USS Lexington CV16

I did some Flight Qualifications aboard the USS Lexington CV16 which at the time was based out of Pensacola FL. I only spent about a month aboard her and we sailed out towards the equator and we practiced launching and recovering aircraft as pilot training. I was once again chosen as "Flag Man", landing the rescue helicopters with my trusty wands or flags. It was a good job and I enjoyed doing it. I was with a bunch of friends on that cruise and we made the best of the short liberty we got in Pensacola. Oh Yeah! Below is a link to the Lexington web site. She was scrapped many years ago. My time on board her was from March 1966 thru April 1 1966. I met a lot of good friends and had a lot of fun. It was a bucket of bolts compared to the Forrestal and the food was terrible. It was only for a short while and I managed to put up with it but I used to think about all the guys that were permanently assigned to her permanently.

http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/16.htm