The First Time...
In the spring of 1973 I was standing topside on the USS Pintado, tied up next to the USS Dixon (AS-37) at Point Loma, holding a broken condensate pump impeller in my hand when I heard a loud roar coming from North Island in San Diego. I looked over expecting to see an F-4 lumbering into the wild blue. Instead I saw the most beautiful pair of rocket ships blasting into the stratosphere! These were some of the first Tom Cats to enter fleet service. Seeing them take off, I was one, envious of those airdales, and, two, very proud to be a sailor in the United States Navy. Talk about first impressions! I still think that the F-14 was the best aircraft to ever trap on the deck of a bird farm. Or, maybe, it's just because they bring back such a vivid memory of my youth!