Naval Spooks - "CT Sand Crabs"
In Memoriam:
The U.S.S. Maddox (DD731) was fired upon by motor torpedo boats of North Vietnam on 02 August 1964. There was a small contingent of Naval Spooks on board at the time. The Maddox required close air support from the U.S.S. Ticonderoga to break off the encounter. The U.S.S. Maddox resumed her patrol shortly thereafter. During the night of 04 August 1964 the Maddox was reported to be in another hostile encounter with North Vietnam torpedo boats. However, the validity of this second incident has been questioned by many, including pilots of responding air support craft.
On 08 June 1967, the U.S.S. Liberty (AGTR-5) was engaged in an air and sea attack by planes and boats of the state of Isreal. Thirty-four (34) of the U.S. Navy's finest lost their lives in that attack. Many of the sailors and Marines that died as a result of that attack were Spooks. The engagement lasted about 75 minutes and left 34 dead and 174 wounded. Hours before the attack the Sixth Fleet Commander agreed to provide jet aircraft support within ten minutes if needed to defend the USS Liberty. When the ship did come under attack and aircraft were dispatched to her aid from the USS Saratoga, those aircraft were recalled by orders from the White House.
Very early in the morning on Friday September 24, 1965, a fire completely destroyed building 25 at Kami Seya, Japan. This fire which started as an electrical short between the ceiling of the first deck and the second deck took the life of 12 Navy and Marines Spooks. An additional 14 personnel were hospitalized. By the time the fire was discovered, it was large and took twelve fire departments (military and Japanese) three hours to bring under control.
On April 8, 1950, a PB4Y-2 Privateer was on a normal recon flight over the Baltic Sea, monitoring Russian communications. The flight had a crew of 10 which included 1 naval spook. The flight was shot down by Soviet fighter planes resulting in the loss of all on-board.
On December 12, 1971, a Grumman C-2A with a crew of 10 took off from Cubi Point bound for the Enterprise and was routed through Tan Son Nhut on a logistic support mission. In addition to the pilot, co-pilot and two aviators, the aircraft had six (6) naval spooks on-board. While flying above the South China Sea and after reporting it had reached "Coral" intersection, no further transmissions were heard from the aircraft. The following day, Navy ships in the area reported finding debris and an empty life raft. All aboard the aircraft were lost.
On January 25, 1987, an EA-3B Skywarrior from Squadron VQ-2 homebased in Roda, Spain crashed while attempting to land on the USS Nimitz. The crash took the lives of 7 brave naval personnel including 2 naval spooks.
On Monday, April 15, 1969, a Navy EC-121M recon aircraft with a crew of 31, including 9 Navy and Marine linguists working for the NAVSECGRU, that was on a routine SIGINT collection mission was shot out of the skys by Migs that were operated by the North Korean Air Force. All 31 personnel aboard were killed including the Navy and Marines spooks that worked with them.
The war on the land of Vietnam took the life of several very dedicated and brave Marine and Navy-CTs. The deaths took place in areas with names like Quang Tri Province, Gio Linh, Thuan An NAVCOMMFAC, and Hai Van Pass. God Bless and Keep each and every one of these Brave Marine and Navy CTs.
AND NOW THE WAR IN IRAQ HAS TAKEN THE PRECIOUS LIFE OF ANOTHER NAVAL SPOOK.
<Image from National Security Agency's Website - Public Information Pages>
The "Moving Vietnam Memorial Wall" diaplay. A display that duplicates the Vietnam Memorial Wall. My grand-daughter Danielle is in the center of the photo which was taken by her mother. Children are never too young to realize that Freedom is Not Free.
Naval Spooks-”CT Sand Crabs” Website Owned by: Victor (Knork) Knorowski
http://www.navalspooks-ctsandcrabs.us/