Sunday, April 28, 1968
At sea, SAR station. 1845 — SAR ALERT: F-4B Phantom (BuNo 153014, "Sundown-103") from VF-21 "Freelancers," USS Ranger, hit by 85mm AAA during strike near Vinh. Location: 23mi 85° from Vinh, 13mi offshore. BOTH PILOTS RESCUED — LCDR Diego "Duke" Hernandez and LTJG David Lortschey — by "Clementine Two" (UH-2B Seasprite, HC-7 Det 107). Crew: LTJG Cornelius H. "Skip" Yates (pilot), LTJG Leonard L. DeVries (copilot), ADJ-2 George A. Smellie, AE-3 Jeffrey M. Payne. Alert to on-deck recovery: 29 minutes. JOUETT'S FIRST SAR RESCUE.
Original Logbook Page
From the May 19 Familygram: "The evening meal in JOUETT was suddenly interrupted by the announcement over the ship's broadcast system 'SAR ALERT. DOWNED AIRCRAFT BEARING 251 DEGREES, RANGE 38 MILES.'... JOUETT's first Search and Rescue Effort was completed in just twenty-nine minutes." [Familygram]
From the May 19 Familygram, quoting the rescued pilot: "LCDR D. E. Hernandez of San Diego, recalled that 'The helo was on the scene before I had time to complete my ditch routine. It was terrific,' and LTJG D. J. Lortscher of Rylander, Wisconsin, the second survivor, recalled thinking while approaching JOUETT, 'It's the smallest flight deck I've ever landed on, but it sure looks great from here.'" [Familygram]