Perhaps I need an interview with sister Fran. She enlisted Navy ’75 and after training in ’76 with mom drove past us in Abilene from CA to Jacksonville Cecil Field where she became crew chief for carrier tng A-7 Sqdn Cmdr John McCain . Pulled his chocks while said he hit on her daily. Still a hell roarer back them as 1st wife Carol divorced him for such. Fran don’t like him much yet. She herself married a 3rd time to Chaplain’s Aide Howard Brewer. 1st 2 were wounded Army vets as a sucker for sob stories. Howard’s a great guy puts up with her writing Gothic novels published on the net. Son ‘Bubba’s a CPO sub combat diver in Hawaii right now. Good guy too.

Actually John and I crossed paths some but he began SEA tour about a year later than me from 31 May ’66. After some brief time as PR in Saigon following the Forrestal carrier fire he survived July ’67 was shot down over Hanoi in Oct most probable due to low level AAA fire not a SAM . In Hanoi Hilton nursed by Norris Overly one of we B-57s in other sqdn 13th TBS just taken our place in country Summer ’67. Me now fat  and happy back home alive.  Overly shot down on a similar coastal night attack I describe accepted early release John did not. Makes Norris half a hero but took the POW goodies so who knows what I’d have done with the chance. In Hanoi McCain finally met up with my fellow ’55 Salinas Hi School newspaper writer for sports Everett Alverez. Me Humor “to wit: by Don ” So friend Ev’s the 1st POW in late ’64 initial strike on Haiphong harbor. Paths finally connected on our 50th reunion on the school steps where we spoke of another ’55 friend Joe Robertson killed on 1st B-52 mission just on the way to VietNam from Guam attempting
to refuel N of Philippines in a storm. Life just travels on twisted like to the end. 8

“In addition to conducting squadron transition training, VA-174 continued to train all the replacement pilots and enlisted maintenance personnel who served in the Atlantic Fleet Light Attack Squadrons. As of 1 August 1971, VA-174 had trained 535 pilots, 48 maintenance officers and 4815 enlisted maintenance personnel. VA-174 was the largest aviation squadron in the U.S. Navy. Commander John McCain was the Executive Officer and Commanding Officer of VA-174 in the mid-1970s.”

https://storiesofourveterans.wordpress.com/2013/06/25/norris-overly/