Sailors in the Sky : Memoir of a Navy Aircrewman in the Korean War

by Sauter, Jack; Stafford, Edward Peary

• ISBN13: 9780803238312
• ISBN10: 0803238312
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-11-01
• Publisher: Univ of Nebraska Pr

Summary

"On previous flight ops, when a launch was delayed, we usually passed the time telling jokes or exchanging the latest scuttlebutt. Tonight was different. Each of us sat silently with our own thoughts. All of us, I'm sure, made impossible promises to God, and I was one of them. My gut was wound so tight, it was hard to breathe, no less talk. For the umpteenth time, I tightened the harness of my chute. I remember praying, 'Whatever else happens, don't make me bail out of this thing!'" With little to no recognition from the general public, navy enlisted aircrewmen performed heroically in the Korean War. Manning radios and radar, they were indispensable to the success of missions. Aviation Electronics Technician Second Class Jack Sauter was one such aircrewman. Assigned to the USS Midwayand the USS Lake Champlain, he flew twenty-one early warning and antisubmarine missions from the backseat of a Douglas Skyraider with Task Force 77 off Korea in support of our troops. From the excitement and thrill of being catapulted from the deck of an aircraft carrier to the tedium of service at sea, the author describes in detail his service in the Korean air war.

Author Biography

Jack Sauter was an aviation electronics technician during the Korean War and is the president and editor of the USS Lake Champiain Association Inc. Edward Peary Stafford is a retired commander in the U.S. Navy and the author of The Big E: The Story of the USS Enterprise.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. vii
Preface	p. 1
Prologue	p. 7
Book one
Taking the First step	p. 11
Civies to Blues	p. 14
Tennessee Waltz	p. 25
Memphis Belle	p. 36
Virginia Interlude	p. 53
Rhode Island Reunion	p. 65
Guppyland	p. 70
The Best-Kept Secret	p. 78
Settling In	p. 86
A Medical Detour	p. 91
Book Two
Underway	p. 101
First Carrier Flight	p. 109
First Port	p. 119
Weekend in Pans	p. 128
Getting to Know You	p. 136
Prelude to Korea	p. 140
The Chomp	p. 145
Death at Sea	p. 153
First Liberty	p. 156
A New World	p. 160
Crossing the Line	p. 169
Rained Out	p. 175
Book Three
The Real Thing	p. 189
Hitting the Beach	p. 202
The Last Act	p. 218
Peace and a New Skipper	p. 232
A Summing Up	p. 239
"We All Hear You, Dick"	p. 244
A Mountain in the Clouds	p. 248
Hong Kong Holiday	p. 253
A Last Look	p. 264
Retracing Our Steps	p. 267
Europe Again	p. 275
Homeward Bound	p. 282
Home Again	p. 290
Epilogue	p. 297
Bibliography	p. 301
Military History of the Author	p. 303
Index	p. 305
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