San Diego Veterans Magazine July 2022

Page 8

Midway Memories Last a Century Military service profoundly impacts the lives of many veterans through a deep-seated sense of patriotism, enduring friendships and lasting memories.

1942

For Lee Owen, his tour of duty on the USS Midway is as vivid in his mind today as it was more than 75 years ago when he actually walked the carrier’s flight deck. “I am prideful to be able to say I served on the Midway and I feel I was lucky to have served on the biggest ship in the world at the time,” said Owen, who recently celebrated his 100th birthday. “Just the fact that I served our country, all those years ago, to make us truly free, yet today.” Owen attributes a decades-long fitness program to his longevity, but he also knows that reaching life’s centennial was also guided by fortune’s smile early in his naval career. He was originally assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Benjamin Franklin (CV-13) that saw significant combat in the Pacific theater during the later stages of World War II. On March 19, 1945, the Franklin was struck by two 550-pound bombs dropped from a Japanese warplane resulting in extensive damage to the carrier and a tremendous number of casualties amongst its crew. Nearly 1,000 of the ship’s officers and sailors were killed or wounded in the attack. Before being sent to the Franklin, however, Owen’s assignment was changed and instead, he became a member of the original crew, a plank owner, of the soon-to-be-commissioned Midway. “I was lucky I didn’t go on that ship,” reflected Owen, who joined the Navy in 1942. “I lost some dear friends who were on that ship and, to this day, I still cry and get very upset when I tell this story.” Owen reported aboard Midway in March 1945, seven months before the ship was commissioned. 8 WWW.SanDiegoVeteransMagazine.com / JULY 2022

An aviation machinists mate, he worked on F4U-4 Corsairs as part of Bomber Fighter Squadron 74 (VBF-71), one of the first squadrons to operate from the carrier. He served on board the ship until he left the Navy a year later. Although it’s been nearly eight decades since he last set foot on the ship, the sounds, smells and sights of Midway remain fresh in his psyche. One of his most vivid memories was when an aircraft from his squadron crashed into the ocean. “I was waiting on my plane to come in and it wasn’t in the groove,” remembered Owen, a native of Millerstown, Pa. “The pilot waited too long to keep going and he was too low. His plane went down right beside the ship, and I could see the pilot climb out and get into his raft. Luckily, a destroyer picked him up.” While his memories continue to thrive, Owen has very little memorabilia from the ship that has survived the last 77 years. A few months before his birthday, his daughter, Anne Revitsky, contacted Midway for some help. “I really wanted to reach out to the Midway in search of some special photos of him on deck of the Midway with his flight crew,” said Anne. “I worked closely with Karen Garst and she was wonderful in assisting me. While we never found a picture of dad with his flight crew on deck, she sent out a package and also had his plank owner certificate reprinted for him.” “Lee Owen working on Midway’s flight deck in 1945.”


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Articles inside

Off-Base Transition Training

3min
pages 42-43

Legal Eagle: Rules for Business

6min
pages 50-51

Business for Veterans: Freedom

3min
pages 48-49

National Veterans Chamber of Commerce

3min
pages 54-55

Successful Transitioning Stories

3min
pages 46-47

Army Invites Innovators

1min
pages 40-41

What’s Next: Transitioning Mach 10

4min
pages 38-39

Courage to Call

2min
page 33

Veterans Association of North County

1min
page 29

Make July your Month of Independence

4min
pages 36-37

San Diego Veterans Coalition

1min
pages 31-32

Guide Dogs of America

1min
page 30

A Life Recovered: The Comeback

5min
pages 34-35

Caregiving TLC: Treasured Holiday

2min
pages 26-28

Midway Magic - Memories Last a Century

4min
pages 8-9

Independence Day

2min
page 15

Korean War Legacy

4min
pages 12-14

Warrior Picks up the Beat

6min
pages 21-23

MNC MEMORIAL AMPHITHEATER

0
page 7

Throwback: Lost Watch of D-Day

4min
pages 10-11

Forget Me Not: Coronado 4th of July

3min
pages 16-18

Real Talk: PSC Season

4min
pages 24-25
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