Grandpa's Adventures in the U.S. Navy: Soul Searching on the Way to Mars

By Jerry Werner

"Grandpa's Adventures in the US Navy: Soul Searching on the Way to Mars" by Jerry Werner is a captivating memoir that takes readers on an extraordinary journey through the life of the author, Jerry Werner. This book, set against the backdrop of rural Wisconsin in

• Language: English
• Publisher: Direct amazon publishing
• Release date: May 21, 2024
• ISBN: 9798869390493

Book preview

Dedication

To my Grandchildren.

I wrote this book for you. The choices I made, the stories I told, and the language I used, were with you in mind. It was a labor of love. (Listed in birth order) Zachary Zach Werner, Aviya Werner, Lillian "Strudel" Weidmann, Alexander Nemo Gregory, and those yet to be born.

Acknowledgment

Editors

Amazon Direct Publishing

Arlene Werner

Barbara Werner Cramer

Jan Weidmann

Jill Werner Johnson

Larry Vert Neal

Matt Werner

Matthew Futterman

Mike Werner

Susan Werner Herr

Content Contributors

Alan Grube

Bruce Gallemore

Christine McKay Werner

David Laws

Hank Turowski

Jemma Futterman Weidmann

Joani Leach Sheppard

Michael French

Minnie Chu

Oliver Linberg, Jr

Life Goals Contributors

Parents: John, and Betty Werner

Siblings: Tom, Larry, Barb, Kathy, Sharon, and Susan

Uncle: Bob Feyen

Pastor: Father Thomas Crowley

Teachers: Elk Mound School Faculty, with special mention to Mrs. Norma Parker.

High School Classmates: Elk Mound Class of 1966

Professors: US Naval Academy

USNA Classmates: 29th Company Class of 1971

VT-1: LT Mike Grocki

VT-4: LCDR Bob Stoddert

Mentor: CAPT Jack Endacott

Wife: Christine McKay Werner

VF-102: Drex Bradshaw, Bill Denning, Sam Montgomery, Larry Neal, Mike Matton, and the entire squadron aircraft maintenance department.

Best friends: Mike and Norma French, Larry and Sue Neal

Top Gun: Larry Vert Neal

Bethesda Naval Hospital: Dr. William W Simmons

Naval Test Center: Catholic Chaplain Edward T Hill

Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgment

About the Author

Foreword

Chapter 1 Nightmare Catapult Shot

Chapter 2 The First Five Years

Chapter 3 Try Again

Chapter 4 USNA Plebe Year

Chapter 5 Summer 1968 - Crossing the Equator

Chapter 6  Life at the Naval Academy; The Last Three Years

Chapter 7 Surviving a Category 5 Hurricane and North Vietnamese Gunboats

Chapter 8 Off to Sea and then Ground School

Chapter 9 Flight Training & MS AeroSpace Program

Chapter 10 Things that Go, BUMP, BUMP in the Night

Chapter 11 Plowback

Chapter 12 The Big Break

Chapter 13 Life As a Prisoner of War

Chapter 14 Life and Death in a Navy Fighter Squadron

About the Author

Jerry Werner is currently enjoying retirement, splitting his time between two vibrant cities, Manhattan and Montreal, and world travel with his wife, Arlene. His journey to this point has been quite an adventurous one, filled with diverse experiences.

Following an exciting Navy career, he transitioned into the business world, where he became an executive in the energy conservation industry and applied his problem-solving skills and leadership abilities to more peaceful pursuits.

In addition, he taught college for 20 years as an adjunct professor, and finished his career as the leader of his own business management consulting firm.

It's been a remarkable journey, and he looks forward to new adventures in this next phase of life.

Foreword

Dear Zachary, Aviya, Lilian, Alexander, and yet-to-be-born grandchildren,

As your grandparent, it’s an honor to write this book at your parents’ request. Within these pages, you’ll find the same fireside stories I shared when they were young, filled with wonder and eager to learn about the world. But this book is more than just a collection of stories. It’s a time capsule that will take you back to the last century, where you learn about a time now but a memory. Each story is infused with life lessons and advice I’ve gathered from my experiences and wisdom passed on to me. So, settle in, and let’s journey through time together.

I hope you will find as much joy in reading these pages as I did in writing them.

With love,

Grandpa (Also known as Opa)

Dear Valued Readers,

If you like stories of high adventure, where life and death hang in the balance, you’ve come to the right place. I should’ve been dead more than a dozen times. If you want to know what it is like to be on an astronaut track and how to go from obscurity to NASA’s doorstep, this book will give you some clues.

You will be riding along with me as we take a spin in the world’s fastest fighter jet. We will not only break the sound barrier together, we will go more than two times the speed of sound and almost die doing it! You will learn what it is like to get shot out of a cannon (aircraft carrier catapult). We will survive a Category 5 hurricane on a US Navy destroyer. You will share a cell with me in a prisoner-of-war camp. We will experience the joy of being in a coffin filled with garbage. We will share five weeks of adventure at the real Top Gun fighter weapons school. We will meet the Soviet defector who stole the MIG-25. And there will still be some time left over for romance.

Here’s to the journey!

Jerry Disco Werner,

Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Navy (Retired)

Chapter 1

Nightmare Catapult Shot

It was a night I won't forget, March 30, 1979. I was sitting in the pilot seat of the VF-102 Diamondbacks F-4J Phantom, Bureau Number (Tail Number) 155746, on the starboard catapult of the USS Independence (CV62). It was a very dark night in the Caribbean.

Jerry Disco Werner about to be launched from the starboard catapult, daytime, USS Independence Summer 1977

I wasn’t thinking about it, but this was a very important flight. Why? My boss's boss, Commander Bill Denning, the commanding officer, was in my backseat as my Radar Intercept Officer (RIO). He was scheduled to submit my recommendation to test pilot school selection next week.

I wanted to walk on Mars and created my own Astronaut Track, based on the book We Seven, authored by the original seven Mercury astronauts. I identified four basic stepping stones to the astronaut program.

Graduate from the Naval Academy or Air Force Academy

Get a master’s degree in aerodynamics

Become a top fighter pilot

Graduate from the US Naval Test Pilot School

I had accomplished the first three. My next goal was to get an appointment to test pilot school.

Bill Denning and I had flown together many times before, including at night. He was a professional and a good guy. I liked him. He liked me. We made a good team. On top of that, he was a graduate of the test pilot school, meaning that his recommendation would carry even more weight.

Flying on and off aircraft carriers is a dangerous and frequently deadly business. I made it a habit, every night while on the flight deck, to declare to whoever was in my backseat,

We are all f***ing nuts!

Why would I say that? At this point, I had lost about 20 friends to aircraft accidents in 6 1/2 years of flying jets for the US Navy. I went to seven funerals in 1977, two from our squadron, VF-102. I probably made the same declaration to CDR Denning that night.

We went through our final checks before getting shot out of a cannon into a totally black night. We were in full afterburner in both engines. Everything looked good. I saluted the Catapult Officer to let him know that I was ready to go. He returned the salute and touched the deck, signaling to the guy in the catwalk to push the big button. The button was pushed, and we accelerated down the catapult ramp, 0 to 207 miles an hour in two seconds! My vision blurred due to the eyeballs-in G-force.

Night launch of an F-18 Hornet in full afterburner

The next thing that happened was a thing of nightmares! My stomach dropped. Instead of climbing, we were sinking rapidly towards the water!

Oh My God!!

I had to fight the temptation to pull back on the stick too hard, stalling the wings and plunging us into the sea. Instead, I kept the wings level and focused like a laser on the angle of attack indicator. I held it steady at 19.0.

Angle of Attack Indicator

We were still in full afterburner. I had no idea how close we were to the water. The night was pitch black. The flight deck is only 60 feet above sea level.

In what felt like an eternity, we began to climb, and once established in the climb, I wasn’t going to stop until I got as high as possible! I wanted to get above the clouds where I could catch my breath.

Commander Denning was silent.

As it turns out, those on the aircraft carrier were trying to catch their collective breath, too. When they saw us disappear below the flight deck, they thought we were goners. In the process of climbing out of that hell hole in full afterburner, we spewed thousands of gallons of salt water onto the ship. Everybody outdoors got soaked!

I continued to climb. That night, thick clouds went all the way up to 40,000 feet. On our way up to get above them, we saw something I’d never seen before or since. Saint Elmo’s Fire. Little blue flames that appeared to be dancing around inside and outside of the canopy. This can occur when the atmosphere is electrically charged strong enough to cause a discharge of plasma between an object and the air around it. It can be an indicator that thunderstorms are nearby. It is not harmful. It is beautiful, fascinating, and spooky all at the same time.

St. Elmo’s Fire, as seen from an aircraft cockpit.

Commander Denning remained silent.

Once we got on top of the clouds, it was visually stunning! A full moon lit up the entire cloud top, and it looked like drifts of newly fallen snow for miles in every direction. It reminded me of a winter morning in Wisconsin when I walked to my neighbor’s farm to help them milk cows, illuminated by a full moon shining on the new snow.

Commander Denning remained silent.

I proceeded to our assigned combat patrol station. Normally, we would practice intercepts with a teammate, but our teammate's aircraft went down with mechanical problems, and we were alone. I flew long race track patterns at max conserve airspeed of 300 knots for about an hour.

Commander Denning remained silent.

When it came time for us to push over, and begin our approach, Denning did his RIO duties, communicating with air traffic control and going through the checklists with me. I did my pilot duties by flying the aircraft on instruments in the clouds until about 2 miles out. I got established on a glide path for landing but had to wave off the approach and take it around for a second attempt due to a foul deck. They were unable to clear the previous aircraft from the landing area on time.

Commander Denning remained silent.

I am not a fan of flying in the clouds, flying at night, or performing aircraft carrier landings. Put the three together, and the stress increases to 100 times that of day VFR flying from an airport. I wasn’t happy that I had to wave off and do it again.

On the second approach, I wanted to turn on the autopilot landing system. It uses computers to keep you on line up, speed, and flight path. However, I had not used that feature enough to gain confidence. It’s like having a ghost sitting on your lap, working the stick and throttles. It’s spookier than Saint Elmo’s Fire, but when it works as advertised, it will catch the 3-wire for a near-perfect landing. When it doesn’t work as advertised, it means the driver has to quickly intervene to prevent a crash, just like today’s Tesla self-driving autopilot. I didn’t need that after what we had just been through.

I flew the second instrument approach around to the back of the ship. When we descended below the clouds, I could see the ship again. I continued on the flight path, and when we had the meatball in sight, Bill made the standard position call. The Landing Signal Officer (LSO) responded, Roger, ball, at 3/4 of a mile, and I completed a good approach to landing, catching the target 3-wire.

I followed directions from the Yellow Shirts on the flight deck, parked the airplane, and shut it down.

Commander Denning remained silent.

I went downstairs, took my flight gear off, and went to the ready room to wait for the customary debrief with my RIO. 30 minutes later, I realized he wasn’t coming.

My squadron mate, Mike Price, who was standing watch in PriFly during my crazy catapult shot, told me what had happened. I had indeed flooded the entire deck with salt water, spraying it all the way up to the Captain’s Bridge.

The Air Boss is pissed! Both he and the Captain got drenched!

That means that the water had to have been launched more than 300 feet in the air!

An aircraft carrier flight deck, island highlighted

You could say, on a ship with a population of 4700, that after that drama, they knew my name. But air wing officers already knew my name. As a standup comedian, I roasted the Air Boss and the Captain at the previous aircrew comedy show, known as Fo’c’s’le Follies. I guess it was fitting, now, the last laugh was on me...

Postscript:

Commander Bill Denning remained silent. He never talked to me about the catapult shot, and he never flew with me again. I would have to wait and see what impact that flight would have on his endorsement of me for test pilot school.

Everyone else remained silent about the catapult shot, too. Nobody ever asked what happened. I guess they were just happy we were still alive. That was good enough for me.

What went wrong?

It was my fault. I did not have the stick positioned properly. I held it in the neutral position instead of one fist aft. That caused the airplane to settle off the catapult instead of climbing.

Why did I not have the stick in the right position?

I had gotten complacent. I had accumulated lots of hours in the aircraft. During daytime catapult shots, when I could see the horizon, the position of the stick wasn’t a big deal. I could quickly adjust. But at night, when I couldn’t see anything but darkness, the correct stick position was vital.

How close did we come to the water?

It’s impossible to know for sure, but to spray that much water onto the ship, we had to have been VERY CLOSE. Over the many years that the Navy flew the F-4 Phantom off aircraft carriers, many were lost, some due to pilots making the same mistake that I did.

Advice to my grandchildren:

If you decide to do something dangerous, like flying planes off aircraft carriers or operating a self-driving car in full autopilot, don’t get complacent!

Chapter 2

The First Five Years

Focus on Mars

There were a billion stars all around.

It was 1961, and I was lying in the grass, flat on my back, in our softball field in west-central Wisconsin. The night sky was beautiful. There were no streetlights or light pollution to block out the stars. I could see the Milky Way. I could find the North Star and Venus, but I wasn’t sure where Mars was. One night, I saw streams of light energy zipping and whipping around the sky at warp speed. I assumed it was from a storm on the sun. Awesome! It was so stunning that I felt that I should wake up some family members so they could see it, too. But it was after midnight.

The space race between the Americans and the Soviets was in full swing. The first American, Alan Shepard, had just been launched into and recovered from space. I was really excited. I read every book about space and planets I could find. I asked the librarian to alert me to any new ones that came to our school. I was fascinated with Mars. My impressions were certainly influenced by science fiction, but I thought it would be an intriguing place to visit, with or without Martians. Photos from telescopes showed evidence of erosion due to running water at one time. I was too young to be the first man on the moon, but I certainly could be the first human on Mars.

I decided that I wanted to become an astronaut, but I didn’t know what it took to become one. You can imagine my delight when the Mercury astronauts published a book the next year called, We Seven. My school librarian checked it out for me as soon as it arrived. It was written by the first seven American astronauts, Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Virgil Grissom, Walter Schirra, Alan Shepard, and Donald Slayton.

Their book gave me a plan for how to become an astronaut. I read all of their stories and took notes on their qualifications and experience. I called this plan my Astronaut Track:

Bachelor of Science from a service academy (Air Force or Navy)

Masters of Science in Aeronautical Engineering

Top fighter pilot

Successful test pilot

I did not know if I could get there or not, but I sure as heck wanted to give it a try. It was the most exciting thing that I could imagine shooting for.

My first goal on the astronaut track was to get a nomination to a service academy. I chose the US Air Force Academy. Why? Because I thought I would have a better chance of getting into NASA with a career in the Air Force. I also liked the modern look of the campus and the Rocky Mountains location. The Naval Academy, on the other hand, was a hundred-year-old institution located in Annapolis, on the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland. Because the Air Force Academy was so much newer, only six years old, I believed it would be less bound to traditions than the Naval Academy. Either way, I would need to apply for an appointment with our Congressman.

The US Air Force Academy

What made me think that I could do this? The odds were not in my favor. I came from a low-income family with no political connections and no college graduates in the family tree. I knew no one who graduated from a service academy and did not even know any pilots. My tiny high school in Elk Mound had only 185 students and sent very few graduates to colleges and none to a service academy. So, my belief was this:

Unless I were number one in EVERYTHING at this little high school, I am probably not going to get an appointment to any military Academy.

By EVERYTHING, I meant academics, sports, music, public speaking, and other extracurricular activities. Anything that could be considered part of a résumé for qualifying for a Service Academy.

Along the way, I would have to deal with the detractors, like we all do. But I did not have to contend with social media, so most of the harassment came face to face. I was told that I was not smart enough, fast enough, tough enough, cool enough, or bold enough. I had bad hair. I was too fat. My clothes were out of style and didn’t fit. I was clearly told in many ways that I should lower my expectations so that I wasn’t greatly disappointed.

I did have some things going for me. I had two parents who believed in education. They were supportive cheerleaders for me. They told me that they believed that I could do whatever I set my mind to. My odds were aided by my gender. Women were not yet entering the pipeline to become fighter pilots or astronauts. I was Caucasian. All of the first astronauts were white men. I was physically fit and had 20/10 eyesight, meaning that I could read twice as far as someone with 20/20 eyesight.

I was the oldest of seven children. Being the oldest in a large family can also be good for building one’s self-confidence. The firstborn usually gets a lot more positive feedback than any of the other children because you’re first to conquer everything. Well, almost everything. Brother Tom learned how to jump on a pogo stick before me. Tom and Larry learned how to whistle REALLY LOUD first and refused to show me how they did it, ever! 😁 Daily competition with my two younger brothers and schoolmates was an important part of my development.

Values that Matter

One’s personal values are very much rooted in and influenced by the environment in which one grows up. Rural Wisconsin was a wonderful place to grow up in the 1950s-60s. The countryside was idyllic: flat rolling plains with low hills, trees, fertile farmland, streams and lakes. Family farms were set back from the country roads with long driveways covered in canopies of Elm trees. Farmers lived in two-story white frame houses. They had big red barns with attached concrete silos. Most of our neighbors were dairy farmers who also grew crops and animals. The environment was so safe that we kids could go on a bike ride - all day long - and not worry our parents.

Parents influence our values more than anyone else in our lifetime. Sometimes, we embrace those values. Sometimes, we reject them and do the exact opposite. But whatever we do, we don’t ignore them.

My parents: Chet and Betty

Introducing your Great Grandparents (to some of you):

My father was John Chet Werner, born in 1919. He married Elizabeth Betty Feyen, born in 1924. Both were children of dairy farmers, your great great grandparents, John and Elizabeth Peters Werner, and George Feyen and Sylvia DeMars Feyen. Their family farms were only a few miles from one another, near Menomonie, Wisconsin.

Chet and Betty attended the same one-room country schoolhouse for one year. They were not really aware of one another because of age and grade differences. Betty was in the 1st grade, and Chet was in the 8th. (Dad skipped two grades because he was considered a gifted student.)

Chet was drafted and served in the US Army during World War II. After WWII, Dad worked for the Chicago & Northwestern Railway as a switchman and freight conductor for 36 years until 1981, when he retired at 62. He retired with a good pension that included family medical benefits. His last year of wages was at the top of the union scale at $40,000. ($140,500 in 2023 dollars)

Susie, Jerry, Sharon, Larry, Kathy, Tom and Barb, circa 1980

I am the oldest of the seven children above. We grew up in what was once a one-room country schoolhouse (similar to my parent’s school) five miles south of Elk Mound. The story about the naming of the town is that early explorers noted an elk herd that roamed the mound area, leading to a name for the 1,220-foot peak that dominates the landscape for many miles around. The mound is also believed to have been a lookout place for both the Sioux and Chippewa tribes. The Town of Elk Mound’s population was 379 in 1960.

Our little schoolhouse grew with additions up and out as the family expanded. We were neither rich nor poor and never went cold or hungry. My mom always made sure that we were clothed, even if some items were hand-sewn