GRAVETTE -- A few days ago, my wife, Jan, and I were in Temple, Texas, for my annual routine physical checkup. I was pleased with the checkup but even more pleased with an experience we had while in that area.
In nearby Belton, Texas, there lives a guy I have known since childhood. We attended 12 grades of school together at Gravette and graduated with the 28-member class of 1958. He was an honor student, an athlete and an all-around outstanding young man.
After graduation, this guy went on to secure his college education and followed that with a distinguished career as a naval aviator during the Vietnam War.
After being awarded his wings, he became personally involved in that war and flew 233 combat missions over North and South Vietnam from aircraft carriers operating in the Gulf of Tonkin in the South China Sea. He flew the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk (one of the "hottest" fighter and bomber aircrafts of that era) off the flight decks of the U.S.S. Bonhamme Richard (CVA-31) and the U.S.S. Ticonderoga (CVA-14).
While performing very dangerous combat missions, this outstanding naval aviator was never shot down, he never crashed an airplane and he was never captured. During his naval flying career, he made 400 Y "traps" (landings on an aircraft carrier at sea) -- 125 of which were at night! Notwithstanding his outstanding service record, he insists that he is not a "hero."
Having served as a crew member aboard an aircraft carrier during combat operations and having witnessed hundreds of "traps," this writer can attest to the fact that landing a high-performance jet aircraft on a carrier at sea (especially in the dark) is an incredibly difficult feat and one of the most dangerous tasks any aviator ever has to perform.
Combat pilots from all U.S. services once concluded -- in a survey meant to determine the 10 most dangerous and frightening things a pilot ever does -- that the top four were:
(1) making a night landing on a carrier;
(2) making a night launch from a carrier;
(3) making a day landing on a carrier; and
(4) making a day launch from a carrier.
After his naval service, this guy went on to become a command airline pilot for United Airlines and, by the time he was forced by age regulations to retire at the age of 60, he was a command pilot of the largest and most sophisticated passenger aircraft the airlines then flew.
Last week, Jan and I had a delightful dinner with this former classmate in Belton, Texas, where he now lives with his wife, Shannon. His full name is Michael David Allum, but he has always been just "Mike" to me and to his many friends.
There is far more to the "Mike Allum Story" than I have written in this piece. Suffice it to say that, in my book, Mike Allum is a true American Warrior who most folks would call a hero. Even though Mike might modestly disagree, his service record shows him to be an outstanding warrior and one of those veterans who deserves our thanks and respect.
I contribute this piece because I think the folks of Gravette should know something about an outstanding guy who once called Gravette his home. It, therefore, goes without saying that I believe the folks of Gravette and of the entire United States should be proud of him. I am.
Thanks, Mike!
Jimm Larry Hendren
General News on 08/05/2015