MiGs killers of USS Midway

All Guest Speakers of Squadrons & Shipmates of FDR/Midway Inc. are members 0f the organization. At their own expense, they have donated their time to bring their stories to us. Each of them so far has been in combat zones and served in World War II or in the Viet Nam War. All reunion attendees should be privileged to still have these men within our ranks. We hope you will welcome them when they attend our annual reunions.

GUEST SPEAKERS FOR THE 2013 REUNION IN COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO

Squadrons & Shipmates is proud to announce that Captain John Carl Smith, VF-21 Squadron, has accepted an invitation to speak at our annual reunion in Branson, Missouri in September 2012. We are very excited that he is willing to share with us some of his exceptional U.S. Naval experiences from his outstanding career. His wife, Carol, wrote a book about his journey through the military and appropriately named the the book "Journey To Command." Carol Smith will join Captain Smith at our annual banquet. We have his book on sale on our "Merchandise" page and a picture of it is below.

For those of you who attended the 2011 Reunion, you may remember Captain Smith was mentioned a few times by Lt. David Batson and Captain Doremus during their presentations at the annual banquet. Captain Smith was the RIO Officer in the F4 phantom when VF-21 Squadron Commander, Louis C. Page, shot down the first MiG of the Viet Nam War, just 3 seconds before Lt. David Batson and Captain Rob Doremus shot down the second MiG. Captain Smith went on to become a fighter pilot and then went on to become the first Squadron Commander of the "Top Gun" school. You definitely do not want to miss this rare opportunity to hear him speak. He and Carol will also sign any of the books that are purchased at the reunion or bought prior to the reunion. For those of you who bought Carol's book last year be sure to bring it this year and have Captain Smith and Carol Smith sign it.

Both David Batson and Rob Doremus are members of Squadrons & Shipmates. Lieutenant Batson spoke about his experiences on June 17, 1965, which are recreated in the YouTube video (link above). Rob Doremus spoke about his experience when he was shot down over Viet Nam on a later mission, August 24, 1965, with his Commanding Officer, Fred Franke, of VF-21 Squadron. They were captured and spent 7½ years as POWs along with Senator John McCain in the Hanoi Hilton. The link below will take you to a biography of Captain Doremus. Please be sure to click on "MORE INFO" at the bottom of the web page to see a picture and a description of his awards and achievements. We were all privileged to hear their stories and shake their hands and have our pictures taken with them. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet these two combat war heroes.

Lt. David Batson points to "Yankee Station" in the South China Sea during his presentation.

Captain Rob Doremus gave an unforgettable account of his experiences for 91 months as a POW.

Squadrons & Shipmates was very proud to have had the following guest speakers for the 2010 Reunion in Atlanta, Georgia. Tom Drake was the Intelligence Officer in VA-172 aboard USS Franklin D. Roosevelt CVA-42 during her one and only combat deployment to Viet Nam in 1966-67. He gave the audience a fascinating and unique insight of how our attack and fighter pilots were operating under the policies set out by Washington D.C.

Skip Shaw is a 1945 plank owner of USS Midway. Before he was assigned to USS Midway, he served as a coxswain on an LCT and found himself in charge of the landing craft during the Normandy Invasion on June 6, 1944. He was on the first wave of assault ships heading towards Omaha Beach on that fateful day. He took a direct hit from a very large German 88mm gun and his craft was badly damaged. While others turned around, and away, from the intense gunfire from the beach, Skip Shaw continued heading towards Omaha Beach. He finally made it to the beach and off-loaded about 75 men and 6 vehicles. As he pulled away from the beach his craft finally succumbed to the damage and sunk. He found himself two miles out in the English Channel and one of his crew members could not swim. After such an exhausting day, 19 year old Skip Shaw, along with shipmate, Kenny Treleven, still had enough energy left to safely tow their shipmate to shore and save his life. The audience was fatigued and tuckered out just listening to his story.

Tom Drake Intelligence Officer of VA-172 Squadron aboard USS Franklin D. Roosevelt CVA-42 during her combat mission to Viet Nam

Skip Shaw was a coxswain on an LCT on D-Day in the first wave of landing crafts during the assault on Omaha Beach. June 6, 1944. He has a great story.