Following a period in Yokosuka, Midway relieved Coral Sea May 30, 1980 on standby south of the Cheju-Do Islands in the Sea of Japan following the potential of civil unrest in the Republic of Korea. While transiting the passage between Palawan Island of the Philippines and the coast of Northern Borneo on July 29, Midway collided with the Panamanian merchant ship Cactus. The Cactus was 450 nautical miles southwest of Subic Bay and headed to Singapore. The collision occurred near the liquid oxygen plant and two sailors working in the plant were killed, three were injured. Midway sustained light damage and three F-4 Phantom aircraft parked on the flight deck were also damaged. On August 17th, Midway relieved Constellation to begin another Indian Ocean deployment and to complement the Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) task group still on contingency duty in the Arabian Sea. Midway spent a total of 118 days in the Indian Ocean during 1980.
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| In-port Phillipines for repair |
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| Cactus bow damaged |
David Francis Macy and Christopher Belgium, both Machinist Mates were killed in the port lox plant. repair 4 unit 2 was my GQ station, under the lox plant.
ReplyDeleteI remember Danny well, i was a plane captain with VA-115 eagles. I got to know Danny when we were in a jam for "O2" we would take bottles down to Lox plant & Danny would Fill them straight "from the tap" for us a good man!!
DeleteRich Riemer
I was the corpsmen who responded to the incident. Horrible scene unfortunately both sailors were killed. The gas relief phase was nerve racking to say the least pretty dangerous situation.
DeleteHey Doc, I remember you. We had a couple of beers in Subic afterward and you told me what it was like. I hope you're doing well.
DeleteThis day will live forever in my mind. My work center was on the 02 level, above the lox work center. The accident put a good hole in our work center. I also heard what happened to the two individuals that were killed. I also remember how we stood for two hours in the aft hangar bay waiting for the ship to blow up if one spark went off before the lox spill was cleaned up. It was quite a mess.
ReplyDeleteI was there.. And remember that well.. My GQ station was there and I got in a fight with a officer because I refused to take off my life jacket..
DeleteThis day will live forever in my mind. My work center was on the 02 level, above the lox work center. The accident put a good hole in our work center. I also heard what happened to the two individuals that were killed. I also remember how we stood for two hours in the aft hangar bay waiting for the ship to blow up if one spark went off before the lox spill was cleaned up. It was quite a mess.
ReplyDeleteI was in the forward port evaps, directly below the forward port LOX/LIN plant. Chris lived with a few of us in the village of Uraga. The 15 minutes befor his death, I was in that plant with him having coffee and joking around about our girlfriends in Subic. I left for my watch in the evaps, the collision alarm sounded.. the rest is a blur for the most part. I was part of the damage control locker for the LOX plant.. It was a horrible horrible next 3 days.. this collision almost did me in.
ReplyDeleteI was in the starboard catwalk aft of the super structure when the collision alarm sounded the ship rolled starboard and port side of the ship Rose and aircraft started colliding together exploding They look like they were raining down on me. I ran for the hatch and ran down to the hanger bay on the way down we were hit a second time. Blue Bells was going on the hanger bay which means practicing loading nukes onto aircraft with Marines guarding them with m-16's As I ran towards the nukes men were running in every direction jumping over the nukes the marines were using the butts of their weapons knocking men out cold. I turned left and ran towards elevator three at that point we were hit the third time all I saw was a steel wall and everybody around me myself included being thrown to the deck I got up ran forward tripped over some tie down chains ripped the skin off both forearms a chief picked me up told me to get to my general quarters
ReplyDeleteI got out of the navy in 83 started living my life all the time having night terror trouble with noises during the day not knowing how to explain it or cope with it using alcohol at first over the years moved on to drugs
In 96 I ended up losing my job at the post office my wife five houses I moved back to New York
Ended up living in a abandoned house for the next 18 years as a crack addict finally getting arrested and sent to jail in jail for three weeks the VA came from nowhere and rescued me.
In 2014 I was diagnosed with PTSD from that one day onboard the USS Midway I'm drug free for the last 2.5 years I attend groups at the VA weekly, they educate me on what I'm dealing with I take meds for my tremors and my night terror
It took 34 years but thank god I'm finally getting help
I was on board in the forward berthing areas just under that cats. I had just gotten out of the shower and was next to my rack getting shorts on when I heard the collision alarm. I thought hey they never test those alarms at this time of day, roughly 20:00. I grabbed the pipe that holds up the racks and a kid began to laugh at me, saying hah! Peck thinks its the real thing and boom it happened, which in my mind it felt as if we ran aground. I knew GQ would be called and got dressed in my flightdeck shirt and boots. That kid who laughed at me was thrown back against a bulkhead and I can still remember his face as if to say Oh sh_t. Our shop was just forward of the LOX plant on the hanger deck and we were told to get the hell out of there, after helping a Chief move some aircraft that were blocking the hanger-bay blast doors. I never saw him before but we knew we all had to pull together or die. A couple shipmates and I went up to the upper passage way and made way to the back hangar bay. Even as air-dales, our training from bootcamp taught us to check every hatch for heat before we opened it. All of us in that back hangar bay were scared as hell as we waited for any news. Two days later we had to get in that center bay as we had an engine still hanging in the air with hoists. The five of us who were ordered to safe that A6 engine saw the remains come out of the LOX plant area and there was stench in the air. In 2006 I began to have serious dreams of horror at night and I didn't understand why they were happening with more increased frequency. During marriage counseling the lady told me I should talk to her boss because there was obvious PTSD going on. I tested with him and the jackass doc at the VA and was awarded 50% service connected. I felt like why are they giving me this as I never asked for it. After MRI's showed TBI they upped my percentage to 100% and suggested I quit work and enjoy life while I can because the neuropathy will take away my legs eventually. This recent news about the USS Fitzgerald brings back the horror of that night in 1980.
DeleteI ALSO Was on U.S.S. MiDWAY THAT NIGHT of HORROR, And Got Out of the NAVY in 1983 .. Still a Living NightMare That NighT ... !!?!
DeleteI was just coming on watch when the Collision alarm went off. We were below decks in Engineering way below the water line at the bottom of the ship in the Boiler Room when we felt a very aggressive thump, but we all assumed that we bottomed out and our p props hit sand because we were in The Straits in shallow water.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't until we went to our battle stations and realized a freighter had side-swiped us on the port side ripping a 30 frame slice in the side of the ship.
I was port side aft in the VA-56 AT shop when I heard the collision alarm go off. I actually joked about it saying "Hang On". I figured someone leaned against the alarm by accident. Suddenly the entire ship seemed to be shaking, it felt to me like were running aground. I didn't realize until later that the Cactus had passed us on the outside wall (The AT shop side wall was the outside wall). It was far scarier afterward the next day when I went to the Roof and saw all the damage.
ReplyDeletePrayers for the men on the USS McCain. I was in my bunk when the alarm sounded on the Midway, and I will never forget it. My quarters were on the starboard side and the ship lurched slightly on that side as the cactus passed. I then made my way to the flight deck where my GQ station was as a Corpsman for VMFP 3. Straights of Malacca; funnel of death.
ReplyDeleteWow! This is D R Willett that was an interesting event to say the least. I was down in the medical office I think with Steve Oehler when the Alarm sounds, he sails across the deck and I hold on to something, felt a bump but had no idea a ship hit us. We were doing darken ship at the time we were going through the straights and the ship was registered by the Russians I believe. Not a huge deal back home, made the b section page 4. But ya I responded as the corpsmen on watch at the time. Anyway hope life is treating you well miss all my buds, Lou carp,BT Love, wiley coyote,, and the rest peace out..
DeleteMidway Magic, was a carrier known for it's abilities to come through under adverse conditions, she was America's forward deployed carrier in the Pacific, homeported out of Japan, and that says much about the Nation's belief in Midway. Has been some time, but I recall Midway's record was why she was deployed, without escort, to the IO without support when the hostages were taken in Tehran, Iran.
ReplyDeleteIran held F-14 Tomcats, given when they were an ally, to the Midway's F-4's, but the Midway was deployed knowing they had a capable record of "can do," reluctant to use the expression of "can do" but that is just how the Midway was,a testament to the ship and crews. Midway was the sole carrier in the field until others arrived to share the 90 day IO cruises. Midway was a great ship,my shop was on the hanger bay, had to step over a JP5 station to enter or exit, remember the collision well. Recall it every year when leading up to 29 July. Would love to see the Midway put back on active duty off North Korea to counter the "Rocket Man" We stopped in South Korea, Pusan, on our way to the IO before the collision. South Korean people are the finest people I've ever met. I know we stand with the people of South Korea, Midway belongs on station, not in a museum. God Bless all past sailors of CV-41, U.S.S. Midway.
Has anyone been aboard the museum Midway? I was lost! My berthing compartment is gone, medical was was different, didn't recognize the place, more Midway magic I guess D Willett HM3
DeleteWhen it happened, I remember the ship listing to the side, and that awful sound echoing in my head..the General Quaters sounded, I was below deck...one sailor ran by and yelled we're at war. The rush of adrenalin carried my legs over the hatches up to the flight Deck where I saw Birds in the catwalk, The unforgetable sight of the cattus. I thought we were going down. What a frightful feeling.
ReplyDeletePraise God we live to tell the tale
Lorenzo K strother V-1 Division
My dad who was on the uss midway at the time. He was s-6 division Ak-3 Thomas Weber aka Potsey Weber. He remembers this day like yesterday. His shop was CLAMP Shop right above the LOX Tank that should of blown immediately. He is using my step moms profile Linda Weber on facebook feel free to contanct him
ReplyDeleteremember these 2 i was shipmates with both of these , i worked in lox plant with both of them they did everything together!! enter navy together on the buddy system, outside of the schooling they did everything , how sad they lost there lifes the same day together RIP MACY AND BELGIUM
ReplyDeleteHey John Rindy, I was new to the ship and Fwd O2N2 plant. I remember my first trip to PI and I went out with you and Chris and Booth to the Teen "Hi club" Not sure of name. Hope all is well with you. My name is Marty Sanchez
DeleteA day I will never forget and still think about.. I remember the 6 bells ringing for collision but I thought it was a joke until a shipmate grabbed the pole in the middle of our lounge and the Midway started to role.. My general quarter station was right next to it and I had a BIG fight with the caption because I put my life jacket on and he told me to take it off.. And I told him to "F" off.. All I heard was one spark and it could blow the ship in half.. I was not going to take off my life jacket.. What still bothers me today is we was told 2 people died but yet they came out with 3 body bags.. I knew the doc. on duty there and asked him why 3 for two and he replied they where in pieces and that stuck with me forever.. I even had to go investigate the gash in the ship and the water and darkness down there scared the shit out of me.. There is more but we will close it there..
ReplyDeleteI was aboard the Midway with CarGru 5 Staff, and I recall that a few of us got stuck down in berthing during the GQ because somebody "dogged" down the hatch to the compartment and we couldn't open it to get to our GQ stations! Sorry for the unlucky guys who didn't make it thru the collision. Was quite the experience.
ReplyDeleteI was one of the Signalman on watch it was foggy as hell. I was stationed on the port side. I had heard a audible fog signal in the distance at about 320 degree off the bow and reported to the bridge. Tracked the audible for several minutes CBDR then the Cactus showed up out of the fog. There was some commotion on the bridge and we started turning port into the cactus. The collision alarm went off and a couple seconds later we took cactus down port side. I truly believe to this day that the actions of the helmsman saved us all if he hadn't turned to port when he did we would have taken cactus at a greater angle causing greater damage and possibly killing more than just two.
ReplyDeleteBy the way ADML Brown (CO) was on the Bridge not in hanger bay as previously stated. I personally saw him multiple times over the next several hours on the bridge.
I was in transit in Subic Bay on my way to Ike CVN-69. At morning muster at the barracks the chief in charge told me I would be in charge of 16 sailors to help tie up the Midaway that had been in a collision. A bus picked us up and we met the pier master and helped moor the USS Midway.
ReplyDeleteI was sitting on the mess decks, they were getting the reel to reel ready to show the movie "The Rose" when the ship suddenly listed. Bout pissed my pants because I had not felt the ship move like that before, had only been onboard a short time. VAQ-136 DK3
ReplyDeleteAvionics above the lox plant in the angle deck. Alarm went off and somebody said "I didn't hear this is a drill". Later we stood in the hanger bay. It looked as dark as the void outside. Scott Murphy cpl USMC
ReplyDeleteHey Murph! How the hell you doing? Jeff Stevens here, AT3 at the time. We used to play chess till you beat me once. Hope you're doing well. Drop me a line sometime. smajeff@aol.com
DeleteI’ll never forget that night as long as I live.
ReplyDeleteLike with so many other military personel, no one can be expected to understand what it was like unless you were there. Orderly chaos...period.
They say the Midway was so old only rust and the ship’s company keep her afloat. We used to laugh at that,... until that night. Those who made it through that night know it is true.
I too had just got into my rack when we hit so hard I also thought we ran around. It was true that the Marines beat the shit out of thier shipmates in the name of protecting the ‘neither confirm or deny’ nukes on board. I don’t think I ever ran faster to my station. I served GQ on the hanger deck with the Corpman who told me we lost 2 men and one was in pieces.
I don’t remember ever really talking about that night before. To this day I have never meet anyone who didn’t serve onboard the Midway who knew about that night. Even among my shipmates we never really talked about it after that week or so.
I think that is probably the most disturbing truth for me. That night was auto-pilot. Training kicked in and to hell with everything else. Heartless. We lost other kids onboard her during my tour. One guy electrocuted himself on 440 ACV, probably due to sleep deprivation. Another kid simply lost his mind.
So why do I give a s@?t now? I hated my tour on the USS Midway. I wish I had at least one fond memory of her. I don’t.
Funny thing, I’ve always been proud as hell and never regretted being one of the poor B@&$€$TS who keep her afloat. (Just can’t say I’d do it again)
To bad. Me being a corpsmen I remember the good and the bad. Awesome friendships made and rare and exotic places to see, Olongopo being on of them, great experience to bad it sucked so bad for you, as we used to say out at sea "if you don't like it, learn to love it" Midway magic baby. dansapiper@gmail.com, for anybody I knew.. Peace
DeleteI was onboard the USS SAMPLE FF1048 when we left Subic with the Midway. We had been operating as Plane Guard. So after flight ops we were just trailing behind. I was the oncoming JOOD on the bridge and had been briefed on ships in the area. And the plotted course of unknown bearing down on Midway. I assumed the conn as we were monitoring the Midway trying to raise coms with unknown vessel. We had called the Captain to the bridge. The OOD was managing all coms while I held the conn. When the collision happened we had already reduced speed. The Co had directed the QM to mark location of collision. The Capt then took the conn and we went dead in the water at collision site and launched captains gig and crew boat. We maintained position for hours until given release from Midway that there were no known sailors lost overboard after roll call verifications. We then followed the Midway back to Subic before again heading to Singapore and Indian Ocean. It was a night I will never forget. And after watching the night collision how thankful we were that we were not needed. Sample SUPPO.
ReplyDeleteI was on watch in the CIC of the USS Sample FF-1048 during that collision. I was an OS who had rotated onto the AN/SPA-25 repeater for the AN/SPS surface radar. It was very foggy that night and the lookouts on watch had little visibility. We had been tracking this contact heading toward our group and when we determined a collision course with Midway many minutes well before any closest point of approach, Midway was beginning to hail the vessel and continued to do so with no success. We reported it to the bridge and during the last couple seconds I observed the contact, later ID'd as the Panamanian freighter Cactus making a hard starboard turn into the Midway. Then it was a recovery and escort operation. We escorted the Midway into Subic, got a few more days in Alongapo, as we joined Midway from leaving there originally and then returned back onto our WESTPAC 80 journey leading to the main event at Gonzo station and all the ops surrounding that. I can't get out of my mind remembering this how angry I was at the time thinking that Cactus may of intentionally collided with Midway to delay its arrival to the IO. Of the few people standing watch on the Sample I bounced that off of, no one thought that or corroborated Cactus's sudden turn. What a horrible thing for Midway. My sincerest regards to its crews and the friends and families of those sailors killed and injured that day.
ReplyDeleteI was back aft in the lucky bag, port side. My GQ station was phone talker in DCC Central. When I relayed to the bridge that Petty Officers Macy and Belgum had died the guy next to, who was an HT, knew them both. I was the way he found out his friends were dead.
ReplyDeleteI remember that night and will never forget. I was just getting off work after doing my duty as a plane captain with VA-93. Got something eat,took my shower and jumped into my rack. About two or so hours later the ship rolled to the right then I heard the collision alarm and the G.Q. announcement. The beginning of along night and then day.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous February 22 has the story right. I saw it with my own eyes. As the Captain hailed the Cactus ,on the 5MC (loud speakers) ,which was running along side of us. As the Midway attempted to turn away the Catus turned hard into us.
ReplyDeleteIt is to this day the most exiting and terrifying day of my life.
ReplyDeleteI believe that to not hold Captain Carmichael to the same standard as previously demonstrated is part of a cover-up.
The USS Midway was literally rammed in one of it's most vulnerable part of the ship with Nuclear weapons on the Hanger Deck.
The scuttlebutt said that the ship was running dark because we were being tested by a freighter that kept getting close and moving off. Captain Carmichael failed the test and his ship was rammed as part of a plot.
My story including scuttlebutt - The USS Midway had left Subic Bay a few days previously and had taken on Tactical(nuclear) weapons that same day via underway replenishment. We were transiting The Straights of Malacca(1.7 miles wide at it's narrowest point) en route to the India Ocean to play war games off of the coast of Iran(who were holding 44 Americans hostage at the US Embassy at the time). It was a dark and rainy night and the ship was running dark(no lights).
At approximately 19:30 I had just returned to my berthing area(forward on port side, one deck below the Hanger Deck) after a 12 hour shift ended at 1900. I hear over the intercom -
"Now launch the alert five". meaning get a fighter off of the deck within five minutes. Fairly routine, no big deal, right?
It never made it off of the deck.
Three minutes later - BEEP BEEP BEEP, BEEP BEEP BEEP "COLISION ALARM COLLISION ALARM ALL HANDS MAN YOUR BATTLE STATIONS THIS IS NOT DRILL THIS IS NOT DRILL BEEP BEEP BEEP, BEEP BEEP BEEP COLISION ALARM COLLISION ALARM ALL HANDS MAN YOUR BATTLE STATIONS THIS IS NOT DRILL THIS IS NOT DRILL".
Now go back and read that as fast as you can in a high pitched and very exited tone.
A group of us looked at each other and said "HOLY SHIT" then I hear a low "BOOM" and feel the ship roll to Starboard. You will never see 5000 men jump and move so fast as what happened next. I exited my berthing area only to dodge the Flying Squad literally fucking flying. Up one deck to the Hanger Deck toward my Battle Station to be met by a real Marine with a real weapon with live ammunition guarding Nukes. "GET BACK!!! - OK!!!
I was a Marine but part of the airwing. These guys were what you would picture a Marine would be. High and tight and intense 19 year old's with guns and a serious mission even during peace time..
Being fairly new to the ship I only knew one other way to my Battle Station and that was up to the Flight Deck and through the ship to the Starboard side. I stepped out of the hatch to the Flight Deck into 3 inches of JP-5(jet fuel) that was covering the deck. Sailors and hoses and foam everywhere. I could see the Alert Five(first F-4 forward on the angle deck) with it's tail torn off and hanging in the catwalk. It was unchained and it's left rear strut in the catwalk and it's nose pointing up. The scuttlebutt said the pilots had jumped out and left their bird turning. A Plane Captain made him get back in and shut it down. The next plane in line had it's tail torn off but was chained down. The next 10 or so planes along the angle deck all had their tails clipped and were pretty badly damaged.
My first instinct was to jump on a hose as we were trained but I had no protective gear and my responsibility was to get to my Battle Station. Within five minutes of getting to my Station the entire ship was ordered to the rear starboard side of the ship. Sitting packed into a passageway we were released back to our Battle station about six hours later. We heard that was because of the fear of the LOX(liquid oxygen) plant was the direct impact zone for he collision and an explosion was definitely a possibility. The two sailors who died were in this area.
Two men died. 5000 were in peril as was his ship. No fault was assigned. Cover up complete.
The US Navy is wholly incapable of investigating itself. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Iowa_turret_explosion
RIP with Honor Clayton Hartwig
I was the young sailor who operated the NS60 TILLY OPERATOR Wwho lifted the F4 out of the cat walk !
ReplyDeleteI was there. JA phone talker in DCC Central relaying the damage and personnel casualties to the bridge.
ReplyDelete