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I worked with John Jarrett soon after I started at Naval Avionics after WWII. I found him to be the most easy going, nice guy to work with, some didn’t. He once told me a story.
A GI working at Wright Patterson AFB after WWII had been stationed in Europe during the war. He had a dog with him. When the Germans came over and air raid sirens went off the dog would come running up to him and grab his pant leg and jerk on it. When he came back to the USA he brought the dog with him.
One of the hangers at Wright Pat was called “the get ready hanger.” They might need to tighten up the antenna, put in a fuse or pump up a tire, just little stuff. The planes were always fueled and ready to go with these minor exceptions.
This particular day this GI is working under the wing of a plane. It was a big plane, I can’t remember which one. He’s on a stool under the wing. All of a sudden the dog begins to bark. The dog comes running up to the stool and grabs his pant leg. He knew from past experience that the dog was smart enough to detect that something is wrong. He came down off the stool and went out the back door of the hanger.
On this particular day there were nine aircraft in this hanger and the front door was open. A small twin was taking off in an unusual direction and it lost it’s power and flew into this hanger and hit one of the gassed up planes.
John Jarrett was there and needed a part and had just gone out the back of the hanger as the plane came in the front. He was about a hundred from the back door of this hanger when this plane blew up. There were nine different aircraft.
I remembered the incident. I was working at Wright Pat when it happened. I hadn’t known John back then. I was about a thousand feet away and I could hear the explosions, one by one, as all the planes exploded.
Retiree breakfasts are held at the MCL in Washinton Square the first Wednesday of the odd numbered months. Most everyone gathers at about 7:45AM and the breakfast starts at 8:00 AM. Door prizes are given out by random drawing.
We had 30 come to our January Breakfast at MCL at Washington Square on January 7, 2008.
Door prize winners were: Karl Kleinbub, Robert Williams, Leonard Meyer, Dick Doyle, John Meeks, and Dennis Danielson.
If you take a photo of some of our fellow retirees send me a copy. Don't forget to tell me who they are. Also tell me where it was taken and when. Send the to dickcoy@comcast.net .
Forty two attended the Florida Reunion this year. It was a beautiful day with the high in the mid 60s. Everyone enjoyed themselves and voted for another next year.
During the Viet Nam war the North Vietnamese started emitting a signal we didn’t have equipment to detect. (It was probably for tracking our planes or homing a missile on one of our planes.) The Navy needed to develop a detector in a hurry. One of our guys realized that the frequency was very close to that of a Fuzzbuster. In short order we had Fuzzbusters going out to the fleet and onto our airplanes. They were very effective and cost a fraction of what a specially designed detector would have cost.
Matthew Davis of Raytheon has prepared a short documentary video CD on the history of Naval Avionics. Colin Murphy of Family Horizons Credit Union indicated that he will have CDs of this documentary at the next meeting in MAY.There was a delay when it was deceided to make the CD longer. Bob Reinhardt, Bob Pedigo, and John Meeks provided assistance.
Back during the Ford or Carter Administration I was working in the Quality Office. Hoss Gibson was one of the old timers in the office. One quiet afternoon Hoss got a call. They said it was Air Force One calling. It turned out that it was his daughter and she really was on Air Force One. They were on a flight from Alaska to Washington, DC. She was on the Secretary of State’s staff. We never found out what they talked about but that wasn’t important thing. The excitement was where the call was coming from.
Air Force One is the plane the president is on when he is on it. There are more than one identical planes for that purpose.
The Captain’s office called me just before I was to leave on a trip. Captain Haggquist needed a ride to the airport. He was going to Washington. I hadn’t been there all that long and didn’t know him at all but I certainly wasn’t going to turn down such a request.
On the way to the airport Captain Haggquist said that his niece had just been on TV. She had just been made Miss America. I don’t remember her name or just what year that was but I thought that was a pretty significant piece of information delivered in a remarkably understated fashion.
It was Saturday night (January 31, 2009) about ten till three in the morning. The temperature outside is three above. We had a new snow fall of somewhere around 12 or 13 inches. I knew I was sleeping in a nice safe, secure, warm house. My wife and I were about 15 feet from the front door and all of a sudden we hear a ka-boom. I thought someone had driven into the garage door. At the same time our alarm came on, magnetic switch on the door. The siren is going up and down. The lights that are controlled by the switch start blinking on and off, one on the front porch and one in front of the garage. I yell, “Hey.”
I made a mistake. I got up and looked out the window. There’s a guy in all black with a sock cap and a ski mask about eight feet from the window. He decides that’s not the way he wants to go and he turns around and runs north on a dead end street.
The next thing I did wrong, I walked into the front room. There was no one there but there was a strip of wood about two feet long with the lock plate. laying in the middle of the room. The wood trim on the lock plate side of the door was also laying in the middle of the room. The lights were flashing and the siren was wailing. I told my wife to call 911. About eight minutes later the police arrived.
I think the alarm is the only thing that kept me from having a confrontation in my bed room. I’ve only lived there for 48 years and this is the first time something like this has happened.
It took just one swift kick. Since then I’ve learned that other people have done it just to get into their own house. If you say one thousand and one that is about 20 times longer that it took for that door to get kicked in. There wasn’t a second kick, just a single kick.
The screws that were holding my lock plate on to the thin wood casing were about an inch long. My lock plate is now secured with three inch deck screws that go clear into the studding. My back door is the same. It will take more than one kick and there will be time for me to do something.
That was my third mistake, having such short screws in my lock plate. The three inch screws might not have stopped him but it would have given me time to get my gun. Even then there won’t be time to load the gun. The next time if someone is trying to kick in my front door I’m going to get my gun instead of spending critical time trying to see what is going on. I’ll have time to defend my family.
My wife was dead set against guns before but since Saturday morning she has mellowed her attitude.
I worked in the old B/444 traveling branch when I started working at Naval Avionics. My group leader was Harry Stone.
This one time I was on Long Island witnessing some Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) testing on an aircraft intercom set for BuAir (later NAVAIR). I’d been with this contractor for a couple of weeks and we had a lot of time to get to know each other. He had told me that he never blew his stack. When he really got disgusted or angry he would just set and stare at the wall for a while.
We were seeing switching transients from operating the intercom toggle switches that were several times greater than the specified limits. At that time the EMI specification didn’t distinguish between transient and steady state interference. I was telling the contractor that those were way out of specification and I would have to report it as such. He kept insisting that transients were allowed since they weren’t specifically addressed. I held my ground and insisted that that wasn’t the way I interpreted the specification.
Finally he asked if I minded if he called Harry Stone and discussed it with him. I was still pretty green but I trusted Harry and figured either way I could live with what he said. After the contractor explained the situation to Harry, Harry asked him, “What does Coy say?” The contractor said, “He says they’re failures.” Harry responded, “Well then, they are failures.” The guy hung up the phone and stared at the wall for a good half an hour.
I learned first had what it’s like to be fully supported by your management and I never forgot that.
Meetings are held the first Friday of each month except for an announced Christmas party. Meeting places to be determined. Lunch is at noon, meeting at 1:00 PM. Contact Leo at 255-4928
Get Connected
If you worked at the old Naval Avionics or NAWC ADI, we want you to stay in touch with us. Let Bob Reinhardt know your name and address at:
(For retirees including Raytheon employees and guests)
GROUP LUNCHEONS AND BREAKFASTS
Nancy's Lounge Group - Every Monday, at 11:30, the Nancy’s Lounge (1121 N Arlington) reserves a table for lunch. No contact—just come.
Ladies Group Twice a year a group of ladies, many of whom used to work in Supply, gather for lunch. Contact: Helen Hoffman at (317) 356-8920 for details.
Ryan's Group A group of men and women gather at an Eastside resaurant for lunch.Usually at Ryan's. Contact: Dick Coy at 849-3489 or Bob Applegate 908-5706
McDonald's Group A group of retirees from several eastside companies meet for breakfast every day at the Shortridge and Washington McDonalds. There are usually several Naval Avionics retirees present
Are you interested in protecting your federal retirement income, COLA, and health insurance? If so, the National Association of Retired Federal Employees (NARFE) is interested in you. Contact me at 359-7871. Better yet � attend one of our meetings and get an application.
Harry Linton Spires, 74, Indianapolis, died January 2, 2009. He worked at Naval Avionics.
John E. May I 84, Camby, died January 4, 2009. He was an Inspector at Naval Avionics, retiring in 1983. He was a Navy veteran of WW II and the Korean War.
Emmett C. McCleerey 92, Indianapolis, died January 8, 2009. He retired from Naval Avionics. He was a Navy veteran of WW II and the Korean war.
Col. John Essex 75, died February 2, 2009. He worked at Naval Avionics for 33 yrs. He was a veteran of the Indiana National Guard.
Marvin W. Harold 86, Indianapolis, died February 5, 2009. He was a Tool & Die Maker at Naval Avionics, retiring in 1984 after 25 yrs. He was an Army veteran of WW II and the Normandy invasion.
Mary Jane Schultz 90, Indianapolis, died February 6, 2009. She retired from Naval Avionics.
Paul Parker Jr. 91, Sun City, AZ., formerly of Brightwood, IN. He worked at Naval Avionics, retiring in 1973 after 40 yrs.
Paul Alfred Smitty” Schmith 81, Beech Grove, died February 22, 2009. He retired from Naval Avionics. He was a Navy veteran of WW II.
Alberta L. Gee , 91, Indianapolis, died February 28, 2009. She was retired from Naval Avionics.
I'm looking for the kind of stories that get told when we meet an old friend we used to work with at Naval Avionics. Those that aren't too tough on other past co-workers. Also interested in little known stories that put one of our past co-workers in a good light. Maybe there's a funny thing your spouse has said about you or your dedication to Naval Avionics. Maybe there is an old boss or a past co-worker you thought an awful lot of ? what do you think made them so special? I'm hoping we can make the Beamrider something that lifts our past co-workers that read it. I need everyone's help.
The BEAMRIDER is a BI-monthly newsletter for the Lucas Harold, NOPI, NAFI, NAC, and NAWC ADI retirees (the Naval Avionics retirees). Copies will be made available at the Wednesday breakfasts, the Florida Luncheons and the Credit Union. Please copy it and pass it on to others that didn't get a copy. Publication is by volunteers using donations. The Credit Union picks up much of the duplicating costs. We need short articles from retirees. They need to cover items of interest to a significant percentage of the retirees. Please make your suggestions known to:
Dick Coy, Current Editor 12616 Markay Drive Fishers, IN 46038 Ph. No. (317) 849-3489,
E-mail :dickcoy@comcast.net
Please make internet inquires to: Bob Williams, Internet Editor Ph. No.(317) 291-1839,
E-mail bobhandy123@hotmail.com
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