Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Kenneth Lagadi | 230627-N-ZQ263 PACIFIC OCEAN - Now 69 years old, Thomas Cooper III found himself back...... read more read more
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PACIFIC OCEAN - With one piece of paper tightly gripped in his hand and zero care in the world for proper military decorum, an airman apprentice jumped up and down in a sea of enthusiastic Sailors gathered around to hear a speech. The speaker had just asked if there was anything he could do for anyone in the crew, and the 21-year-old Sailor had his answer: “Sign my chit! Sign my chit,” he yelled from within the group. The speaker that day was none other than the Chief of Naval Operations addressing the first crew of a brand-new aircraft carrier: USS Nimitz. And in a matter of just a few moments, the young Sailor attempting to get the CNO’s attention was swiftly brought down to the deck by an irate Chief – who finally agreed to approve the young Sailor’s leave.
Now 69 years old, Thomas Cooper III found himself back aboard Nimitz flipping through the pages of a booklet almost half a century old, printed for the commissioning ceremony of what is currently the oldest U.S. Navy aircraft carrier in active service. Forty-eight years after what he regards as one of the most memorable experiences aboard Nimitz, he gleefully squinted through eyeglasses at a list of crewmembers from back in the day, remembering old friends and recalling good times.
“You know, I wasn’t allowed on board that day?” Cooper laughed while looking through Nimitz’s commissioning ceremony program, a document that has him listed as part of the ship’s crew at the time. “I think you had to be a certain rank to get on board; I’m really not sure. Either that or I just missed the timeframe to get on.”
Nimitz was commissioned on May 3, 1975. Laid down, launched and commissioned as CVAN 68, it was later re-designated as a nuclear-powered multi-mission aircraft carrier (CVN) as part of the fleet realignment of the time. Almost 50 years later, as the ship steamed through the Pacific Ocean close to completing its 2022-2023 deployment, Cooper had a chance to once again walk the deckplates of the aircraft carrier that saw his first adventures in the Navy. He got the opportunity to join the crew on the ship’s latest Tiger Cruise, a chance for family and friends of Nimitz Sailors to experience life aboard the ship on a trip from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, to Naval Air Station North Island in Coronado, California.
“We saw it pull into Hawaii manning the rails,” said Cooper, “and it brought back some memories of how many times I stood the rails.”
A native of Boston, Cooper first stepped aboard Nimitz in 1974 shortly after boot camp. At the time, the ship was still on its last stages of construction in Newport News, Virginia.
“It was pretty awesome. Looking at the flag, turning around and requesting permission to come onboard was pretty interesting; had to ask permission to get on a ship I was assigned to,” Cooper chuckled, recalling walking onboard for the first time. “Getting on this time and requesting permission again was another cool thing. When I got up there – because I know that’s what you’re supposed to do – I at least wanted to say it once.”
Being part of Nimitz’s crew while it was still being built makes Cooper a plank owner, a term used to describe someone who is part of ship’s company when it is commissioned into active service. This circumstance allowed for some unique experiences, especially on an aircraft carrier that, at the time, was in a class of its own.
“The unusual part about this one was that it was a different type of aircraft carrier,” said Cooper, “new systems and everything else.”
“At the beginning, we knew every part of this thing because we were here. We were stuck down the steam pipes once and ended up in the armory, then they finally closed that loophole. We were climbing down beside [the steam pipes] and ended up in the armory. All of a sudden we hear someone jiggling the door. We say, ‘Come on, let’s get out of here; the Marines are coming.’”
It wasn’t long after Nimitz’s commissioning in 1975 that the ship set out to sea on its maiden voyage as an active carrier, a first for both the first-of-its-class aircraft carrier and the fledgling Sailor. It was a cruise which Cooper still remembers fondly.
“It was basically the U.S. showing off its new aircraft carrier,” said Cooper. “So we went to Florida, and we went to Gitmo (Guantanamo) bay. We went to Scotland, Germany, England and I think, back – quite a cruise. It was great going to every single port.”
Some say the more things change, the more they stay the same. That seems to be true for Nimitz as well. Cooper remembers some aspects being different when comparing his experiences aboard the ship from then to now – from the way the ship looks, to the Sailors that man its spaces today – though he also maintains that some other things haven’t changed at all.
“Everything was clean, of course; it was new,” said Cooper. “Not much broke down. I launched planes for about a year and then I became part of the night maintenance crew repairing the [catapults] and the arresting gear and everything else. So even when you changed stuff, there wasn’t a lot of grease and everything on it.”
“Although I do remember they made us wear white coveralls. I think they were white; I don’t know why. We just used to spray grease on it because it would mean we worked a lot,” he joked.
Cooper served aboard Nimitz for only about a year and a half. But the memories he created would last a lifetime.
“You had a bunch of young kids who went to school together to learn how to launch planes off,” said Cooper. “We were in our glory. We had a blast.”
“I remember once we were out on the North Atlantic and waves were coming over the bow about 30 feet. We hooked harnesses to ourselves; hooked them to the pad eye at the front of the boat; we’re going, ‘Aaahh!’” Cooper laughed as he continued his story. “We tied ourselves in, standing there when the waves were coming over so we wouldn’t be dragged off.”
He also remembers having what he thinks might’ve been the first snowball fight aboard the ship, when snow fell while Nimitz was docked at a pier in Norfolk, Virginia.
Unfortunately, Cooper’s time aboard Nimitz was cut short when he had an accident at work, a nasty fall that left him with a broken hand.
“Going down a ladder, I had a tool box; someone left grease on the stairwell,” said Cooper. “I went flying down. [My hand] was shattered; it splintered.”
After close to a month at a hospital, Cooper was removed from the command and given new orders, though his naval career did not end there. After some more time on active duty, he switched over to the reserves to continue his service. He retired in 1996, but after so many decades, his desire to one day return to Nimitz – and the memories he continues to cherish – remained.
“Standing at the front of the bow when it’s facing into the wind, closing your eyes,” said Cooper. “I still do that where I am now in Plymouth, Massachussets. I’m about 200 steps to the Atlantic Ocean. On a windy day or storm, I’ll go down at the bluff, close my eyes and it’s like I’m on the Nimitz; you’re just missing the smell of JP-5.”
Surely enough, Cooper was able to smell the JP-5 again as a member of the audience at an air power demonstration aboard Nimitz during its Tiger Cruise. He was able to witness jets launch off the flight deck he once treaded, and got to watch as aviation boatswain’s mates flung aircraft off the bow – the choreography of sprints, signs and waves he used to perform himself as part of a catapult crew so long ago.
“When we were watching the planes gets launched off, we were standing taking videos overhead,” said Cooper about his experience during the demonstration. “But then I saw them setting up the tow tractors, so I sat in the seat which gave me a clear view of the rear so I could videotape the landing. Seeing as I’ve seen many landings, I just wanted to videotape one.”
“I definitely smelled the exhaust,” said Cooper with a smile. “I went all the way up to stand in front [of the ship], close my eyes and hear the wind. As they turned into the wind, I still smelled the JP-5.”
At almost 50 years old, Nimitz is nearing the end of its lifespan as a carrier. Soon enough, the ship that pioneered its class of U.S. aircraft carriers will be decommissioned and taken apart, leaving behind a legacy – and the memories it served to create – in its wake. But as that chapter closes, Cooper looks forward to one of the last perks of having been part of a ship’s first crew.
“What can you get as a plank owner? Being a plank owner gives you the authority to come back when it gets decommissioned and get a part of the ship. I’d love to get the horseshoe that launches the planes off, but I’ll probably just get stuck with a pad eye,” joked Cooper as his hearty laugh filled the air with the same joy as it surely did nearly half a century ago aboard his beloved ship.
| Date Taken: | 07.15.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 12.22.2023 11:10 |
| Story ID: | 460660 |
| Location: | PACIFIC OCEAN |
| Web Views: | 74 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Missing the Smell of JP-5: A Plank Owner’s Story, by PO1 Eduardo T Otero, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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