Wetherhorn

I’ve seen plenty of crises, including aircraft crashes. But one that sticks out happened when we were sortieing from Subic Bay.
We had been given a break from sitting off the Vietnamese coast and had returned to Subic Bay. Our embarked marines all went ashore to go out in the field to do what marines do, practice and train for combat. Then the higher command decided they needed us again off Vietnam. There wasn’t much warning. The marines were brought back to ship by helicopter from somewhere out in Philippine jungle. The ship didn’t wait for them. We cast off from the pier while the helicopters were still bringing marines on board.
I was responsible for electronic repair and went up to the bridge to check out some antenna installations on the level above it. I stopped to watch the helicopters returning. One of them seemed a little low. The pilot managed to touch down on the flight deck, but only with his starboard and tail wheels. The port side wheel was over the catwalk on the edge of the flight deck when the pilot began to ease back on the throttle. When the realization hit that he wasn’t stable he began to play with the throttle and the angle of the rotor blades. From my position it looked like a slow motion film clip. The helo began to tilt to the left. The pilot found hid rotors were stalling and he couldn’t lift off to try another approach. Technically, he was on the wrong side of the power curve. Adding power didn’t give him more lift. changing the angle of the rotors just made the stall worse. I saw one pilot abandon the helo and jump into the catwalk as the aircraft turned over to the left and, ever so slowly, dropped off the ship and into the bay.
The helicopter had a crew of two. I hadn’t seen the second man leave the plane and jump into the catwalk. neither had many others who were watching. One person who was watching from the hanger deck was the hanger deck officer. He was, himself, a pilot. He suspected that both pilots might not have succeeded in getting out. He ran to the edge of the port side elevator, kicked off his shoes, and dived into the bay to rescue anyone who might be trapped inside the sinking helicopter. And he did this even though he could hardly swim,
The ship slowed and put a rescue boat in the water. The boat picked up the hangar deck officer. There weren’t any other people in the water. The helicopter sank. It was later salvaged and the wreckage deposited on the pier near where we moored when we returned.
The hangar deck officer was awarded a medal for his selfless attempt at lifesaving. I always thought he certainly deserved it.