My Most Vivid Memory Aboard U.S.S. Towers

This is the story that bothers me the most. I think of the crew of this E2C Hawkeye at every holiday and sometimes just on an average day.

At the time of this incident, the entire battle group (Alpha) with the USS Midway at its center, was enroute to the North Arabian Sea at a very fast pace - we had to get on station quickly - I didn't know why.
 

It was late at night and we were at plane guard position astern of the USS Midway (CV 41).

It was one of those memorably strange nights at sea. The ocean was glowing green with phosphorescents and it was a little foggy after some light rain earlier.

I was on the 2000-2400 bridge watch team, rotating from helmsman to forward lookout and such. We were in the "plane guard" position 1000 or 1500 yards astern of the USS Miway aircraft carrier that was conducting flight operations. As the plane guard ship, we do two important tasks. The first is being something for the pilots to line up on as they approach the carrier. The second, is if a plane hits the water, or flight deck personnel get blown overboard - we "should be" in a great spot to rescue them.

We were relieved from watch just before midnight, and I had gone below to get some sleep.  The next thing I knew the lights came and over the 1MC I hear "aircraft down."  I got dressed faster than ever before and ran toward the boat deck. I could see the smoke from a couple floats that were tossed probably by Midway personnel. As I got closer to the starboard side, I saw the light beams from the searchlight cutting through the smoke and illuminating something that my brain wrestled with processing... It was an E2C, from the "Liberty Bells" squadron just floating just 20-30 feet or so from the starboard side of the ship.  Water was not quite to the cockpit windows, inside, the pilot and co-pilot were heads down, unconscious, water mid chest.  I noticed right away all the rescue hatches on the aircraft were still closed. No one was moving.

Chief O'Connor told me to 'tend the swimmer's line,' which I did.  The rescue swimmer was next to me and within a minute reported he was ready.  

Alongside the chief was the sound powered phone talker, who when he heard the swimmer say he was ready, passed that along to the bridge, "Bridge, Boat Deck is manned and ready!" 

Other Towers crewmen were busy readying rescue gear at the swimmer station. We were ready amazingly fast and my Chief made this request of the phone talker "Bridge, Boat Deck, request permission to put swimmers in the water for rescue."

"Negative" was the answer. BMC Chief O'Connor, a Vietnam War river gunboat 'veteran looked puzzled, and sad again, "Request permission to put rescue swimmers in the water." This time with a little more adrenalin in his voice. The phone talker passed it along and then said, Negative Chief." 

Chief O'Connor grabbed the phone mic off the talker's chest and yelled into the sound powered phone, "Request permission to put the swimmer in the water sir!" 

As he was yelling that, the Captain stepped onto the bridge wing and shouted something down about looking for movement - an attempt by the air crew to escape would - so it seem - trigger our team to get in action. Chief O'Connor couldn't digest what was unfolding and he shouted directly up to the bridge and yelled at the Captain directly, "Request permission to put the swimmer in the F*****G water!" 

The Captain turned and stepped to the after most part of the bridge wing to be closer to us, and shouted back, "Negative Chief, we will not lose anyone else here tonight!"

Chief O'Connor was mumbling f-bombs and the swimmer openly considered just going in... Chief told him not to until the captain says go.

So we stood there. Hoping and praying someone inside would move, so we would get the opportunity to do something besides watch this aircraft sink with these men aboard. 

But that chance never came. In just a few minutes Towers was ordered to clear away from the downed plane and return to plane guard position. The helicopter was inbound to attempt rescue. 

The aircraft sank not long after we departed.  I later learned (through this bog and a reply from the swimmer in the helo)  hat the rescue swimmer on the chopper was not allowed to go in either.

The next day was rougher, rainy and foggy. We were in a search pattern looking for anything or anyone from that E2C.

We found the EXC's radar dome afloat in the waves. Reported it to the Midway and was ordered to ensure it sinks and cannot be recovered by anyone else. 

We shot it full of .50 cal machine gun fire and it just sat there refusing to sink. We fired more, it continued to refuse to sink,

The captain grew frustrated and took the Towers on several 'runs' colliding with the dome and breaking it into smaller retrievable pieces. In the end we recovered most of the dome. It had been 4 days, time to rejoin the battle group.

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UPDATE: Decades later I visited the USS MIDWAY MUSEUM and stood next to an E2C Hawkeye, and placed my open hand against the aircraft. I was shocked by how much bigger the plan was. Meaning, how much of the aircraft was already under water that night long ago. Suddenly after all the years, the orders from that night made sense. That aircraft was 70% underwater when we were alongside meaning that at any moment - without any warning - it could have sunk and taken anyone who was climbing into it along.

I cried. Standing there touching the plane while museum guests strolled around the fight deck like it was nothing. I was finally aboard Midway - connecting with a part of me, and a part of the U.S. Navy we lost that night
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If you know anything about this incident, please post it here - I'd love to know more of the story. But until I know I'll continue to think about that crew - every Veterans Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and birthday...