“You had to be really careful because jets could get turned, a jet blast could blow you off the flight deck... you had to be careful when a plane would land, sometimes the bombs wouldn’t fall off on a bombing mission and there was enough of a jolt that the bomb would release and slide down the flight deck... and that’s bad enough during the day time…when it’s a night flight and it’s raining, it’s very, very, dangerous.”
Gary Gresham V-2 Division USS America CVA 66, USN
The United States Navy Memorial Stories of Service Program is honored to announce the October 2018 story of the month has been selected to recognize the service of United States Navy Veteran, Gary Gresham, V-2 Division, USS America CVA 66. The United States Navy Memorial Stories of Service Program was privileged to interview Gary Gresham at the USS America CVA-66 reunion at Buffalo New York in the fall of 2016.
Gary Gresham began his interview by sharing, “I enlisted in Indianapolis and from there went to Great Lakes boot camp... Obviously it was very different from civilian life….In the military it is quite different. What you do is you become part of a team, and you know what your duties are, you know what your responsibilities are, and you very quickly learn what your leadership capabilities are.” He received orders to the USS America CVA 66 and shared, "I really didn't know what to expect. I was excited because I wanted to serve in Vietnam and I knew the ship was going to Vietnam. For me, my chest was filled with pride. It was the largest vessels I had ever seen." After reporting on board, Gresham was assigned to V-2 Division, Catapult number 2.
He recalled as if it was yesterday, “in my opinion it was the best duty I possible could have 
gotten, when you start out, you learn a lot of different jobs so that when you are on the flight deck you know where to be and how to do it. My last position was that of assistant of Cat Captain and safety PO. In that position, I was the last fellow under the jet before it left the flight deck.” The dangers of the flight deck were well known to Gresham and his division, he shared, “The Navy classifies working up in the catapults as one of the most dangerous jobs ever made.”
He would participate in two Vietnam Cruises on the USS America and served on the flight deck for both operations. When reflecting on his time preparing planes for tak
eoff and landing he commented, “you had to be really careful because jets could get turned, a jet blast could blow you off the flight deck... you had to be careful when a plane would land, sometimes the bombs wouldn’t fall off on a bombing mission and there was enough of a jolt that the bomb would release and slide down the flight deck... and that’s bad enough during the day time…when it’s a night flight and it’s raining, it’s very, very, dangerous.” Gresham’s memories reflect a vivid firsthand account of carrier service during the Vietnam War and the realities and dangers found on the flight deck.
The United States Navy Memorial honors United States Navy Veteran, Gary Gresham, V-2 Division, USS America CVA 66, featured within this series titled, Tales from the Navy Log, Story of the Month. Each month, this series honors a Veteran’s story recorded by the Stories of Service Program at the Navy Memorial. To learn more about this story and to explore the Navy Memorial archive, visit the Navy Memorial Stories of Service site at http://navylog.navymemorial.org/stories-of-service. To view this interview please visit the USS America Reunion Collection on the Navy Memorial Stories of Service page.
Interview of Gary Gresham Part One Joining the Navy and Memories of Great Lakes in 1967
Interview of Gary Gresham Part Two Joining the V2 Division on the USS America CVA 66 in 1968
Interview of Gary Gresham Part Three Memories of V2 Division and the First Vietnam Cruise in 1968
Interview of Gary Gresham Part Four Memories of V2 Division and the Dangers of Working on the
Flight Deck
Interview of Gary Gresham Part Five Memories of V2 Division and the Second Vietnam Cruise