A recent “Everybody has a story,” about Mr. Stott and his being mistaken for a famous singer by autograph hunters, caused me to reflect on my time in the United States Navy as a naval flight officer.
I was stationed at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Oak Harbor, from 1974 to 1979. My crew and I were asked to fly an EA-6B Prowler jet to Mather Air Force Base in Sacramento, Calif., for an air show there. My home was West Sacramento, so I was happy to go there and meet with my mother.
Our crew put the plane on display at the air show, and, coincidently, there was a Navy Blue Angels demonstration at the end of the program. My mother met me there after the show and we walked back to her car together. Our crew of four called ourselves the “blue crew,” as we had all purchased blue flight suits much like the Blue Angels. We had yellow turtleneck shirts, so we looked a lot like the real Blue Angels. On the way back to the car, I heard a young boy yell, “Hey, there’s a Blue Angel!”
That’s all it took. A throng of about 100 children and parents came running over to me and asked for autographs on their programs. Getting to the real Blues was difficult, so I was a good second target. The young people didn’t know the difference, even when I told them I wasn’t one of them, and were relentless for the autograph. So, I succumbed and signed for what seemed like an eternity. I guess, although it was a long event for me to sign those programs, the children went home satisfied that they had personally met one of the Blue Angels that day at Mather.
