Military Friends Reunite at Midway

On March 21, 2001 a group of friends came back to Midway, the small atoll in the Pacific they served in the military on some 40 years ago. The friends call themselves SH16, after the Navy aircraft they flew missions on together from Midway in the late fifties and early sixties.

They came to Midway with their wives to reunite with each other and to pay tribute to their lost friends who perished when their aircraft crashed on the runway on Midway on January 22, 1961.

"We toasted our fallen SH16 shipmates, and shed a few tears too. We shared a lot of Sea stories every evening, and throughly enjoyed the Goonies and beauty of the atoll. We basicly relived an important time of our youth. We felt like we were in our 20's again." says Lee Kalsch.

5shipmates.jpg (112108 bytes) SH16 - Don, Gilbert, Charles, Lee & Don in March 2001

Below are a few photos from the SH16 group when they were stationed on Midway sent to Destination: Pacific by Lee Kalsch. The Navy's mission at Midway was to fly patrol missions from Midway to the Aleutians during the height of the Cold War when there was a serious threat of a sneak attack from Russia.

"With a total of 34 "Lockheed Super Constellation Warning Stars", (USNavy WV-2 aircraft), we were several thousand men strong, and were the largest single unit "ever" for the USN. With 64, (22 man) flight crews, and 34 aircraft, we never missed a patrol slot for the 9 years we guarded the northern Pacific back door! We launched an aircraft every 3 hours for a 14.5 hr patrol from Midway Is to the Aleutians and return."

"SH16 (16 CheckPool) has special significance to all our squadron shipmates. She made the first official barrior patrol in July of 1958, and again, this same aircraft was to be the focus of the only fatal accident during Pacific Barrior operations, when crew F35 crashed on landing 22 Jan 1961. Miraculously, 16 of our 22 man crew survived." writes Lee Kalsch.

There is a Memorial Plaque at the Visitor Arrival Ramp at Midway which tells about their important mission. The plaque is dedicated to the memory of those who lost their lives while protecting the freedom of America. Visitors to Midway should make a point to view this memorial and take a moment to remember those who have served our country so that we may enjoy the freedom we have today.

Thank you to Lee for the information about SH16 and for the wonderful, historic photos below.

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Midway Flight line with ghost plane 16 checkpool flying over. Created by Wes Mortensen

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Midway Air Control Tower, by Lee Kalsch

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Lee Kalsch boarding 14 checkpool for preflight,
circa 1960.

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SE of atoll- Eastern Island. circa 1958
by Rich Minter

If you have questions about Midway or would like to make reservations, please call us toll free at 1-888-BIG-ULUA or email us at destpacific@sportfishhawaii.com and we will be happy to help.

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