No more USS Enterprise

[Lone_Ranger]

Well in all fairness, George Bush was an Avenger pilot in WW II in the Pacific. There's a famous clip of him being fished out of the sea by a submarine after he was shot down.

Indeed.

On 2 September 1944, Bush piloted one of four aircraft from VT-51 that attacked the Japanese installations on Chi Chi Jima.During their attack, four TBM Avengers from VT-51 encountered intense antiaircraft fire. While starting the attack, Bush's aircraft was hit and his engine caught on fire. He completed his attack and released the bombs over his target scoring several damaging hits. With his engine on fire, Bush flew several miles from the island, where he and one other crew member on the TBM Avenger bailed out of the aircraft. However, the other man's chute did not open and he fell to his death. It was never determined which man bailed out with Bush. While Bush anxiously waited four hours in his inflated raft, several fighters circled protectively overhead until he was rescued by the lifeguard submarine, USS Finback. For this action, Bush received the Distinguished Flying Cross.

He stayed in the aircraft, in effort to let his crew bail, in doing so came down far enough from the island to be rescued. In doing so, he saved himself from a fate worse than death.



"Another well-documented case occurred in Chichijima in February 1945, when Japanese soldiers killed and consumed five American airmen. This case was investigated in 1947 in a war crimes trial, and of 30 Japanese soldiers prosecuted, five (Maj. Matoba, Gen. Tachibana, Adm. Mori, Capt. Yoshii, and Dr. Teraki) were found guilty and hanged. In his book Flyboys: A True Story of Courage, James Bradley details several instances of cannibalism of World War II Allied prisoners by their Japanese captors."

 

[MisterCairo]

The first Enterprise started life as a British ship named George III. It was captured in 1775 at St. Johns. The new Captain so hatted the name of the King, that he immediately had her renamed Enterprise! She then sailed under her new Captain to capture Canada, which almost succeeded, until the spring of 1776 when British reinforcements finally arrived, forcing the Yanks back across the Great Lakes. On October 11th Enterprise and the rest of the small fleet took on the British fleet, the battle lasted for several days, with most of the American fleet lost! Enterprise and four other ships survived, though a tactical loss, the Battle of Valcour Island was a strategic victory for the Revolutionaries! Briton was forced to call of the invasion of New York for a year, at which time General Hrratio Gates was soundly defeated by the former Enterprise Captain at the battle of Saratoga! Who was this man? Many of you already know, he was Benedict Arnold! ironic that the name sake of the USS Enterprise was first commanded by Americas greatest Traitor!

Benedict Arnold was, of course, a great hero. The unfortunate events of 1775 to 1783 would not have happened, had we had more leaders like him! He reminds me of Canada's first Postmaster-General. Benjamin Franklin....

 

[Markp]

I served aboard two CVAs

The USS Ticonderoga and the USS Hancock, the two ships were mirror images of one another. If you could find the mess deck on the Tico you could find it on the Hancock etc.

I saw a Bob Hope Christmas USO show aboard the Ticonderoga in 1965 off the coast of Vietnam and ever since I've been convinced if we're naming carriers after politicians Bob Hope deserved the honor.

You know you're old when every ship you served on was scraped years ago!

 

[priestyboy]

Gene Roddenberry is rolling over in his grave!

 

[Diamondback]

fftopic: Roddenberry was doin' enough RPM's to be used as an improvised generator system long ago...

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Now playing: James Horner - Darkside Of The Moon
via FoxyTunes

 

[Lincsong]

I think the founder of Enterprise Rent-a-Car served on the ship in the 1950's and named the company after it.

 

[Diamondback]

More like WWII, according to the version I heard... CV-6 didn't even make it out of the '40s before being set aside for Reserve Fleet, bumped out of the front line by the big new Essexes (some of which were also bumped, particularly Franklin and Bunker Hill after taking major damage), Ticonderogas and Midways.