Do any of you remember or have even heard of the 1980 Cuban Refugee Crisis that happened in Miami, Florida? I dare say that 99 percent of you reading this were even a gleam in your dad's eye then. Well I was a brand spanking new pilot, commanding a Military Police Aviation Detachment at Fort Bragg, NC. Great duty! I had five OH-58A helicopters (Bell 206 civilian model) to my disposal. And I mean to my disposal. I could take one out for a spin 24/7. Little did I know at that time what a luxury that was. I relish those daze because what I wouldn't give to take one out for a spin now.
Well in April/May of 1980, the knuckle head in Cuba decided to open his doors (one-way) and let those leave Cuba who wanted to. However he also opened up all his prisons and let all the inmates head for the great U.S. of A. Huge flotillas of thugs, rapists, murders and many real decent people were heading for Key West and the Eastern shores of Florida. As a result of this my unit was alerted and the next thing I knew, my soldiers, my helicopters and I were heading for Miami, Florida. Specifically Opaloca Airport. That is where we operated out of for the next several months. Again, great duty!! You don't know how many times I said, "...and they pay me to do this...there is a God". On a typical day we flew anywhere from West Palm Beach to the tip of Key West. I would fly 50 yards off the beach, 20 feet off the deck and look at all the babes along the beach. The only time I gained altitude was to bounce over a fishing pier. I can't tell you how many kites I tore up flying up and down those beaches. I'm still probably being cussed.
As a brand new aviation commander and as a new pilot (5 months out of flight school) I managed to scare the sweet be-Jesus out of myself on several occasions. I was shot at, (Miami riots were going on, that's another story) damn near flew into the side of the US Customs building and screwed with the sharks off shore by hovering over them. Of course, being a young kid with the infallible attitude, "that nothing could happen to me" I never considered having an engine failure over those big fish. Thank God that never happened. But the most memorable thing that happened to me was something that I did, of which I'm sure no one else has done since. It was something that caused me to get several of the biggest ass chewings that I ever received during my career in the Army. But I took it with a smile.
On a daily routine I flew over this man made structure that is well known. I would fly around it, land next to it and looked at it everyday with awe. And then I got the hair brained idea to land in the middle of it. And I don't mean just land in the middle of it but I mean put that sucker down on the 50 yard line. Yep, I was going to land that helicopter on the 50 yard line of the Orange Bowl. You know, the football stadium called the Orange Bowl.
Well I thought it all out and knew I had to get an accomplice to take pictures while on the ground. Well I picked Sergeant Mac (can't give his whole name), a Military Police Staff Sergeant then. He was a good friend of mine and when I approached him with the scheme, he said, "Hell yea, let's do it". The next thing I knew we were heading for the Orange Bowl with cameras in hand. I discussed my approach into the stadium with him and upon arrival we made the approach and landed on the 50 yard line. I shut down the aircraft which takes about five minutes, to include waiting for the blades to stop turning. We jumped out of the aircraft with all smiles getting in place to take some pictures. We would have high-fived but that had not been invented yet. All of a sudden, in the middle of the picture taking, a maniac appeared screaming at the top of his lungs. My first thought was "Oh Crap". I quickly found out he was the ground keeper and he was not a happy camper. He cussed me like a sailor for landing on his turf saying something to the affect that the skids on my helicopter were going to put ruts in the ground and mess up his playing field. What he didn't know and I wasn't about to tell him, is when you shut the aircraft down, the fuel lines purge and a pint or more of jet fuel is dumped on the ground. The results of that would not turn up until I was long gone. So about the time I got this great American calmed down, a rabid Captain showed up and began ripping my butt and wanted to know who gave me permission to land there. Well after I lied...I mean, talked my way out of that one, Mac and I jumped in the aircraft, fired it up and left. We were laughing about what we had just gotten away with when I got a call from headquarters over the radio. The message was, "The Colonel wants to see you immediately". Needless to say that radio call killed the laughter and all I could think of was, my career is over, I'm a dead man, I'll never fly again and I wonder how bad the Alpha Charlie (Ass Chewing) was going to be. We bee-lined straight to the airport so I could get this over with as soon as possible. I parked the bird and reported to the ol' man. I could tell he wasn't happy when I walked into his office. He didn't let me down either. He started ripping me the second I started into his office. He started off with, "Lieutenant what the hell were you thinking?" "I can't believe you landed that helicopter in the Orange Bowl and didn't ask me to come along so I could have flown in there with you". "I've been wanting to do that since we got here." I knew then I was still in business. I said I wouldn't make that mistake again and was on my way. I immediately jumped back in the aircraft and took off. I flew over the Orange Bowl and as I looked down I could see the brown spot already forming where the fuel had dumped on the ground. I just smiled and thought, yep that was me, and I thought again, "....and they pay me to do this...there is a God"......Army Daze.
Well in April/May of 1980, the knuckle head in Cuba decided to open his doors (one-way) and let those leave Cuba who wanted to. However he also opened up all his prisons and let all the inmates head for the great U.S. of A. Huge flotillas of thugs, rapists, murders and many real decent people were heading for Key West and the Eastern shores of Florida. As a result of this my unit was alerted and the next thing I knew, my soldiers, my helicopters and I were heading for Miami, Florida. Specifically Opaloca Airport. That is where we operated out of for the next several months. Again, great duty!! You don't know how many times I said, "...and they pay me to do this...there is a God". On a typical day we flew anywhere from West Palm Beach to the tip of Key West. I would fly 50 yards off the beach, 20 feet off the deck and look at all the babes along the beach. The only time I gained altitude was to bounce over a fishing pier. I can't tell you how many kites I tore up flying up and down those beaches. I'm still probably being cussed.
As a brand new aviation commander and as a new pilot (5 months out of flight school) I managed to scare the sweet be-Jesus out of myself on several occasions. I was shot at, (Miami riots were going on, that's another story) damn near flew into the side of the US Customs building and screwed with the sharks off shore by hovering over them. Of course, being a young kid with the infallible attitude, "that nothing could happen to me" I never considered having an engine failure over those big fish. Thank God that never happened. But the most memorable thing that happened to me was something that I did, of which I'm sure no one else has done since. It was something that caused me to get several of the biggest ass chewings that I ever received during my career in the Army. But I took it with a smile.
On a daily routine I flew over this man made structure that is well known. I would fly around it, land next to it and looked at it everyday with awe. And then I got the hair brained idea to land in the middle of it. And I don't mean just land in the middle of it but I mean put that sucker down on the 50 yard line. Yep, I was going to land that helicopter on the 50 yard line of the Orange Bowl. You know, the football stadium called the Orange Bowl.
Well I thought it all out and knew I had to get an accomplice to take pictures while on the ground. Well I picked Sergeant Mac (can't give his whole name), a Military Police Staff Sergeant then. He was a good friend of mine and when I approached him with the scheme, he said, "Hell yea, let's do it". The next thing I knew we were heading for the Orange Bowl with cameras in hand. I discussed my approach into the stadium with him and upon arrival we made the approach and landed on the 50 yard line. I shut down the aircraft which takes about five minutes, to include waiting for the blades to stop turning. We jumped out of the aircraft with all smiles getting in place to take some pictures. We would have high-fived but that had not been invented yet. All of a sudden, in the middle of the picture taking, a maniac appeared screaming at the top of his lungs. My first thought was "Oh Crap". I quickly found out he was the ground keeper and he was not a happy camper. He cussed me like a sailor for landing on his turf saying something to the affect that the skids on my helicopter were going to put ruts in the ground and mess up his playing field. What he didn't know and I wasn't about to tell him, is when you shut the aircraft down, the fuel lines purge and a pint or more of jet fuel is dumped on the ground. The results of that would not turn up until I was long gone. So about the time I got this great American calmed down, a rabid Captain showed up and began ripping my butt and wanted to know who gave me permission to land there. Well after I lied...I mean, talked my way out of that one, Mac and I jumped in the aircraft, fired it up and left. We were laughing about what we had just gotten away with when I got a call from headquarters over the radio. The message was, "The Colonel wants to see you immediately". Needless to say that radio call killed the laughter and all I could think of was, my career is over, I'm a dead man, I'll never fly again and I wonder how bad the Alpha Charlie (Ass Chewing) was going to be. We bee-lined straight to the airport so I could get this over with as soon as possible. I parked the bird and reported to the ol' man. I could tell he wasn't happy when I walked into his office. He didn't let me down either. He started ripping me the second I started into his office. He started off with, "Lieutenant what the hell were you thinking?" "I can't believe you landed that helicopter in the Orange Bowl and didn't ask me to come along so I could have flown in there with you". "I've been wanting to do that since we got here." I knew then I was still in business. I said I wouldn't make that mistake again and was on my way. I immediately jumped back in the aircraft and took off. I flew over the Orange Bowl and as I looked down I could see the brown spot already forming where the fuel had dumped on the ground. I just smiled and thought, yep that was me, and I thought again, "....and they pay me to do this...there is a God"......Army Daze.
1 comment:
I was alive then, but I was only 3 years old. So I was more concerned about what was on Sesame Street or who was coming to Mr. Rogers' neighborhood that day. But I have read about it in history books. (yes, I read books in college) That's funny, your bird pissed on the Orange Bowl field. Classic story.
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