THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 11, 1997 TAG: 9701110273
SECTION: LOCAL MISCELLANEOUS PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 75 lines
In eight-foot seas, 30-knot winds and a pitch-dark night, sailors from the Norfolk-based frigate Halyburton plucked three helicopter crash victims from the Indian Ocean's Gulf of Aden - and called their work simply a well-rehearsed mission.
It was nearly the same five-man small boat crew that rescued some Atlantic Ocean fishermen from a sinking boat off Nantucket in July, albeit in stormier conditions and less visibility, said the Halyburton's captain, Cmdr. Bill Millward.
``These guys are fantastic,'' Millward said Friday, speaking by satellite telephone from the Arabian Sea. ``I just sit here with my mouth open.''
The Halyburton and Norfolk-based destroyer Nicholson, en route to the Persian Gulf for a six-month deployment, were pressed into action about 8 p.m. (noon EST) Wednesday when an SH-60 Seahawk helicopter from the Nicholson disappeared.
It had been on a routine flight about 15 miles from the ships when its communications broke off.
Both ships reversed their courses and began a high-speed search for the aircraft. ``The night was pitch dark . . . no moon, and the stars reach out after you,'' Millward said.
The helicopter crew, all wearing flotation gear, had been in the 70-degree water about an hour when the ships spotted red flares the aviators were firing - ``good news for us,'' Millward said.
Five Halyburton crewmen, manning a ridge-hull inflatable rubber boat, were lowered into the water and took off in the direction of the flares.
``It was so dark,'' said Boatswain's Mate 1st Class Mark Walden of Virginia Beach, the coxswain of the small boat. ``Just imagine your hand in front of your face and not being able to see it.''
Two widely spaced flares could be seen, Walden said. ``One of our signalmen, (Petty Officer 1st Class) Chris Wilson, made the call which way to go. So happens we went toward the right one and that's where the three crew members were.''
They arrived within a few minutes, and Gunner's Mate 3rd Class Joe Heaton, trained as a rescue swimmer, dived from the rescue boat.
The two pilots - Lt. Glenn Estrada and Lt. j.g. Daniel Haller - were not injured. They were picked up immediately and returned to the Halyburton in the small boat.
The third man, Petty Officer 2nd Class Everett Houghton, suffered back injuries, Heaton said. He needed special attention and a stretcher.
While the small boat took the pilots to the Halyburton and retrieved a stretcher, Heaton stayed with Houghton.
``I found out by talking to him he was a (rescue) swimmer, too,'' said Heaton. ``To get his mind off the situation, we just started talking about the procedures and it seemed a lot like a training evolution for a while.
``Although, he started to get really worried and cold and pretty shaken up. But I had full confidence and faith in the abilities of the boat crew. We knew exactly what to do.''
While the boat crew was transporting the pilots, Heaton checked Houghton for additional injuries and cut away some lines hanging from the crewman's clothing.
``With him slipping in and out of consciousness, my biggest worry was keeping his head and mouth out of the water . . . to make sure he didn't swallow a wave, if you will,'' Heaton said.
Once Houghton was aboard the ship, he was treated for hypothermia by Chief Hospital Corpsman Mike Longariz, given rest for the night and returned to the Nicholson the next day, suffering only a stiff back.
Also assisting in the rescue were Julio Martinez, a line handler, and Petty Officer 2nd Class George Woolen, an engineman.
The helicopter crew is assigned to Anti-submarine Squadron Light 46, in Mayport, Fla. ILLUSTRATION: Color map
Area Shown: Gulf of Aden
[For complete copy, see microfilm]
KEYWORDS: RESCUE AT SEA U.S. NAVY