STORY BEHIND THE PLAQUE
Service Reflections of AEC John Furqueron, U.S. Coast Guard (1961-1981)

My uncle, BMCM Luther Furqueron whom I visited often when he was stationed at the Lifeboat Stations in Fort Pierce and New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Uncle Luke would send pictures and letters back home from his travels and stations. His time on Loran Station Wake Island in 1960 got me to really think about the Coast Guard as I read letters he sent back home to my cousins.

As a kid on a farm in South Carolina, I always wanted to do the same as my uncle.

Started out on the CGC Campbell W-32, and while on Ocean Station Patrol listened in on communications with a C-130 crew out of CGAS Argentia. Who are those guys? Was told they were Airdales, but don’t pay any attention to them. When they said goodnight after operations about 500 miles east of Argentina and said they had to go home, have a beer, and play with Momma, I went down the next day and put in my request for AE school.

After the patrol, I left Campbell and watched her head out for GITMO as I headed for AE-A school in Jacksonville.

I was in CG aviation until retirement in 1981 and then went into commercial aviation as a Pilot.

Multiple Search and rescue operations. Too many to describe. Many times we would be hoisting injured Seamen from the back of a tanker, freighters, and fishing boats in all sorts of weather conditions.

I received the Air Medal on one of these off the mouth of the Columbia River hoisting an injured Seaman from the fantail of a freighter. The swells were such that the ship’s propeller would come completely out of the water and then the next moment the fantail would almost be a wash as the ship pitched up and down. I had to guide the pilot up and down and also try to position the litter on deck. Quite an operation.

Many times I was involved where we had to hoist people off cliffs, out of small craft and many times this was at night.

I look at my old logbooks now and can still remember many of the details of these searches and rescues. Some turned out very good, but as you know when working with the ocean, a lot turned out quite sad. Many times we would be out on a training flight, then get diverted to a search and end up spending a week on one of the 210s in the area searching.

Things would get kind of ripe after a couple of days, especially down in the Bahamas.

Did you encounter any situation during your military service when you believed there was a possibility you might not survive? If so, please describe what happened and what was the outcome.

This incident ended up being quite humorous, but at the time it happened, it really shook us up.

It was just the pilot and myself. We were searching the North Jetty of the Columbia River for someone that they said had gotten washed off the rocks. We would start at one end of the jetty and go out to the end, {a mile or so}, make a sharp turn, and come back along the north side of it, flying along at about 200 feet above the waves.

My pilot liked to fly with his seat all the way up and forward with the cyclic right in his crotch. When we reached the end of the jetty he would do a hard petal turn by pushing really hard on his right pedal. On one circuit as he did this, his seat came loose and went all the way back to the stops. I was sitting in the open door with my feet hanging outside and all of a sudden there was this loud BANG, and the helo pitched up sharply and then yawed to one side, and then pitched down. The pilot got it under control, but we air taxied over the beach, sat down, and shut the helo down for 30 minutes while we go our heart rates back to normal.

That shook me up.

CGAD Naples, Italy is the one I have the fondest memories of and is probably the one that most affected my career. Hard work, good shipmates, and travel to many countries opened my eyes to the world.

The next best was my first tour in Astoria after Naples. Search & Rescue, super crew members, living in the community, and enjoying life.

I enjoyed all the stations I was on as each one was different and had its own personality.

Most of all, it was working hard, enjoying good shipmates, and having fun.

From your entire military service, describe any memories you still reflect on to this day.

I just remember my visits to so many countries around the world. Almost too many to name here. From Italy to Spain, Greece, Turkey, Libya, England, Scotland, Belgium, Shetland Islands, and then over to Guam, with all the islands in the Pacific, Hong Kong, Philippines, Saipan, then down to Miami, and Puerto Rico and all the islands we serviced and the many SAR cases I was on down through the islands almost down to South America. The month the CGC Campbell spent tied up at the civilian dock in St. George, Bermuda. Plus all the places we flew into while on the Arctic Patrol while on the CGC Northwind north of Alaska or in the Bering Sea. I can reflect back on each place with some memory. Also, a 1-month ferry flight taking a C-123 from Guam back to the states for overhaul and bringing a newly overhauled one back to Guam. What a Trip!!!!!!

Making Chief Petty Officer, getting my civilian Pilots license along with many ratings. Also getting my A& P License. I had over 3,000 hours of flight time flying for the CG and accumulated over 20,000 hours of civilian flight time while in and after retiring from the Coast Guard.

The Air Metal received in Astoria hoisting an injured seaman from a freighter was significant as it was the first award I had received. This occurred just west of the Columbia River Bar in 20′ or so seas. The freighter was pitching and at one point the fantail would get water almost over it and the next you would see the screw come out of the water. I was directing the pilot in so I could get the litter on deck which with the wind and motion of the ship was a chore. Once there the deck crew unhooked the litter and took it below decks to strap the injured person in. They brought him back up on deck and now we started the process all over again getting the cable hook down and hooked up to the litter. We got er done, and flew off to transfer the patient to the hospital. All in a day’s work.

The Robert A. Prichard award I received in Miami was another as it was over a span of time and some hard work with the new Night Sun on the HH-52 along with several SAR events.

AM1 Orville K McWethy: the first person I met when getting off the plane in Naples, Italy. He was my mentor in more ways than one, good and bad. It was his work ethic that helped me the most.

There were many others, but Mac stands out the most.

While at CGAD Napoli, Italy, I was a loadmaster on a C-123-B flight from Naples to Istanbul, Turkey. We had the head of the MedSec command, a Captain, that we were to drop off at one of our Loran Stations in Southern Italy on the way. He was going to inspect the station and do some snorkeling while there. We landed and taxied into where the Loran guys were waiting but did not shut down the engines. I lowered the ramp, and the Captain got off and ran to the vehicles waiting for him. I unloaded some cargo, then raised the ramp and called up to the pilots. He was off, and they started to taxi out to the runway while we hustled to get seated and buckled in for the flight. About an hour into the flight, one of the pilots went back to the rear of the plane to use the relief tube. When he came back up front, he tapped me on the shoulder, pointed to the back, and asked me whose clothes cover it was that was hanging where we hung the parachute harness and such. The one with the “Captain West” in big letters. Well, in the hustle to get him off and some cargo and tie down the other items, we had not given the Captain’s clothes, uniform, etc, to the Loran crew.

Well, no one ever let me forget that slip-up. Captain West spent several days until we picked him up on the way back to Napoli. It happens that 2 of my immediate supervisors had just come from CGAD Arlington, VA, and the VIP unit there, so they were all up on handling VIPs and could not fandom how I could forget the Captain’s items. All I could say was “Stuff Happens”

I earned my Flight Instructor and aircraft and powerplant licenses while in the CG and was hired as a mechanic and part-time Flight Instructor when I retired in Port Angeles. They needed commercial pilots more than mechanics at the time, so I went that route.

From there I received my ATP license and went on to fly for Alaska/Horizon Airlines and Empire/FedEx Airlines until retiring from aviation in 2008 with over 20,000 hours in the air.

At present, it’s just golfing a few times a week, taking care of the home, and visiting with the family.

CGCPOA and CGAA.

I learned to work hard while growing up on a farm, and then with the Coast Guard. It continued with the people I worked with.

As I grew older it continued and became part of my life and that of my family. You didn’t just take a day off because you felt like it or had a little tummy ache. You went to work because you loved it and because others depended on you.

That carried on into my flying career after the Coast Guard.

Be friendly to everyone, respect their positions, and work hard. What you do and how you act follow you for your whole career in and out of the CG. When being transferred around while in the CG it seems as if I knew someone personally at every station I was going to before I got there, or had been with earlier. Don’t burn bridges when you move on.

It keeps me motivated and remember different events and situations. It helps me travel down memory lane to some great memories and great shipmates.