This man a real gangster

Back in the early nineties we bought a F2 tracker we made it into a water tanker I remember taking all the equipment out of there those radios were huge that was a nice airplane😅

That's awesome thank you❤

Thank you George for having Alfred as a guest to tell his story, he is my girlfriends great grandfather and he is a real treasure of a man, it was an honor to get to celebrate his 100th birthday with the family. I hope to get to spend more time with him and hear more stories first hand! God bless papa Al!

What a wonderful video.... it is very fortunate they got the chance to interview Mr. Payne about his experiences on the USS Hornet. He must have come aboard right after the Hornet launched the Doolittle raid. God bless you Mr. Payne and your fellow shipmates of USS Hornet CV-8!

My birthday may 4th as well. Also spent 7 years in the Australian Navy. Thank you sir

Such a great interview! Thanks for capturing Alfred’s vivid and detailed memories. Amazing stories of battle and survival. Alfred was married to my mother Arlene from 1986 to her passing in 1992. He is a wonderful man with a large giving heart! Thanks for your service to our country Alfred!🇺🇸

My father, Bill Grissom, was on the USS Mustin, the destroyer that rescued many of the survivors of the Hornet. He boarded the Hornet and witnessed the same kamakaze attack. He was handed the keys to the brig to let all the sailors out and take them to the USS Mustin. The memories of what happened at the Battle of Santa Cruz lives on.

Thank you for your service and for sharing your amazing story Mr Payne - blessings!

❤

God bless and thank you for your courage and service God bless you all❤

Great work George. Beautifully made. The piece of the dive bomber is incredible.

Well done! "Rattle Ass" would be extremely proud of you and what you have accomplished!

That must’ve been that old time catapult that used the strength of 15 sailors pushing the pistons to force that som’ bitch off the flight deck!!! Congrats….you all should have been awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Dumbass Achievement Medal!

Touchy, historic, amazing, inspiring! I wish my country one day has a Naval Aviation he deserves, like USA. A great salute, from Brazil!

Thank you for this wonderful story. In my book all pilots are heroes whether in the service or with an airline. 🥰

Thank you for this video of awesome WW2 vet. No words can explain what these guys have been through. Thank you Dick! ❤

My father in law was aboard the Evans and survived. He claims because he wasn’t where he was supposed to be. I wish I was able to hear more about it from him. Unfortunately he passed before I had much time to really get to know him.

I met him in the Safeway in Sandpoint where we both live. He invited me to come on over to our little airport and see his H-34 " CHARLIE " restoration Marine Corps League Detachment #1110. This was a quite a few years ago. I'm reading one of his books right now.😁👍🏼

My dad was on the Melbourne. Suffered all his life with PTSD and was only diagnosed officially a couple of years ago. He still does not get the benefits of other retired naval men, as this occurred during a manoveur that was not in battle or a war zone. Australian Navy told all the men to keep a stiff upper lip and get on with it. No counselling or duty of care afterwards, which I believe to be the biggest tragedy of all. It wasn’t just the men who died that night who lost their lives.

Why are we forgetting the reason many kids were forced to a world of Hell are a nation of people not only indifferent but wanting everyone else who wasn't Japanese to die torturous deaths. Wake up. This was 80 years ago. Not 2000 years ago in Christ's time. To me, these are a nation of people that hate us. Let N Korea have their way with them I don't want a single penny of tax dollars to support them.

Ww2 was 80 years ago. I can't see people of Japan who hated round eye people so much that they enjoyed beheading them with a sword becoming peaceful and thinking US citizens are their equals in that short amount of time. I have negative trust for Japanese

Excellent.

TreMENdous.

What a great bunch of guys. .

I am so honored to have met you in person, Sir.

I just gave oath for the Navy to be a ET/FC, so seeing this is crazy

Excellent, as a lad growing up, these veterans of the Pacific War where my teachers, neighbors and relatives I would meet growing up.

Wonderful tribute George. Thank you!

What ever happened to the, Ruger .22?

God bless all those brave men an woman who served our great nation

My grandpa served in the Navy during WW2. Like you, his first name was also George. He died in 2000 at the age of 79. Thank you so much for this!

I Love Listening To Their Stories! ⚓

At the end of the video listening to them talk about the friends that they had lost was heart wrenching. This Country has been bought and paid for by the blood of brave men and women. It's angers me to see what the democratic party is trying to do to this beautiful country. What gives them the right to destroy what these brave people fought and died for. They are guilty of agrivated treason and should at the very least be deported. Let them go live in Venezuela or some other communist country and see what communism does to the citizens of a country. They starve to death, or worse. If you were born in the US you have a debt that you owe to this country to at least leave it better off than when you were born for future generations to enjoy the same freedoms you had. GOD BLESS AMERICA. AMERICA FIRST. MAGA. TRUMP 2024

Amen !

I wore the Sundowner patch flying F-14s with VF-111 in the late 70s & early 80s. Squadron call sign "Old Nick" and squadron symbol "Omar." I feel a kindred spirit with these men of the Greatest Generation.

Keith, I am Kerry Owen and was also present during the collision. I was on duty aboard the USS Kearsarge CVS-33 that night and appreciate the visual explanation of the crash that is often misunderstood. I was working below decks when the initial alarm sounded. I recall going to the forward starboard catwalk and seeing the Melbourne and a dark "hulk" ahead of it which were off our starboard side. The Evans was indistinguishable due to total darkness. We began launching rescue helo's which then provided illumination via spotlights of the crash scene. The ocean was glass smooth that night. As smooth as I have ever witnessed at sea. The flying fish were coming out of the ships wake flying for 100-150 yds before reentering the water. The reflections of the helo nav lights and spot lights reflecting off the water gave in an eerie appearance. The scene was surreal.... like something out of a movie set. We were expecting a mass casualty event and had set up ping pong tables on the hanger deck to process the survivors. Later that morning the survivors who had initially been taken aboard the Melbourne were transferred to our ship by small boats. Because the majority of the Evan's crew were asleep in their racks during the collision...many of the survivors had very little clothing. Most had been just wearing skivvies... To the credit of the Melbourne crew...many of their ship company donated dry white, blue and gray working coveralls to provide some warmth. Others had partial US Navy dungarees or t shirts. Some were shirtless as they came aboard. I have often given much respect toward the Aussie sailors who stepped up to help our men. There are a couple video's without sound on KZbin of the Evan's survivors as they came aboard that morning posted by "CriticalPast"...and you can still see the shock and trauma they were experiencing as they came aboard. It is not often reported that a petty officer that was on watch aboard the Evans was thrown onto the flight deck of the Melbourne during the impact resulting in sever injuries. I would very much like to hear the remembrances of other sailors both US Navy and Australian Navy who were present that early morning...

My uncle Rick was an apache helicopter pilot in Vietnam. He had so many awards.

Those men are so AWESOME 👏!!!!

Excelent documentary. It was a pleasure to know this brave men.

Excellent documentary. Thank you so very much for sharing this with us.

How about a little credit to our friends in the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm?

Superman says #fuckalameda. I will never go back to that shithole.

Haa i knew that was alameda as soon as this started. Too bad they fucked that city up so bad. #fuckalameda -superman😂

Magnificent Men, God Bless you All

Thanks for showing it to me too bad it wasn't made into a toy or model fairing

He'll hit the first wire like always.

PLAT/LENS Tech here

Great tribute to your Grandfather ! I'd love to do something Similar but my Grandfather did not technically "See" combat. He was O.S.S. So, he's gone & I don't know details about any of his "missions"... He was "Smarter" than he was a "tough guy/killer" ... But he was "brave" & didn't like Nazi's ! Sooo who knows?? Kev G

This was really well done. Good job.