FLIGHT ATTENDANTS/WELL WISHERS: [00:00:00] We gotcha. You take your time. Have a great day. Thank you…. Hi, good morning…

HOST: [00:00:03] San Diego international Airport. It’s late September and 85 US Navy HAL-3 Seawolves are boarding an honor flight from San Diego to Washington, D.C..

FLIGHT ATTENDANTS/WELL WISHERS: [00:00:19] That honor when they came back to…. Thank you for your service.

HOST: [00:00:36] Holly Shaffner is the PR director for Honor Flight San Diego, one of more than 130 hubs in the National Honor Flight Network, which raises money plans, the trips and escorts military veterans to the nation’s capital to visit the memorials.

HOLLY SHAFFNER: [00:00:51] Prior to 2022, we’ve taken all World War II, Korea and terminally-ill Vietnam veterans on their Honor Flight, and to date, we’ve taken over 1,500. But we knew that it was time to open up to the Vietnam veterans. We have 240,000 military veterans in San Diego County alone. And out of those, about 60,000 are Vietnam veterans. So we really had to be strategic in how we were going to open up our trip to Vietnam veterans. And when we searched for how we were going to do it, we wanted to go big. So we did research, and we found the most-decorated naval unit of the Vietnam War and the most-decorated naval unit of and still today of naval aviation history. So that’s why we started with the Navy HAL-3 Seawolves.

HOST: [00:01:43] If the name Seawolves isn’t ringing any bells, you’re not alone. The Navy SEALs and River Rats, who served in the Mekong Delta between 1967 and 1972, know them as heroes and saviors. Outside of those circles, the Seawolves are largely unknown, even among Vietnam War historians. If you haven’t already listened to Episode 40, we suggest you do that before proceeding… In this episode, I’ll travel with 85 sea wolves from San Diego to Washington, DC. You’ll hear some familiar voices like Mel and Tex, and I’ll introduce you to some fascinating new characters who will shed additional light on the Navy’s most-decorated and arguably least-celebrated aviation squadron. Stick around. From the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, founders of the wall, this is Echoes of the Vietnam War. I’m your host, Michael Croan, bringing you stories of service, sacrifice, and healing from people who still feel the impact of that conflict… Nearly 50 years later. This is Episode 41: Seawolves (Part Two).

TOMB GUARD: [00:03:14] Guards halt. Port arms. Ready face. Present arms. Port Arms, Ready face…

HOST: [00:03:54] It’s a cool,grey, misty morning in late September, and we’re at Arlington National Cemetery watching the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns. The Seawolves, who’ve been borderline rowdy since we first gathered in San Diego two nights ago, are completely silent. It’s the first time I’ve seen their reverent side. It’s heavy and palpable. They’re old men now, several of them in wheelchairs. But you get the distinct feeling that if you were to break the silence, even accidentally, these men would disintegrate you with their eyes.

HOST: [00:05:21] We had flown into BWI the day before on an Alaska Airlines charter with “Honoring Those Who Served” painted on the fuselage. By the time we boarded, the Seawolves had already gotten a little taste of what it means to be on an honor flight. They’d been treated like royalty everywhere they went, including at airport security, but nothing could have prepared them for the surprise they received in mid-flight.

TEX MORGAN: [00:05:48] Wow. Huh? Yeah. No kidding.

HOST: [00:05:52] You remember Tex, right? Of course you do.

TEX MORGAN: [00:05:56] Uh, My best friend, Gary Bork. Uh, Gerald Bork. Uh, we were sitting at the very back when those, those big bags of letters and cards and stuff were, were handed out to us.

HOST: [00:06:10] Somewhere over Oklahoma or Arkansas. The Honor Flight San Diego team announced mail call. Every veteran on the plane received two large bags of mail, one from school kids and members of the general public, the other from friends and family, all of them expressing pride and gratitude for the duty these men had performed more than 50 years ago. None of the Seawolves saw this coming.

TEX MORGAN: [00:06:36] Uh, I was eager to, to see what, uh, some of the messages and things were. And that lasted about five minutes. And I had to take and put everything back in the big bag and filled it up and put it up underneath my seat. Um. My emotions got the best of me. I couldn’t read because I couldn’t see through the tears.

HOST: [00:07:06] Tex wasn’t alone. My seatmate, a door gunner from California, tucked right into the cards from the school kids. A huge smile across his face as he read a handful of those. But then he opened the other bag, and that smile gave way to an expression of, well, it was as if every emotion a person can feel was fighting for the rights to his face. They’ve got one in here from my sister, he said. And a few seconds later he had to put his mailbag away, just like Tex. And I suddenly realized something essential about these honor Flight San Diego people. They don’t mess around.

TOUR GUIDE ANNOUNCER ANC: [00:07:46] The grounds itself are about, um, 600 acres, a little over 600 acres they’re currently building to expand, um, towards the Air Force Memorial.

HOST: [00:07:55] Back on the tour buses, we drive by the Air Force and Marine Corps memorials. Around 10:15, we arrive at the US Navy Memorial on Pennsylvania Avenue, where we get off the buses for a short ceremony and a tour of the visitor center.

TEX MORGAN: [00:08:08] I’m sorry. That’s what mama put out there. Yeah, yeah. And you ate what mama cooked or you went hungry. That’s the way it was in my house.

HOST: [00:08:17] Yeah. This is the first stop of the day where the Seawolves can be off the buses, relaxed and unhurried. They laugh and share stories and take photos with the Lone Sailor. A statue overlooking a plaza sized granite map of the world’s oceans. The Seawolves show off their knowledge of naval history to each other and delight in learning new things about the Navy. I learn a lot here too, including about Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, the youngest chief of naval operations in American history who’s credited with modernizing the Navy in the 20th century. It was his command of the Mobile Riverine forces in Vietnam that led to the creation of the HAL-3 Seawolves. Back on the bus were served box lunches on our way to the next stop. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial. I sit with Bob Britz, one of the first Seawolf pilots to arrive in Vietnam after the squadron was officially commissioned in April of 1967. Is this your first time visiting The Wall.

BOB BRITZ: [00:09:17] Uh, this would be my second time.

HOST: [00:09:20] And is there is there anybody in particular on The Wall?

BOB BRITZ: [00:09:23] Yes, yes. James Burke, he was an ensign. We went through flight school together. He arrived over in Vietnam, uh, about two months after I did in 1967. And, uh, he, uh, was flying, uh, at night and got into a thunderstorm and and, uh, the plane just couldn’t couldn’t stand the turbulence in, it crashed. And, uh, as a result of that, I, his, his parents had requested, if there’s any way to get his remains back, that they would appreciate it. And I knew him really well with the flight school and knew his family. I ended up escorting him, his remains back to Detroit, to his family, and then returned back to Vietnam after that. Uh, and in fact, his, his young brother at the time that I was at the, at their home with a funeral services, he was six years old. He is on this tour today.

HOST: [00:10:30] James Burke’s brother is.

BOB BRITZ: [00:10:32] His youngest brother, and he became a Navy pilot and and then became an American Airlines captain.

HOST: [00:10:39] So he’s on the tour as a as a guardian.

BOB BRITZ: [00:10:42] He is. He called me up, he says. Bob, this is Tim Burke. I was five years old. And you… I didn’t know what was going on at the house, and everybody’s in tears and crying and yelling and, and you looked at me and came over and you said, “I think you and I need to get out of here.” So I picked him up and took him up, put him in my lap, and we went out and drove the car around out of the parking lot. And, you know, and then he just calls me out of the blue, and he’s here. He’s, he’s on this trip.

HOST: [00:11:15] After stopping at the World War II Memorial for some group photos, we arrive at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial around 1:00. It’s the first time many of these Seawolves have ever seen The Wall and the 44 names of their fallen brothers. It’s also the first time that some of them have ever met each other. With 85 of them on this trip enough to fill four charter buses, new connections are made and shared connections are discovered every hour of the day. These conversations are the same, but the tone is different. They’re more laden with meaning when they happen at The Wall.

JOHN SHIELDS: [00:11:48] He was coming back. And he had priority, so he kicked me off. But he went to his death that night. You still. Yeah. Him and Pedersen, both. Pedersen was done flying. Yeah.

RICH LAMBERT: [00:11:59] No, he was ready to go home and went back, and, uh, he and I went through S.E.R.E. School together, and we’re both from California. Yeah. I, uh, took the coin to his uncle because mom and dad didn’t want him going over. Uh, yeah. It was a sad day. And VC Lake. Yeah…. Rich Lambert.

JOHN SHIELDS: [00:12:22] John Shields.

RICH LAMBERT: [00:12:22] John Shields.

JOHN SHIELDS: [00:12:24] Yeah. He talked him into flying one more night. Yeah. No, no, no.

TONY NELSON: [00:12:34] I’m here because he was there. I was on the aircraft. It was my flight. He was coming back from R&R. And, uh, he said, Tony, I’ve been traveling for two days. Would you mind if I took your seat? So I got off. He got on… The helicopter, crashes, killed.

GARY BORK: [00:12:55] All four of them.

TONY NELSON: [00:12:56] All four of them.

HOST: [00:12:57] Who were the other two?

TONY NELSON: [00:12:59] Bob Worth with the other gunner. And then Tony Ortiz and, uh, um, Buzz, Buzzell were, uh, the pilots?

BACKGROUND CONVERSATION: [00:13:10] Ramos. Yeah. Joe Ramos. Yeah.

HOST: [00:13:14] You guys mind telling me your names? Just so I have it on the recording?

TONY NELSON: [00:13:17] I’m Tony Nelson. Tony Nelson. Yeah.

GARY BORK: [00:13:20] Gary Bork.

HOST: [00:13:20] All right. Gary, I remember.From the last night. I’ll leave you alone. Thank you.

GARY BORK: [00:13:24] Right, sir.

HOST: [00:13:27] I see a couple of people from our group, a veteran and a guardian, who look like they could use some help finding a name on The Wall. So you forgive me? I remember your last name. Macklemore.

RICK MCILMOIL: [00:13:37] McIlmoil. Well, it’s McIlmoil.

HOST: [00:13:41] Oh, that was close. Yes, but I don’t remember your first name. Was it Rick? Rick. Yeah. Okay.

RICK MCILMOIL: [00:13:46] Another Rick. Yeah.

HOST: [00:13:48] And, uh, when were you when were you in Vietnam with the Seawolves?

RICK MCILMOIL: [00:13:51] Uh, ’71, ’72. Yeah. And and my my claim to fame is, which I love sharing is…

HOST: [00:14:01] He shows me a picture on his phone.

RICK MCILMOIL: [00:14:04] This is Commander Mulcahy. His… Her father… Crewman, the XO, and that’s me. And that was the crew of the last flight.

HOST: [00:14:16] The last. Let’s. You’re the one who I was talking to about turning off the lights. Yeah, you guys were the last ones out of there. Yeah. Wow.

CATHY MULCAHY: [00:14:24] And he’s over at Arlington now.

HOST: [00:14:26] Wow. Oh, and tell me your name.

GARY BORK: [00:14:29] I’m Cathy. Cathy. Cathy. Catherine Mulcahy. I’m his daughter. Um.

HOST: [00:14:35] So you flew out of there with her father?

RICK MCILMOIL: [00:14:37] Well, we we made the last flight and then, of course, shipped everything else out after that. Gotcha. But that was basically the last official flight of HAL-3.

HOST: [00:14:48] How about that? Wow. And what was your job on the aircraft?

RICK MCILMOIL: [00:14:51] Uh, I started as on the line crew moving aircraft around, and then I started flying and became an air crewman, an air crewman. And, uh, because we came home early or I came home early, uh, it was March instead of July. I couldn’t make that step out to the detachments, which I’ve always regretted, but… When you look at gunners and, you know, they’re up here to me, and I want to be up there too.

HOST: [00:15:26] Yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, I imagine that I imagine that they would say they couldn’t have done their job without, without you. Yeah. And you said Ron Cole was your friend who’s on The Wall.

RICK MCILMOIL: [00:15:37] Crone.

HOST: [00:15:38] Crone. Sorry.

RICK MCILMOIL: [00:15:38] Well, I knew….

HOST: [00:15:39] I should have gotten that right!

RICK MCILMOIL: [00:15:41] I knew his brother Dave, and that’s, I met, uh, Don just before Don went to Vietnam. Okay. And then, like I said, I was in in A-school when my girlfriend told me that Don was killed.

HOST: [00:15:55] And then how long after that did you get your orders?

RICK MCILMOIL: [00:15:56] Two days.

HOST: [00:15:57] Two days. Wow. So.

RICK MCILMOIL: [00:16:03] It was something else… And it’s that typical thing you think, okay, I’m going to go revenge Don. Yeah. was I stupid.

HOST: [00:16:15] Well, I, I mean, everybody at that age, right? All males, all 19-year-old males are.

RICK MCILMOIL: [00:16:22] I wasn’t that old yet.

HOST: [00:16:23] You weren’t that old yet?

RICK MCILMOIL: [00:16:24] I was 18.

HOST: [00:16:26] 18? Yeah. Yeah. So you hadn’t reached peak stupidity?

RICK MCILMOIL: [00:16:30] No, but I did while I was there because I turned 19 in October… 26 line 74.

HOST: [00:16:40] Alright. So ten, 20, 30, 40. 50. 60, 70….. 1,2,3,4. It should be on this line. Here he is, Michael Schafernocker. And this this was a Seawolf, also?

RICK MCILMOIL: [00:17:04] Yeah, that was the list that they gave us.

HOST: [00:17:08] And this is also for a family who’s not here?

CATHY MULCAHY: [00:17:12] Right, His mother, from what I understand, is – Because I’m new to the flock – um, was very much involved with the Seawolves after her son, um, was killed. And so I think Linda is his sister… But she was there as well at the sendoff.

HOST: [00:17:36] I spot Tex standing by himself, observing all of this. He’s rarely alone, so I check in with him…. You having a big day?

TEX MORGAN: [00:17:48] It’s, it’s one of those days that that, uh, is is so many mixed emotions. But this is my ten-year anniversary. I was here in 2012 reading names, and now I’m here in 2022 with my squadron mates, and, uh, it’s, uh. It’s, it’s, it’s such an emotional roller coaster. You just, you’re you’re laughing and goofing with with one of your brothers… And the next time you turn around, you’re crying. You can’t stop it. It’s just what it is. But when I was here in 2012. My very first time here and my very first time to really face what this is, uh, I touched The Wall and The Wall smacked the hell out of me…. Now, it’s doing the same thing…..It’s doing the same thing.

HOST: [00:19:02] Any easier?

TEX MORGAN: [00:19:04] Yes, because I know when I go home, I’m not fighting demons anymore. I’ve, I haven’t totally kicked them to the to the ground yet. Uh, some of them are they’re still lurking back there in the background, but it’s a lot easier to be able to deal with them.

HOST: [00:19:24] Who were, uh, who were some of the guys that you come here to look for? Uh, specifically.

TEX MORGAN: [00:19:30] One in particular. Michael E. “The Delta Mauler” Schafernocker.

HOST: [00:19:37] Oh, I just came from Schafernocker, 26 West, um, what do you remember about him? Because the the people I was with, they they didn’t know him. They were doing it for his sister.

TEX MORGAN: [00:19:47] I never met him.

HOST: [00:19:49] But you come here to look for him….

TEX MORGAN: [00:19:52] Specifically.

HOST: [00:19:53] Why?

HOST: [00:19:55] After a short break, we’ll find out why Michael Schafernocker is so important to these Seawolves. Even those who never knew him. Stick around. Well, well, guess what I have here. It’s a news release announcing the 2023 tour dates and locations for The Wall That Heals. That’s VVMF’s exact replica of The Wall at three-quarter scale that travels to communities all across America. If you want to know more about this traveling exhibit and the impact it can have on visitors, listen to Episode 15 of this podcast. More than 100 communities applied to host the Wall That Heals next year, which is the 50th anniversary of the close of combat operations in Vietnam. The tour schedule includes more than 30 cities and towns stretching from South Carolina to Idaho and Maine to California. Is it coming anywhere near your town? Visit vvmf.org to find out. Just a little heads up. We’ll have one more episode for you early next month, and after that, we’ll take a little time off for the holidays. We’ll be back in the third week of January. And finally, a word about show notes. For each episode that we put out. We also publish what are called show notes or episode notes, which contain additional information and resources relevant to the topic. But it’s been a busy month here at VVMF with the 40th Anniversary activities, so we’re a little behind on getting those show notes published to our website. The notes for these two Seawolves episodes will include things like a link to the documentary Scramble the Seawolves, which you can stream for free, and links to the Seawolves Association, Honor Flight San Diego and US Navy Memorial websites, among many, many other things. So if you’re interested in seeing the notes for these two episodes 40 and 41, just email [email protected] And I’ll send them to you.

PAT SAMEL: [00:22:27] Okay. Mike and George were shot down in Cambodia.

HOST: [00:22:32] Mike?

PAT SAMEL: [00:22:33] Schafernocker

HOST: [00:22:33] And George?

PAT SAMEL: [00:22:34] Page.

HOST: [00:22:35] Page… And what were there? Was one of them a pilot? Were they both guners?

PAT SAMEL: [00:22:38] Both gunners.

HOST: [00:22:40] Okay.

HOST: [00:22:41] That’s Pat Samel. He served with the Seawolves in 1968 and ’69, first as a maintainer and then as a door gunner. And he’s currently the president of the Seawolf Association. I asked him why so many Seawolves, including Tex, hold Michael Schafernocker in such high regard, even if they never met him?

PAT SAMEL: [00:22:59] Mike was trapped in the airplane. George was burnt. They got him out, got George out on a medevac. They couldn’t get Mike out.

HOST: [00:23:12] They got George out, when? Like, how long was he in there?

PAT SAMEL: [00:23:15] He he, uh, the medevacs came in, uh, about 20 minutes after they crashed, and they couldn’t get Mike out because the, uh, it was twisted and the VC were coming over the hill. So it was either go… Or, try to fight off a hundred VC. [MUFFLED SPEAKING]… Says, let’s get out of here. Mike was dead, actually. So it was not, not like he left behind a living soul. He got out. Mike was declared dead right there because they went back and later recovered the body. George was shipped to the States. He went in to Balboa, I guess, to the hospital. And he died later of infection in his burns. He wasn’t… At least he had two weeks with his family. And Mike, Mike’s mom, who we called “Mommanocker.” She adopted all of us. We were all her kids. We go to the reunion… Everybody had to get a hug. She drove… There were traveling walls, for all the veterans… Any veterans she saw, got a hug. You make a difference. She didn’t know him to make a difference. Mommanocker gave him a hug. A big old Texas hug. She’d go to DFW airport, she knows about guys coming back through the airport. She was there and everyone got off that airplane, got a hug… She would, she would help people. And if she found a veteran that was in need of help, she’d take him in, “Stay in my house till you get on your feet.” You know, she was that kind of person. And she wanted to do anything she could to help veterans.

HOST: [00:25:33] Mommanocker became the de facto den mother of SEALs, River Rats and Seawolves everywhere. Tex met her for the first time in September of 1983 at the Miller Outdoor Theatre in Houston, he was there for a big stand down veterans event and, as usual, was wearing something that identified him as a Seawolf. He had twisted his knee beforehand, so he was walking with one crutch, making his way up to the amphitheater, when all of a sudden these two big guys come out of nowhere. One hits him high, the other hits him low, and Tex is on the ground fighting for his life.

TEX MORGAN: [00:26:10] They were gentle about it, but I didn’t know who it was. The fight was on… And I had to quit trying to fight ’em because they were laughing so hard. I said, “What the…? What the hell is this all about?” “There is someone that has requested your presence and we are making sure that that request is satisfied.”

HOST: [00:26:32] As it turns out, Mommanocker was attending the event. She had heard there was a Seawolf in Houston, and had issued orders to her SEALs that if the Seawolf could be found, he was to be brought to her… Immediately.

TEX MORGAN: [00:26:46] So they took me down to where Mommanocker was at and, and, we sat down and talked and cried and, and laughed and joked. And she became my second mom.

HOST: [00:27:04] You know, my favorite part of that story is that the the two guys who “Delivered you” to Mommanocker. Yeah.

TEX MORGAN: [00:27:10] Oh, they did too. Yes. Yeah.

HOST: [00:27:12] She sent a SEAL team after you…

TEX MORGAN: [00:27:14] Yeah, SEAL Team One…

JOHN SHIELDS: [00:27:15] “Bring him to me.”

TEX MORGAN: [00:27:16] Yeah, and these were old guys, too.

HOST: [00:27:17] Is that right? Yeah. What year was that?

TEX MORGAN: [00:27:20] Uh, 1983.

HOST: [00:27:21] Oh, man.

TEX MORGAN: [00:27:23] It was definitely an experience.

HOST: [00:27:25] You were extracted.

TEX MORGAN: [00:27:26] Oh, I was I was definitely extracted. Same thing we used to do for them. They did to me.

HOST: [00:27:33] That’s amazing. Tex and Mommanocker remained extremely close until she passed away in 2016 at the age of 89. And she is the reason why, when Tex finds himself at The Wall, he seeks out Michael Schafernocker, a Seawolf he never met, specifically and deliberately.

TEX MORGAN: [00:27:53] I used to do, I was, I worked for telecom companies, and I did the Dallas Greater Dallas Metroplex for about three years, and about three times a week. Every day at lunch, I would go to the Texas State Fairgrounds to the rose quartz wall, with… Its the the Texas Wall… And I take a little, little nylon flag, put it by Michael’s name. I just sit down, eat my lunch, conversate with him and the rest of the guys on the wall. Then I go back to work. It was the way I was healing myself.

HOST: [00:28:38] The Seawolves spend a total of two hours at this stop, touring the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Korean War Veterans Memorial. Individually or in small groups, it’s an intensely emotional time for everybody, and the day isn’t over yet. We hit the Washington Navy Yard, the oldest shore establishment of the US Navy, where we take some more group photos and tour the US Navy Museum. By then, we’re all pretty well worn out, and the bus ride back to the BWI Hilton is relatively subdued. Dinner and the closing ceremony provide the final crescendo for the weekend. The dais in the large hotel ballroom is decked out with eight by ten photographs of the 44 fallen Seawolves, complete with rubbings of their names from The Wall, courtesy of VVMF… And 44 folded flags donated by Miramar National Cemetery. Kicking things off is Mel Taitano, daughter of Seawolf Anthony Rosario and board member of Honor Flight San Diego. She doesn’t seem to have lost an ounce of energy, as she delivers a personalized version of Howard Schnauber’s poem “Old Glory.”

MEL TAITANO: [00:29:52] I am the flag of the United States of America. My name is Old Glory. I fly atop of the world’s tallest buildings. And I stand watch in America’s halls of justice. I fly majestically across the great institutions of learning. And I stand guard with the greatest military power in the world. Look up and see me. I stand for peace, truth, honor and justice. I stand for freedom. I am confident, I am brave, I am proud, and I am ready. When I am flown with my fellow banners, my head is held a little higher, my colors a little truer…

HOST: [00:30:38] Mel goes on for six and a half minutes, entirely without notes, making eye contact with seemingly every Seawolf in the room, building momentum and emotion as she goes. The room is already on its feet by the time she finishes to an explosion of applause. If Dorothy Schafernocker is the Seawolf Momma, this is their little girl. After dinner, I managed to pull Mel away from her adoring fans for a few minutes. Tonight is the culmination of three years of planning for her, an event that she had pictured with her father in it, that ended up taking place without him. Well, you must be drained.

MEL TAITANO: [00:31:31] A good drained.

HOST: [00:31:34] Were there any surprises?

MEL TAITANO: [00:31:39] I really didn’t know what to expect.

MEL TAITANO: [00:31:44] It was heartbreaking to see, um, some of the veterans, you know, overwhelmed with emotion because they couldn’t believe how they were being treated. Um, it was heartbreaking because… Our veterans should never feel that way. They all should be treated with respect, um, and know how grateful we all are for them and for what they did for for our country. It broke my heart to see that.

HOST: [00:32:29] Um, because you’re realizing that they didn’t get that 50 years ago and they haven’t had it a single day since, until now.

MEL TAITANO: [00:32:36] Yeah. Um hum. Yeah, it really it, um. I don’t know. And you know, and I, I’ve said it a million times, but, my heart is just so full. Um. You know, I feel like. Seeing how happy they are. I know that, um, my Dad and Mr. Crotcher and the 44 fallen, um, Bill Summers and all the brothers who have passed, um, I know they’re looking down, and they’re, they’re looking down proud of their brothers who were able to participate in this weekend. Um, you just know that they were they were there in spirit.

HOST: [00:33:44] I was going to ask you. I mean, there are some Seawolves who knew about this and chose not to come. And I was going to ask you, you know, if your father had lived, do you think he would have come? But the more I get to know you, the more I think he, he wouldn’t have had a choice.

MEL TAITANO: [00:34:02] Yeah… No, he wouldn’t have had a choice.

HOST: [00:34:06] How long is it going to take you to to process this weekend?

MEL TAITANO: [00:34:11] I don’t know, but, um.

HOST: [00:34:14] I was talking to Tex. He said, you know, it’s going to take him weeks.

MEL TAITANO: [00:34:17] Yeah.

HOST: [00:34:18] And Tex is somebody who’s not been out of touch, like he’s been fairly active and involved in, you know, but this, you know, even so this weekend kind of bowled him over.

MEL TAITANO: [00:34:31] Yeah. These guys are… These are tough guys. So when I see them, see some of them who you know, like, I know some of them who don’t really show emotion and to see, see them overcome with it and, but, in a good way, a happy way. There’s no greater feeling than knowing that they’re, you know, this brings a smile to their face and them knowing how much we all appreciate them, how much America appreciates them and what they did and how brave they were.

HOST: [00:35:19] One of the big surprises for Tex on this trip was running into his old bunkmate from Vietnam, Michael Cole.

TEX MORGAN: [00:35:28] I left, i left in November of, uh, ’71 and Mike left well, Mike, was there to the very end, uh, March of ’72. And, uh, I hadn’t seen Mike since…. Oh good Lord, since November of ’71 and the honor flight in San Diego, we didn’t see each other in San Diego. We saw each other after we got off the Alaskan Airlines flight in, uh, Baltimore, Maryland. That was, uh… That was a pretty crazy little happening right there. I was walking down the concourse. And, uh, this guy was asking one of the guardians, “Uh, well, where’s the nearest bar? I need a drink.” And I just made the the off comment and I said, “Yeah, they better have a full bottle of Jameson’s Irish Whiskey.” And then I looked at his name tag and it was Michael Cole. My old bunkie. And, uh, his first comment was, “You know, I was worried that I wouldn’t know anybody on this flight.” Well, come to find out, he definitely knew somebody on the flight. And, uh, we got into a bear hug that lasted quite a few minutes, and, uh, I’m… There was there was a little, a little bit of tears going on. I know there was on my part of it because it was it was so good to see Mike after all that many years. I mean, a full 50 years. That’s, uh, you have memories of people. And specific little things, that you carry those memories all the way to the grave. But the chance to see Mike… Up close and personal and to, uh, to stand at the bar and toss down a few shots of Jameson’s with him. Was was definitely a good reunion.

HOST: [00:37:39] When we landed back in San Diego, I got off the plane first with the other members of the media. I’d been told that there would be a big crowd of people there to give the Seawolves the welcome home they didn’t receive 50 years ago, and I wanted to have my recording gear ready. As I exited the jetway into the gate area, there were a few dozen people gathered and already cheering. Not bad, I thought. Then I walked over to the escalator that leads down to baggage claim and I glanced down. There were more than a thousand people down there cheering and whistling and waving flags. The Seawolves haven’t been told about this ahead of time. It would be a surprise as they stepped off the plane and descended the escalator.

AIRPORT ANNOUNCER : [00:38:37] Keep it coming folks.

UNIDENTIFIED HONOR FLIGHT VETERAN: [00:38:51] That is unreal.

TEX MORGAN: [00:38:53] I’m, uh.

VOICE IN BACKGROUND: [00:38:54] Are you speechless? This is probably the biggest, uh, welcome home ever we’ve ever had…

TEX MORGAN: [00:39:02] Yeah. No doubt… about it, bud

HOST: [00:39:04] The most speechless. He’s ever been.

TEX MORGAN: [00:39:07] Yeah. That’s the damn truth…… From coming in incognito, in November 1971, to this…. Man. I don’t think I have words that’ll do justice. I really don’t, I don’t, I don’t have words.

UNIDENTIFIED HONOR FLIGHT VETERAN: [00:39:38] It’s just. It’s just a fantastic homecoming. Yeah. Unbelievable. Beautiful thing. Yeah.

HOST: [00:39:45] Traveling with these men, getting to know them and their remarkable story is one of the most enriching experiences of my career. The thing about these guys is they don’t seem to care whether you were there in ’67 or ’72, whether you were an officer or an enlisted man, whether you were a pilot or a door gunner or a maintainer or a member of the administrative staff. A Seawolf is a Seawolf. It was true 50 years ago, and it’s true today. Here’s how one of them put it in the documentary “Scramble the Seawolves.”

SCRAMBLE THE SEAWOLVES: [00:40:22] I love my family. I love my mom, dad, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles. But there’s nothing like love of a Seawolf.

HOST: [00:40:44] We are so grateful to everybody who participated in interviews for these two episodes. It means a lot that you’re willing to share your experience with our listeners. And of course, none of this would have been possible without the warm welcome and guiding hands of the wonderful folks at Honor Flight San Diego, especially Julie Brightwell, Lisa Gary, and Holly Shaffner. And I want to send a very special thank you to Jeff and Shannon Arballo for letting me use clips from their amazing documentary, “Scramble the Seawolves.” There are also a handful of people I spoke with who didn’t make it into these episodes, but whose perspectives informed the storytelling. If we spoke on this trip and you didn’t hear your voice in the final cut, I’m talking to you. And finally, thanks to Doctor Eric Velarde, a friend of this podcast, for checking a few key facts and preventing me from quite possibly pissing off the entire First Cavalry Division. We’ll be back in two weeks with more stories of service, sacrifice and healing.

HOST: [00:41:57] We’ll see you then.

No video interviews are available for this episode.

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