VAQ-129 unveils historic naval aircraft for CONA

Page 14
www.NORTHWESTNAVIGATOR.com
Shades of blue from a WWII
paint scheme complement
the newly-painted VAQ-129
EA-18G, left, and EA-6B, right,
that will be showcased around
the country as part of the U.S.
Navyís Centennial of Naval
Aviation (CONA).
U.S. Navy photos
VAQ-129 unveils
historic naval
aircraft for CONA
By MC3 Bryan Ilyankoff
NAS Whidbey Public Affairs
H
onoring 100 years
of naval aviation,
Electronic Attack
Squadron (VAQ) 129
unveiled an EA-6B Prowler
and an EA-18G Growler
painted in the WWII paint
schemes of a Douglas
TBD-1 Devastator and a
Grumman TBF-1 Avenger,
respectively, Jan. 20.
Cmdr. Tim Murphy, VAQ129 commanding officer,
was excited when learned
about the Centennial of
Naval Aviation (CONA)
committee’s plan to paint a
limited number of aircraft to
represent significant periods
in naval aviation history.
“We sat down with the
Corrosion Control Team,
Northwest Navigator> KITSAP/EVERETT EDITION • Friday, JANUARY 28, 2011
and we told them we would
like to paint an EA-6B and
an EA-16G. We did some
research and found two
paint schemes we thought
captured the nuances of
both airplanes, and represented WWII naval aviation,” said Murphy.
The Devastator and
Avenger paint schemes had an
impact on VAQ-129 Sailors
right from the beginning.
“When we started with the
prep work on the aircraft,
the Sailors here knew something was up, because this
was something unusual, said
Murphy. “They started to
inquire about the time period the paint schemes came
from, the logos that were on
the planes and what kind of
ships and squadrons where
they were attached to.
“Best of all, the squadron is proud that two of
their aircraft will be flying
at outreach events across
the nation to pay tribute
to the Centennial of Naval
Aviation,” said Murphy.
Highlight of the event was
guest speaker retired Navy
Cmdr. Harry H. Ferrier, one
of two surviving servicemen
from Torpedo Squadron
(VT) 8, during the Battle of
Midway.
Capt. Thomas Slais,
Commander of Electronic
Attack Wing, U.S. Pacific
Fleet, introduced Ferrier,
highlighting facets of his
military career and calling
him a “national treasure.”
A survivor of the Battle of
Midway, Ferrier brought the
story to life for the assembled crowd. He enlisted in
the Navy on Jan. 28, 1941
at 16 and was assigned to
Torpedo Squadron (VT) 8
in September. The squad-
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ron joined the
air group heading for the new
aircraft carrier,
USS Hornet
(CV 8).
On June 4,
1942, VT-8 was
divided into two
groups with 15
Douglas TBD-1
Devastators
on USS Hornet and six
Grumman TBF-1 Avengers
on Midway Atoll. All 15 of
the Devastators and five of
the Avengers were shot down
during the attacks on the
Japanese carrier force.
Ens.
George
Gay,
Ens. Albert Earnest and
Radioman 3rd Class Harry
Ferrier, were the sole survivors of the 48 airmen who
flew into battle that day.
Ferrier continued to serve
throughout WWII, flying
in torpedo planes and dive
bombers from the carriers
Enterprise and Yorktown.
He received a commission in January 1945. His
career continued trough the
Vietnam War until he retired
as a commander in 1970.
To preserve Ferrier’s
legacy, he autographed the
inside of a panel below the
Prowler cockpit window
under which his name had
been scribed.
“In respect to see these
aircraft painted up like
this is very special to me
to honor my shipmates
that didn’t come back,” said
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Battle of Midway survivor and hero retired Cmdr. Harry Ferrier meets
VAQ-129 Sailors after speaking at VAQ-129ís CONA aircraft event.
Ferrier.
Ferrier pulled out an old
blue ball cap to show the
young Sailors standing in
front of him. He explained
that during the attack, a
Japanese ammunition round
went through his ball cap
wounding him slightly.
“This was a lucky hit,”
Ferrier said, putting his finger through the hole and on
his forehead to show where
he got hit. “I am very thankful that I am alive today to
show this cap to you.”
He keeps the ball cap in
a zip-lock bag and brings it
out every once in a while.
Murphy worked closely
with VAQ-129’s civilian supervisor, Jim Ward
and the United Research
Services (URS) Corrosion
Control team. CONA provided drawings, sketches
Cup of Joe?
and a brief history behind
each aircraft paint scheme.
“The paint job shows a lot
of history. When you hear
the story about someone
like Ferrier, you got to be
proud to do it,” said Ward.
“We are kind of redoing history in the modern era to
honor the heroes and what
they did for us.”
“The way these are
painted is awesome,” said
Murphy, reflecting on the
proud work of his VAQ129 team. “Seeing them like
this really resonates with the
stories the older veterans
talk about. It kind of takes
you back in time.”
Editor’s Note: If you’re
interested in reading more
about Ferrier’s experiences,
check out the April 1999 issue
of the National Geographic.
As a result of requests by active duty and a “man on
the street” survey a mobile coffee service is coming in
the area of the OCAB, TTF and Group 9 buildings. The
mobile vendor will be on site Monday through Friday,
from 6 to 9 a.m. and will serve coffee, beverages and
breakfast foods. This service is a three month test of
patron demand, and will continue through March 18,
at which point an evaluation of sales will be made.