Captain Commander Earle

The Captain of the Pontchartrain was Commander Earle, making his first patrol.The prior skipper was a stickler for training and the crew's readiness can be directly attributed to him.Captain Earle was a nice guy and a good skipper, he later commanded the Eagle, but he was lucky to have a crew that was ready for the emergency that occur on the 16th.

When the Pan Am Clipper, a Boeing Stratocruiser, indicated a May Day situation, my assignment was to control other aircraft in the area.I was required to keep them away from the general area.Not an easy task as it turned out.They wanted to watch the ditch and I suppose take pictures and then race them to the mainland.

The aircraft called in around midnight and landed at daybreak.