Catalog Number: VIS 201.0754
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In this interview, John Sherrill shares his experiences in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War as a naval aviator. He discusses his commissioning in the Navy and his flight training in Pensacola, Florida. In advanced training he remembers choosing to fly the A-1 Skyraider, an aircraft carrier-based single engine propeller plane, and his transfer to NAS Jacksonville, Florida. He details different "cruises" on aircraft carriers including the USS Randolph, USS Shangri-la, USS Saratoga, and the USS Intrepid. He describes his first cruise on the USS Shangri-la in the Mediterranean during the height of the Cold War and being ready to go on a moment's notice. Sherrill remembers buzzing a crowd during a NATO training exercise. He recalls going through the Suez Canal on his way to Subic Bay Naval Base in the Philippines and eventually Vietnam. He describes an instance during the Vietnam War in which he had to make an emergency landing because his aircraft was hit and leaking oil. He recalls going on a reconnaissance mission with forward air controller "Bird dog" pilots, seeing the Ho Chi Minh Trail and describes finding and destroying a Viet Cong sampan boat full of armaments. He recalls his duties, carrier life, tactical movements, plane and carrier specifications and describes many incidents, including the death of his friend and roommate. He recalls his trip home from Vietnam, the attack on the USS Liberty during the Six-Day War, and diverting to Crete. He discusses his time after the war as an instructor in the Advanced Jet Training Command in Beeville, Texas, as law student at Duke University, and as a lawyer afterward.