War on Terror
War on Terror
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I was in Hawaii, on the only American Flagged Cruise ship when 9/11 happened. It was likeThree "O'Clock in the morning when the Captain woke us all up and told us about the attack. We all crowded in the Bars where they had TV's. Nobody wanted to be alone.
Within hours, we were surrounded by Navy Ships,Helicopters and fighter jets...as they thought we would be a good target. Very visible and only one ship.
After three days, they let us port in Honolulu. But no planes were flying. The Local Paper said they discovered a plot to use five 747's from Japan to do basically the same thing that was done in NYC. But they forgot about the International Dateline and so were all caught before they could pull off another horror.
And since they were 747's...well, nobody wanted to fly on one. A few days after 9/11 the first 747 left for the Mainland. There were only a few of us who boarded that day. Like maybe a handful. I think there were nine of us.
The Stewardesses told us to sit anywhere except First Class. But the Pilot got on and said: "If you are brave enough to fly, you are welcome to First Class."
Strangely, only two of us move up!
A couple of the other guys went to the Coach section and took the entire middle row and used it as a bed.
But I went up front. Had two steak dinners, untold amounts of Ice cream, soda, and snacks. We landed in Minneapolis. I got on another plane to fly to Charlotte NC. And that plane only had six folks on it.
When we landed in Charlotte. My Kathy was waiting. When I saw her my face just lit up. She hugged me harder than she did when we finished our Wedding Vows. When we got home, and went inside the door to our house, she almost fell to the ground with relief. She cried. The first time I had ever seen her cry in our marriage. I just held her. And held her up.
Finally she could talk.
"I thought I lost you, Kevin. I thought you might not be allowed to ever leave Hawaii...or worse. I thought they would fly your plane into the middle of the Pacific Ocean...just to spite us.
I was home safe. And by the next day or two, the planes were full again. And a little bit of History rippled through our lives.
Within hours, we were surrounded by Navy Ships,Helicopters and fighter jets...as they thought we would be a good target. Very visible and only one ship.
After three days, they let us port in Honolulu. But no planes were flying. The Local Paper said they discovered a plot to use five 747's from Japan to do basically the same thing that was done in NYC. But they forgot about the International Dateline and so were all caught before they could pull off another horror.
And since they were 747's...well, nobody wanted to fly on one. A few days after 9/11 the first 747 left for the Mainland. There were only a few of us who boarded that day. Like maybe a handful. I think there were nine of us.
The Stewardesses told us to sit anywhere except First Class. But the Pilot got on and said: "If you are brave enough to fly, you are welcome to First Class."
Strangely, only two of us move up!
A couple of the other guys went to the Coach section and took the entire middle row and used it as a bed.
But I went up front. Had two steak dinners, untold amounts of Ice cream, soda, and snacks. We landed in Minneapolis. I got on another plane to fly to Charlotte NC. And that plane only had six folks on it.
When we landed in Charlotte. My Kathy was waiting. When I saw her my face just lit up. She hugged me harder than she did when we finished our Wedding Vows. When we got home, and went inside the door to our house, she almost fell to the ground with relief. She cried. The first time I had ever seen her cry in our marriage. I just held her. And held her up.
Finally she could talk.
"I thought I lost you, Kevin. I thought you might not be allowed to ever leave Hawaii...or worse. I thought they would fly your plane into the middle of the Pacific Ocean...just to spite us.
I was home safe. And by the next day or two, the planes were full again. And a little bit of History rippled through our lives.
9/11
Travel
War on Terror
Flying
Posted 9 d ago
Responses: 2
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I was on the USS Proteus a submarine tender, working for the US Naval Ship Repair Facility on Guam as a welder.
We were doing modification on the weapon's hold, when the capitan announced on the PA what had happen, and we were at war.
The ship repairs then changed and we extended the forward weapons hold all decks to be extened by four feet, to hold cruise missiles.
The USS Proteus was an old ship, that pertisapated of the Japan surrender at Tokyo bay, in Sept 2, 1945.
We were doing modification on the weapon's hold, when the capitan announced on the PA what had happen, and we were at war.
The ship repairs then changed and we extended the forward weapons hold all decks to be extened by four feet, to hold cruise missiles.
The USS Proteus was an old ship, that pertisapated of the Japan surrender at Tokyo bay, in Sept 2, 1945.
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SGT Kevin Hughes
Wow you connected a lot of History Dots in that comment! And I love the picture. Imagine the stories she could tell. Thanks for posting!
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SGT Carl Blas
SGT Kevin Hughes - I was welding at the shaff ally, all the way down the ship's pits.
Connected were 16 welding cables that were 50 feet long each, to the job site and to the welding machine on the pier.
The bad thing was, if I needed to higher or lower the amperage for the welding, sooner or later, you learned how to weld with most amperage. Better to have it high than low.
Connected were 16 welding cables that were 50 feet long each, to the job site and to the welding machine on the pier.
The bad thing was, if I needed to higher or lower the amperage for the welding, sooner or later, you learned how to weld with most amperage. Better to have it high than low.
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SGT Kevin Hughes
SGT Carl Blas - My brother and son in law can both weld. My brother can lay a bead like a machine did it. But me, nope. I can get mechanical ideas into my head, but can't get them down to my hands. The only tools we have, belong to my Kathy. Cause any thing I fix, we have to hire someone to repair. My six brothers could all use tools. I just brought pizza and beer.
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SGT Kevin Hughes
Thanks Gene, it was a terrible day. And all the Officers and the Captain of that ship were former Navy Captains and Pilots...and they wanted to get off that ship and re-enlist. Sadly we had four families that had loved ones in the Towers. And it was a really long day for them.
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