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Aircraft Carrier

Carl searching for subs in the Med 1981

AW1 Carl F. Mottern, U.S. Navy Reserve (Retired) – Dedication and Hard Work Pays Off

Everyone has dreams for their life – things they would like to achieve. For most, translating those dreams into reality is the difficult part. It takes hard work, dedication, and sometimes a little luck. Without those elements, dreams stay just that. Aviation Anti-Submarine Warfare Operator First Class Carl F. Mottern, U.S. Navy (Retired), wouldn’t let his dreams die. When others dropped out because the barriers seemed insurmountable, Carl redoubled his efforts and kept at it, never giving up. His determination made leaders take notice and drove him to success as a search and rescue swimmer and Naval aircrewman. This is his story.

Seaman 1st Class Edward Collins

Seaman 1st Class Edward Collins, U.S. Navy – Serving on an Aircraft Carrier in the Pacific War

In the 1965 World War II movie classic In Harm’s Way, the character Commander Paul Eddington, played by Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas, describes the coming war in the Pacific as “a gut bustin’, mother-lovin’ Navy war.” All the men who served on ships in the Pacific theater from the start of the war at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, to the end of the war in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945, know just how true that statement was. One of those men was Seaman First Class Edward Collins, U.S. Navy, who joined the fray in 1943 aboard the USS San Jacinto (CVL-30), a light aircraft carrier that participated in all the major Pacific War Navy campaigns in 1944 and 1945. Manning his station on the USS San Jacinto’s flight deck during everything from hurricanes to kamikaze attacks, he lived and breathed the history that has inspired generations of Americans ever since. This is his story.

Keith Burton by airplane on USS Essex

AB2 Keith Bunton, U.S. Navy – Serving on USS Essex During the Korean War

Less than five years after the end of World War II, the United States again found itself at war, this time on the Korean Peninsula fighting Communist aggression. Despite 1.8 million U.S. military members serving in the theater of operations during the bloody three-year conflict, Americans know little of their service and sacrifice. Aviation Boatswain’s Mate Second Class Keith Bunton, U.S. Navy, experienced the Korean War off the shores of Korea onboard the aircraft carrier USS Essex (CVA-9), which launched airstrikes against enemy targets during two Korean War deployments. This is Petty Officer Bunton’s story.