I Big Daddy Popeye served aboard USS John F Kennedy (CVA 67) from March 24th 1972 until 1 August 1973. I worked in the Missile magazines as a member of AM(Air Missile division). I then worked as a member of G division hangar deck crew during my second deployment aboard JFK in 1973. We handled weapons through the hangar going to the flight deck.
During the balance of 1972, John F. Kennedy, with CVW-1 embarked (VA-34, VA-46, and VA-72, VF-14 and VF-32, RVAH-14, VAW-125, a VAQ-135 detachment, and Detachment 67 of HC-2) conducted operations in the Med during a period of relative stability in the international scene. The ship and her air wing took part in a succession of exercises: PhiblEx 8-72 (9-10 January), National Week XII (6-9 February) (during the commencement of which A-7 jet blast blew Hospitalman 2d Class Curcuru over the side); Quickdraw (20-21 February), Dawn Patrol (4-9 may), Operation Red Eye (with Spanish forces, 26 May-1 June), and National Week XIII (17-20 July), interspersed with port calls that included Naples, Athens, Corfu, Thessaloniki, Rhodes, Genoa, Cannes, Barcelona, Palma de Majorca, Malaga, Gaeta, Italy, Golfo di Palma, Augusta Bay, Izmir, Turkey, La Maddalena, Sardinia, and Rota. On 8 April 1972, Lord Balniel, UK Minister of State for Defense visited John F. Kennedy. That same day, Aviation Structural Mechanic (Safety Equipment) 3d Class Mark W. Raymond of VA-34 died in an A-6 canopy accident. Two days later, the carrier hosted Operation Rivets, the retirement ceremony for Admiral Horacio (“Rivets”) Rivero.
Only five days after the canopy accident that claimed the life of Aviation Structural Mechanic (Safety Equipment) 3d Class Raymond, an A-6 crashed during a conventional ordnance exercise on 13 April 1972, and a search and rescue effort ensued for Lieutenant (j.g.)s William T. Hackman and David L. Douglas, without success. Two days later, however, debris from the missing Intruder was sighted near the Avgo Nisi target range.
CVW-1 lost three more aircraft (two from VA-72) before the year was out. The first was an A-7 (BuNo 154386) to hydraulic failure on 20 May 1972, with Lieutenant Bernard J. Hedger, from VA-72, being rescued by an HH-2D flown by Lieutenants LeRoy E. Hays and Roy E. Hey, with Aviation Structural Mechanic (Structures) 3d Class F. L. Barthold and Aviation Machinist’s Mate (Jet Engine Mechanic) 3d Class G. H. Trouton, as crew. The second was an HH-2DSeasprite (Angel 013) to a lost tail rotor on 11 June, its four-man crew (Lieutenants Larry E. Crume and James R. Palmquist, Aviation Machinist’s Mate (Jet Engine Mechanic) 3d Class Kent D. Swedberg and Aviation Structural Mechanic (Safety Equipment) Airman Richard F. Diaz) being rescued by Angel 010 flown by Lieutenants Hays and James C. Harrison, with Aviation Machinist’s Mates (Jet Engine Mechanic) 2d Class David T. Warmkessel and James C. McDonald as crew. The third was another Corsair (Decoy 401) due to a stall spin, on 27 June, with Lieutenant (j.g.) Newton R. Gaines, also of VA-72, being rescued by Angel 010 (Lieutenant Palmquist and Lieutenant Commander Lawrence B. Kauffman, with Swedberg and McDonald as crew), with British guided missile destroyer HMS Antrim providing wind velocity data to the inbound helo.
From 14-28 September 1972, John F. Kennedy participated in NATO Exercise Strong Express. During that time, on 17 September, she crossed the Arctic Circle for the first time and received a visit, on 19 September, by Secretary of the Navy John Warner and General Robert E. Cushman, Jr., USMC, the Commandant of the Marine Corps. Another notable event that occurred during those operations was the cross-decking of an F-4K Phantom II and a Hawker-Siddeley Buccaneer IIB from HMS Ark Royal to John F. Kennedy and an F-4B and an A-6 to the British carrier, an evolution that “increased the flexibility of air operations in allied efforts and opened the door to increased efficiency in combat conditions and strategic concepts.” Flight deck crews having been exchanged prior to the evolution ensured that those involved encountered “no major difficulties.” During the same period, John F. Kennedy, operating in the North Sea, cross-decked four A-7s to Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) operating in the Mediterranean at the time, and received a like number of Corsairs from Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Upon the conclusion of Strong Express, John F. Kennedy proceeded to Norfolk, arriving on 6 October 1972. The next day, she went “cold iron” until 31 October. On 1 November, the ship conducted a fast cruise, then shifted to Portsmouth to begin eight weeks of restricted availability at Norfolk Naval Shipyard. During that yard period, that saw the rework of the catapult water brakes, repairs to weapons elevators, installation of modifications to enable the ship to handle the EA-6B, and the installation of four new salt water cooling pumps, among other items, the carrier also underwent a change of command when Captain John C. Dixon, Jr. relieved Captain Gormley on 30 November 1972.
