Monday 03/20/2006 1:56:36pm

Name:

CAPT Scott F. Graves, USN (Ret)

E-Mail:

sfgraves@cox.net

Location:

Pensacola, FL

Comments:

Gauntlet ECMO Nov 77 - Jul 81. I made the 78-79 Sara cruise, 1980 Transpac (flew with LCDR Vic Dodds and Skipper Dean Sloan), Midway IO deployments in 80 and 81. Thanks for the great website and memories!
Scooter

Thursday 03/09/2006 9:10:28pm

Name:

Dennis Oberst

E-Mail:

doberst@clearwire.net

Location:

Stockton, CA

Comments:

I'm also a plank owner (AT5) with the squadron through the first two cruises. Wanted to stay in for the East Pac Tour, but they wouldn't let me reenlist for just the 1 year so I bailed & finished my reserve duty in a P-3 squadron out of Moffett Field in California. Caught a similar site many years back asking for data & came across this site researching for trip back to Washington at the end of the month. Sorry to find out you all are now in Japan (must be nice).

Remember working 12on/12off the whole time; but I lucked out on port-of-calls with usually two out three days off. Had the luxury of the smaller 12 man quarters on board the Kitty Hawk although noisy (first under the catapults then under the arresting gear). It was great crossing the Equator & being the first Ship to visit Mombassa, Africa in some 10 years or more. You already have all the souvenirs (PI belt buckle, patch, stickers, catapult link), but I can get busy & scan some of the many photos of the first two years.

Memory fading on most of the names in the Guest Books, but will look them up in the Year Book. Will touch bases again when I send the photos.

Dennis

Friday 02/24/2006 5:19:11pm

Name:

Franco A. Velazqueoni

E-Mail:

coco33186@yahoo.com

Location:

Miami, FL

Comments:

What up gauntlets? The Godfatha has returned! Some of you guys may remember me as Vplus10 or Sconi. Man is this a blast from the past or what? I was in the sqad from 91 to 93, came over from VA-185 when they got decom'd. Started in the lineshack then went to the CC Shop.

Man we had some good times never will forget them... Iron Claw Forever!

Wednesday 02/01/2006 11:50:11pm

Name:

Michael F. (MAC) McDonald

E-Mail:

oisins_remnant@yahoo.com

Location:

Irene, SD

Comments:

I am a plank owner of the Gauntlets. In fact, I kind of named the squadron from when we had the contest to come up with a squadron patch. I originally called the patch "The Dauntless Gauntlet", but "Gauntlets" stuck. I was the first Yeoman the squadron had, an E-3 right out of "A" school. I worked with CDR Ned E. Davis (CO) and CDR Donald E. Kentopp (XO) in setting up the Admin office and pretty much learned my job by "flying by the seat of my pants." The Admin officer was LT Doug Young, the EW officer was LCDR Larry Astor, the Personnel officer was a LT Waterman, the Legal Officer was LT Mike O'Connell, the Maintenance officer was a LCDR Berry (I think, I remember he was from Coer D' Loene ID). We were an experimental squadron of sorts with EWs flying on board the EA-6B to troubleshoot the jamming equipment while in flight. The EWs that I remember were Chief Wade Moore, Chief Steve McCullough, EW1 John Stewart, EW1 Larry Wetherford -- who doctored me through my experience with seasickness --damn I can't remember any more, but it has been 32 years since I left the squadron. We had two pretty cool mustangers in the squadron, a LT Wilson (I think) and CWO2 Carrol Dozier -- Mr. Dozier was really cool -- he chewed cigars, didn't smoke them and he had an old 57 GMC pickup truck with mag wheels and exhaust pipes that curled up the back side of the cab of the truck like they do on an 18 wheeler.

As far as being a yeoman, I grew up on a farm in South Dakota. My grandpa joined the SEABEES in 1942 when he was 42 years old -- I wanted to be a SEABEE, but the Navy found out I could type and spell, so they made me a yeoman. Working inside with paperwork was a helluva lot different from milking cows, castrating pigs, stacking or baling hay, or cleaning out chicken coops or calf pens. We had a Senior Chief Anders who pretty much hated my guts and he always tried to find the nastiest jobs he could when he was chief in charge on my duty days. I don't think he ever figured out that doing dirty jobs never really much bothered me -- the folks made me do them quite a bit while I was home. However, as far as the Navy putting me to good use, they also found out that I could sing, so after finishing the '73-'74 WESTPAC I was transferred to the US Navy Band Sea Chanters. Man, that was a really great experience. At that time the Sea Chanters were a 16 man chorus with a leader and a piano player. We primarily performed in the Washington DC area, but in '75 and '76 the Navy and the country started celebrating the Bicentennial and we performed up and down the eastern seaboard.

Back to the Gauntlets . . . Chief McCullough was the squadron softball coach. We had a pretty salty team. I do remember Chief giving 3 or 4 of us a ride to a ballgame in his newly bought Olds 442 (I think it was a '70 model, burgundy color with a vinyl top, nice wheels). He was really tickled to have bought this nice car. When we arrived at the ballpark at the Seaplane base, he parked the car right underneath the backstop of the ball diamond. After about two seconds he said, "What in the world am I thinking -- parking my baby where some fly ball will bust out one of her windows!" So, he moved the car way to hell and gone down the parking lot so the car would be out of immediate danger. Sure enough, I was the lead off hitter and I crushed the first pitch foul -- and it carried all the way to Chief McCullough's baby and I busted her windshield. It must have took a helluva lot for Chief to give me a ride home after the game -- but we had won.

One thing I will always regret about the Gauntlets is that I won a ride on an EA-6B as part of a Navy Relief drawing that the squadron had and I never managed to get to do it before I was transferred. I did get to watch flight ops aboard the Kitty Hawk from the flight deck. There was a steel cage welded onto the rail and I got to watch the Marines from Clark carrier qual. That was pretty damn cool too! What wasn't cool was when we caught fire before reaching the Philippines. I had to evacuate my GQ station and make it to the flight deck. The smoke and steam pouring out the hangar deck, the guys trying to fight the fire, the guys trying to make it to the flight deck, and all those lights flashing signals at night at sea . . . and the same 6 or 7 names being called out the loud speaker to report to 2 2 2. I have had some damn scary dreams about that damn fire. Woke everyone up at the folks' house one summer I stayed there when I went back to college for a good solid week.

If you run across guys like AK3 Art Jacks, or AMS3 Dale Kalista, or Daryl (Griz) Morrison, Rusty Crain, Robbie Roberts, Bob Ford, PN3 Clark Anderson, PN2 Doran Foote, Gary Tentler lives in Canton OH, I'd sure like to catch an address and drop a line. These days I am the postmaster in Irene SD -- not that far from where I grew up. I still sing tunes and a couple of years ago made a CD of tunes I wrote about the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery coming up the Missouri River in 1804. I am married with 3 kids, two girls and a boy.

Well, I probably should let you go. I just found this site by accident, but it sure was nice to remember younger days. Thanks very much!!!

MAC McDonald

The guy who drew up the first squadron patch was a guy by the name of Joe Odya. He was an airman. If Eddie Bartkowiak or Mark or Ronnie Ward check into this site, be sure to give them my regards, the same goes for Mark Lester, Bernard Hyshaw --- aw, there's too many guys I'm going to forget like Doc Hand and Tom Knutson -- hello to all of the plank owners!!!

Sunday 01/29/2006 3:04:06pm

Name:

Chris Nelson

E-Mail:

nancychrisnelson@charter.net

Location:

Northfield, MN

Comments:

My wife's been making frequent trips to Japan for work and I was thinking of joining her. I was trying to find out if Dennis Shields still lived there, and found this site, nice job. I was looking over the guestbook and was saddened by the loss of Gary Marotta. I have his old coveralls with the Gauntlet patch on the back. He was my "sea daddy" when I first arrived, 92-95. I'll try to contact you sometime when I'm not at work and see what I can find. Wife's in Japan right now and we have two infants at home so I'm not sure when that will be. I work for General Dynamics at the MSP airport (weekend shift) so it shouldn't be too hard to get you stuff if you want to photo it or something. Nice site.

Wednesday 01/11/2006 3:30:03am

Name:

Gary "Hurricane" Harrah

E-Mail:

harrahsalem@aol.com

Location:

Salem, Indiana

Comments:

Troy, great site...keep the faith. Trying to make contact with any former Gauntlet who was in the squadron in 88, 89, 90, 91. Gene Hall, Matt Galaski, or any AT who worked in the AT shop when we only had seven tweets to hump pods. Ciao, Hurricane

Thursday 01/05/2006 12:35:07am

Name:

Jason Hatfield

E-Mail:

jason.hatfield@spirit-wing.com

Location:

Oklahoma

Comments:

Good web site man! Brings back some old memories. Was attached to VAQ-136 from 1992-1995 as an AD3 in the "mech shop". There are a few names that sound familiar in your guest book, just can't picture the faces. Sure did have a lot fun and I met a lot of good friends while being forward deployed with the "Gauntlets". I am currently living in Oklahoma, working as a Director of Maintenance for an FAA repair facility, and married with one child. "Give 'em Hell Gauntlets"