 205-lb. frame through an eighteen-inch porthole and onto a burning catwalk to freedom. In what must have been a bizarre scene, Bellinger appeared on the flight deck stark naked at the height of the fire fighting action. The resulting fire took three hours to control, damaged six aircraft, and put the Oriskany out of action for several months. Air Wing 16’s commander was killed in the fire.

Bellinger was 42 years of age during the Oriskany’s 1966 cruise and a fair bit older than the average fighter pilot. Over the years, he had gained a real reputation as a heavy drinker and someone who would overlook the rules from time to time. It’s really quite amazing that a squadron commander could behave the way he did and still perform as well as he did when it counted. Bud Flagg, who served under Bellinger on the 1966 cruise, recalled that Bellinger was a “colorful” character. “But he flew the F-8 well and commanded the squadron well. He was always there to do the job. He was tops.” Sadly, Cdr. Dick Bellinger ended his days confined to a VA psychiatric facility. When he passed away the autopsy revealed that he had Alzheimer’s. Love him or hate him, Dick Bellinger was an American legend and an American hero.

Some material from this post is from the book F-8 Crusader Units of the Vietnam War by Peter Mersky.

Life Preserver Accessory Kit

I received the Life Preserver Accessory Kit that I won on eBay this past Friday. The kit is all original in the box with Marine Corps supply center papers and mostly 1969 to '73 dates on all of the contents. These kits may or may not have been used on the Oriskany during her Vietnam cruises, but I figure the kit is made up of all period-correct items and would make some fine display material. This kit came with the following items:
• Distress Light Marker
• Incandescent Lamp
• Sea Dye Marker Packet
• Shark Repellent Compound Packet
• Ball Whistle on Lanyard

A Helmet from "The Hunters"

A few days ago I came across this photo of a helmet from Fighter Squadron 162 "The Hunters." This helmet is from the personal collection of Andrea Salimbeti, an Italian collector of US Navy flight helmets and flight gear. Some of his impressive collection can be found at www.flightgear.dk. Anyway, I was so excited to find this helmet from VF-162 that I just had post it. This helmet is a US Navy APH-6A with the A13A oxygen mask. I believe this particular design incorporating the cluster of six gold stars was first used by "The Hunters" on their 1967 WestPac cruise. I will have to check my dad's 1965 and 1966 Oriskany cruise books, but I think they had a more simplified star and spearhead design prior to 1966. I hope to someday own my own APH-6 helmet and customize it with the striking black and gold design of the fearsome "Hunters".

New CIC on the Oriskany

I'm so excited that I was able to purchase this original photo from the USS Oriskany a few weeks ago on eBay. The photo is a black & white 8" x 10" of the Oriskany's new modular CIC. It was an incredible find for me because my dad was a radarman in CIC during his time on the "Mighty O." Below is the descriptive caption as printed on the back of the photo.

USN 710749
MODULAR CIC ADDED TO CONVERTED CARRIER USS ORISKANY (CVA-34)

The USS Oriskany (CVA-34), one of the latest attack carriers converted for modern air-sea warfare, has joined the Seventh Fleet for a seven month operational tour in the western Pacific. Following a 30-month conversion period at San Francisco Naval Shipyard and shakedown training out of San Diego, Oriskany sailed for the far east with a number of new features. In addition to such attack carrier modernizations as an angled deck, steam catapults, hurricane bow, and landing mirror, she was equipped with the prototype "Modular Combat Information Center." USS Oriskany also is the first attack aircraft carrier to have the entire after part of the flight deck made of extruded aluminum planking, rather than of the conventional wood planking.

The new Combat Information Center, called "Modular CIC," has been enlarged and subdivided into "Modules" or glassed-off sections, grouped about a central control area called "Display and Decision." Each Module is organized to perform one of a carrier CIC's essential functions: Air Operations, Air Control, Surface Operations, Electronic Counter-Measures, Detection and Tracking, Carrier Controlled Approach (CCA), and Weapons Control. The Modular CIC concept, having been proven successful, has been installed in the USS Coral Sea and is being installed in all carriers under construction at the present time.

OFFICIAL U.S. NAVY PHOTOGRAPH
RELEASED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
WASHINGTON, D. C.
JULY 8, 1960

"Over The Beach" by Zalin Grant

A few months back I had the pleasure of reading Zalin Grant's "Over The Beach." This book is an account of an F-8 Fighter Squadron VF-162 from the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany during the Vietnam War. If you are interested in the air war in Vietnam or specifically the USS Oriskany, then this book is a must read for you! The paperback edition which is currently available came out in 2005 and you can generally pick it up for about $11. The book follows the pilots of VF-162 on their way to targets in North and South Vietnam. And while the squadron was incredibly successful, they also dealt with tremendous losses. Many pilots were shot down over North Vietnam where there was almost no chance of rescue. Grant covers the terror of carrier landings, the wild parties aboard the Oriskany, the tensions between men with very strong personalities, the adulterous behavior of many of the pilots, and the overwhelming emotions of a MIA's wife holding on to the hope that her husband might still be alive. This book is the first that I have read about the air war in Vietnam and it certainly ranked among the best military books I have read. I highly recommend it!

Iowa Pilot Returns Home

LTJG Norman L. Roggow, a 26 year old Naval Aviator who was killed in action on 10/8/67 in Vietnam has been recovered and repatriated to the U.S. and his family for burial in Le Mars, Iowa. Norman Lee Roggow was born 8/25/41 in Kansas City, MO to Orville and Linda (Beckman) Roggow. He attended high school at Brooke Consolidated High School, rural Peterson, IA. He graduated from Wayne State College with a BA in Business Management and commissioned an Ensign in the U. S. Navy in Feb., 1964. Upon completion of Flight Training, he was designated a Naval Aviator in June, 1965. LTJG Roggow reported to VT-1 as a Flight Instructor. In October, 1966, he reported to Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron Eleven. He was transferred to Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 111, Detachment 34 in April, 1967. LTJG Roggow died on 10/8/67 14 miles Northwest of Da Nang, South Vietnam as a result of an aircraft accident while on an operational flight from Chu Lai, South Vietnam to the USS Oriskany CVA-34 off the coast of Vietnam. LTJG Roggow was awarded an Air Medal, National Defense Medal, Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon, Vietnam Service Medal with a Bronze Star, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal. While in high school, Norman enjoyed playing on the basketball team. In college at Wayne State, Norman was a member of the Phi Beta Lambda business fraternity. Survivors include 3 sisters, Connace Fraser and her husband, Larry, Hutchinson, MN, Marva Hansen and her husband, Joe, Omaha, Diane Roggow, Le Mars; brother, Curtis Roggow and his wife, Kathy, Shawnee, KS; 8 nieces and nephews; 9 great-nieces and nephews; 2 great-great- nieces. His father, Norman passed away on 12/25/05 and his mother, Linda passed away on 3/1/2000.