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USS Enterprise
We were on stand down in Long Hai and I was on radio watch. B-36 had a Collins Single Side Band radio as a back up to our regular radio but you had to be able to copy code to use it. Bien Hoa assigned 4 digit designators to each operator to determine how fast they could transmit a message. My code was “... .... .. -“ (SHI-) .
One night I received a message from the USS Enterprise (which was in the South China Sea). I identified myself to their operator and we signaled back and forth for a while. The Navy operator eventually invited us to visit his ship. I talked to MAJ Gritz the next morning and advised him of our invitation. MAJ Gritz then took the ball and ran with it.
We flew two Hueys out to the carrier the following week and landed on the flight deck. All of the USSF personnel were dressed in tigers and we wore no insignia. The captain of the ship met us and assigned a LT to give us a tour of his boat. At the conclusion of the tour we were all invited into the ward room for lunch. We were told that we could order anything that we wanted because a carrier had to provide for pilots who were going or coming back from flight operations around the clock. Most of us ordered fresh salads and ice cream. The admiral came into the ward room and greeted us and asked if there was anything that the ship could provide for us... When we flew back to Long Hai, we had cases of steaks, fresh vegetables and ice cream.
We presented an AK47 mounted on a piece of packing crate to the ship. It was inscribed on a piece of brass, “To the Officers and Men of the USS Enterprise from USSF Team B-36".
The last time that I spoke with a Navy Flier who had flown from the Big “E” he said that the AK47 was still there.
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