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A-4C Skyhawk

 BuNo.147712

30th June 1967
Released: 4th March 1973

  John M. "Mike" McGrath

           Lieutenant Commander- USN
             Shot Down: June 30, 1967
 
 

"I flew my first tour and completed 157 missions aboard the USS Ranger, CVA-61. My second tour was aboard the USS Constellation, CVA-64. I was flying an A4C with the VA-146 on 30 June 67,

"Busy Bee 1, rolling in," I said to my wingman as I took aim on a steel
bridge just north of the Vietnamese city of Thanh Hoa. I was flying my 179th mission over enemy territory. Suddenly, there was an explosion, and I was heading toward the ground in uncontrolled flight.

Instinctively; I reached  for the ejection handle. I felt the wind blast my face when I left the  cockpit. As I tumbled through space, I saw the green canopy of trees coming  toward me. I only had time for one thought, "My God, I'm dead." The  parachute opened only a few feet above the tree tops. During those few  seconds in the chute, I vowed that someday I would return to my country and  my family.

During ejection, I received a broken and dislocated arm, and fractured
vertabrae and knee. The brutal torture sessions that followed resulted in  additional injuries - my other shoulder and elbow were dislocated. "




                            





 

Prisoner of War....Six Years in Hanoi
Naval Institute
The book is the story of Capt. McGrath's imprisonment and was written and illustrated by him.