Rooting for the Good Old U.S. of A.
I spent nearly four years in the U.S. Navy as an enlisted man and served land duty as well as onboard a Destroyer Tender out of Long Beach and Pearl Harbor (the USS ISLE ROYALE), and the last two years onboard the USS HENRY W. TUCKER (DD-875), a Gearing-class destroyer stationed in Yokosuka, Japan. I was, in fact, a little part of history as my ship and another, USS LEONARD F. MASON (DD-852), raced to replace the USS MADDOX and USS TURNER JOY immediately following what is now referred to as the Tonkin Gulf Incident. We powered along the edge of a Pacific cyclone, experiencing 50-plus mph winds, 40-ft swells, and 40-plus-degree lists as we sped towards the Gulf of Tonkin.
Our ships were part of what was then called the DeSoto Patrol, whose mission was to sail through disputed waters in the Gulf of Tonkin off the island of Hainan and elsewhere in the South China Sea, flying our flag and letting the rest of the world know that these waters were international waters and were not subject to any one country’s supervision or control.
So, as an ex-Navy Radioman and then editor of a local newspaper, I was invited by members of the Navy League in Santa Barbara to visit both the USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN (CVN-72) and the USS RONALD REAGAN (CVN-76) in the late 1990s (before the tragic events of 9/11). Our visits included landing on and taking off from the deck of both those aircraft carriers. I was not, of course, in an F-14 Tomcat, but on a bulkier C-2A Greyhound COD (Carrier Onboard Delivery) whose two turboprop engines took us from Santa Barbara Airport to the carriers (on different days, a couple years apart) at speeds of about 300 mph. We’re not talking Mach-plus here.
However…
… I was double-strapped in a removable seat, wearing a sound-reducing radio-contact headset, and facing backwards. There was just one “window” on the port side of the aircraft that let in a little light but not much else. I was not near that window and consequently saw very little, though I was able to make out what seemed to be the tiny little carrier as we approached from the air.
When a plane lands on the deck of a carrier, the skyhook underneath it has to attach itself to one of four guywires strung across the landing deck; if it misses all four, the aircraft must quickly accelerate to avoid crashing into the sea. Upon attaching itself to one of the guy wires, the aircraft comes to a complete and abrupt stop, so it slows from about 95 mph to zero in a split second.
If I tell you it was a bit unnerving, I hope you will believe me.
Taking off, it’s the reverse. As the metal wall goes up behind the plane, grips are attached to its wheelbase and are let go simultaneously when the engines reach a certain revolution. Upon take-off (especially with a COD as opposed to an F-14 or today’s F-18s), the plane dips as it leaves the deck of the carrier and begins what feels like a slow ascent to take it out of its dive.
Ah, again, unnerving… but the excitement of it all lives in my memory like, well, like a really good movie.
And, since having served on a destroyer, been part of a carrier battle group, spent the night in enlisted and officers’ quarters on the two carriers, observed (from the flight deck and the bridge) the well-choreographed and dangerous activities of crew members, pilots, and navigators, I feel confident in offering up the following:
Upon reading the news that Tom Cruise had rejected the Communist Chinese “request” that he remove the Taiwanese flag from his flight jacket if he wanted to show the movie in China, I decided that “Top Gun Maverick” may be a film worth watching.
It was.
It is.
And worth watching on a big screen.
A really big screen.
So – as soon as you can – drop into your nearest cineplex and pay your $10-to-$15 entrance fee. Sit down and close your eyes to avoid all the ridiculous trailers for upcoming Hollywood mayhem movies (Bang! Kaboom! Rat-a-tat-tat!) and similar fare starring evil capitalists, right-wing whackos, and/or religious fanatics, and get ready to cheer.
Here’s my synopsis:
More than thirty-five years after his stint as a top naval aviator, Top Gun Captain Mitchell (Tom Cruise) is still at it, having been denied promotions along the way because of his apparent inability to obey orders, stupid though they may be. The first thing we see him doing is saving his team and their hypersonic jet program by refusing to follow an order to disband the project. He’s about to be (and let me use a typical naval expression here, one I know quite well) shit-canned for his flagrant disregard of military protocol, but his old pal, Top Gun teammate and now Commander of the Pacific Fleet, three-star admiral Tom “Iceman” Kazansky (Val Kilmer) saves him from that disgrace.
Rather than being court-martialed or stripped of his commission, Maverick is instead sent off to train a dozen F-18 Super Hornet jet pilots – the best of the best – for what seems to be in every way a suicide mission, but one – if successful – that would take out and destroy the heart of the nuclear plans of an unnamed enemy (hint: sure looks like Iran to me).
What follows is in the best tradition of a time-tested formula: good guy beset by higher-up not-so-good guys but championed by an even higher-up good guy, sets out to save the world from bad guys; along the way he hopes to save his team, his reputation, his dignity, and maybe even win back the woman he loves.
The action on the deck of the carrier and at the controls of the F-18s, the flight path of the proposed engagement, the sheer magnitude of the mission, the airborne dogfight practices and real-time simulated combat, along with puerile (but fun) banter among fellow pilots, unspoken glances, thoughtful silences, and piano-playing barroom singalongs, all make for a high-testosterone, high-spirited, jet-propelled joy ride.
Do yourself a favor: treat a military vet and bring him or her to this perfect Fourth-of-July, proud-to-have-served, I Love America movie.
In a theater.
On a big screen.
You won’t regret it.
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You've always been my Fourth of July hero... but you knew that. I have friends who've seen Top Gun in one of those Cinemax theaters and I have to admit that I'd prefer to watch it on a flat screen, as some of the flight scenes made me dizzy enough!
I too was compelled to watch the movie in part because of the Taiwanese flag bit. Thanks to Tom Cruise for this feel good movie. BTW, what happens to pregnant aviators when they eject at high speeds and g-forces. Happy Independence Day to all.