USS Constellation (CVA-64) a pictorial
history, Attack Carrier Cir Wing 14 Westpac Cruise 1968-1969
About the USS Constellation: "Constellation
began her fourth deployment to the western Pacific and Vietnam on 29
May 1968. During this deployment, the Constellation/CVW-14 team was
restricted to strikes below the 20th parallel of North Vietnam as a
result of a March Presidential order. On 1 November, as directed by
President Johnson, all bombing of North Vietnam was halted at 21:00
Saigon time. The last Navy mission over the restricted area was flown
earlier in the day by Cmdr. Kenneth E. Enney in an A-7 Corsair II.
Connie returned to homeport to on 31 January 1969, after flying more
than 11,000 combat and support missions and dropping almost 20,000 tons
of ordnance. Fifteen aircraft were destroyed, nine due to enemy action.
Six aircrew members perished, five were listed as KIAs and three were
taken as POWs.By August, it was time for Connie to return to Vietnam for
a fifth combat deployment, again with CVW-14. Following an initial
20-day period of supporting strikes in South Vietnam as well as Laos,
Constellation sailed to Defender Station in the Sea of Japan, which had
been created as a result of increased tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
On 2 October 1969, there was an accident caused
when the tail rotor came off of a helicopter just before landing on the
flight deck. Nine men went down with the chopper and were never
recovered. A return to Yankee Station on 1 November also produced a
major milestone in the carrier's life when the F-4J aircrew of air wing
skipper Commander R. K. Billings and Lieutenant (junior grade) Jeff
Taylor of VF-143 conducted Connie's 100,000th arrested landing. During a
mission on 28 March 1970, the VF-142 F-4 crew of Lieutenant Jerome E.
Beaulier and Lieutenant Steven J. Barkley downed a North Vietnamese
MiG-21 jet fighter. Following a total of 128 days on the line, Connie's
nine-month deployment ended in May, with CVW-14 suffering the loss of
seven total aircraft, five to enemy action. One member of the aircrew
was taken as a POW, but there were no fatalities."
Hardcover book plus signed photo tucked inside, appears to be the same ship, multiple signatures presumably from ship's crew, caption on back: "To one of the best liked guys in AIMD."
Measures about 8-1/2" by 12", 352 page
illustrated
hardcover