Mike Arnold:  

As most of my classmates may remember I kind of did my own thing on Kwaj. I think I spent more time in the water snorkeling and scuba diving than I did on land. When I was not in search of shells or diving on some old wreck I could be found fishing off Echo Pier. Weekends on the dive boat were a normal routine. OK, I admit it I was not what you would call the perfect student. I preferred to cut class and go out on a half day boat fishing. I dearly miss my days on Kwaj. My family transferred back to California before I could finish my senior year on Kwaj so I finished it in Southern California in 1973. Two weeks after graduating I was in San Diego going through Navy boot camp. The Navy sent me to Tennessee after boot camp for aviation training and then ultimately trained me as a jet engine mechanic. I expected my first set of orders would be to some exotic location overseas but instead they sent me back to California. I reported to Naval Air Station Miramar in San Diego, also known as Fighter Town U.S.A. I was directed to report to an aggressor squadron called Navy Fighter Weapons School which you would all know better as Top Gun. I spent my first four years at Top Gun working on the flight line launching, recovering, and servicing the multiple types of fighter aircraft that were used to train Navy fighter pilots in the art of dog fighting. I became back seat qualified in the T-38 aircraft so that they could fly me and engine parts out to repair aircraft that had broken down at locations around the United States. For those that do not know a T-38 is the same aircraft that the NASA astronauts use. After my first flight I was hooked. When my four year enlistment was up I volunteered for flight duty and re-enlisted. I was not an officer so couldn't actually pilot an aircraft but that didn't mean I couldn't get in the air. I requested training as a Naval Aircrewman in helicopters. Most all naval enlisted helicopter crewmembers are trained as search and rescue swimmers, so off to swimmers school I went. I was never so glad for all the time spent in the water while on Kwaj. I thought I had grown gills by the time I had finished rescue swimmer training. I then went on to Helicopter Crew Chief training and in early 1979 was designated a Naval Aircrewman. After more than 6 years in the worlds largest navy I was finally deployed overseas. My first deployment was to the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Vietnam had ended but there was still a mass exodus of refugees trying to flee the communist regime. We were directed by then President Carter to find them and pick them up. Our battle group headed to the South China Sea in search of boat people. I was on a naval refueling ship at the time as part of a two helicopter air detachment. We would launch our helicopters in search of the floating wrecks that the Vietnamese were using to flee Vietnam with. When we found them we would put the rescue swimmer in the water. Who would report back with the number and condition of people as well as the condition of the vessel. Based on that assessment our ship would either lower the ships small boats to pull the refugees off the vessel or we would hoist them up to the helicopter and transfer them to the ship. We would then use our 50 cal guns to sink the vessel before it became a navigational hazard. I lost count of how many people I hoisted off those wooden wrecks. What I remember most were the little kids and babies. They were to small to ride the cable by themselves so we rigged a chest carrier up, similar to what you see folks using now. We would hoist up mom or dad...Expand for more