That would be one and the same. DJ. Was a RIO with VF41 and was riding
backseat to the skipper for the Fitter shoot down. Left the boat the next
day for Whiting Field and Pilot Training. Went back to the boat as a Pukin
Dog and then to TPS.

Not only a fine officer, but a great person.

Jake

Yep,
I knew Dave when we were in Vt-4 as retreads. That was the NFO to Pilot
Transition program. On paper the program looked good but the execution was a
little weak... Just about all of us went through Pensacola VT-4. We refered to
it as a Program unblemished by success. Vt-4 was about the most messed up
squadron I was ever in. At that time they had both Basic jet (T-2) and Advance
Jet (TA-4). There was a lot of anamosity between the A-4/T-2 Instructors kind
of like the Junior Varsity vs the Varsity. Then the retreads early on had some
high rollers like O-5's and one would attend the department head meetings! So
that strained the relationships between Inst and stud's. The students RR had
more DFC's, Air Medals, Ejections and combat time than the instructors so there
was that as well.
It was a tough time and some of us actally made it through, there were quite a
few not so lucky some eliminated more for the wim of the instructor than for
substandard. performance. While I was there not one of the 3 S-3 NFO's that I
knew made it through. You would have thought they had the more NFO stick time
than any one else but that might have been there undoing as well.
I understand they have started the Retread program again. I hope someone looked
at previous lessons learned.

OBTW Dave was a class act, no question about it. Me? I stayed in the cockpit
until I retired after 18 years and now fly in the airlines.

Sparky