PRESERVING A MILITARY LEGACY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS
The following Reflection represents LT William Danton’s legacy of their military service from 1968 to 1970. If you are a Veteran, consider preserving a record of your own military service, including your memories and photographs, on Togetherweserved.com (TWS), the leading archive of living military history. The Service Reflections is an easy-to-complete self-interview, located on your TWS Military Service Page, which enables you to remember key people and events from your military service and the impact they made on your life.
What was your favorite bar/ recreational establishment from your Military Service? What do you remember most about this place and do you know if it still exists?:
Well, I’ve visited a lot of bars in my life, but the standout is the Cubi Point Officer’s Club, Tailhook, or “Cat Room,” which housed the infamous “Cat Room Catapult.”
I was a newly-minted ensign serving on a Fleet ATF/diving vessel during the Vietnam War. An initiation ritual for junior officers was a trip to this bar, a cinderblock space two stories beneath the club bar and dining room. An aircraft cockpit was mounted on rails that exited the bar through double doors and then plunged into a tank of water. Once strapped in, compressed gas fired the sled down the track with one chance to hook a cable and stop the sled from plunging into the water. A very kindly NAC officer provided me with a tip that saved me from that fate.
The senior officers were not pleased with the outcome. They insisted it was a fluke and demanded a second run. As I got back into the cockpit, they tried to fire the catapult, but it failed. Somebody pushed the sled down the track toward the door, but I caught the wire a second time. Unfortunately, I wasn’t strapped in, and I cut my forehead open. The ship’s doctor took me to the infirmary and tried to stitch it up, but having been celebrating with the same party, that didn’t go well. I remember a nurse finding someone who did a proper job.
The Cubi Point Officer’s Club was moved from the Philippines to the National Aviation Museum in Pensacola, FL, and still serves as a functioning cafe. Somewhere, there is a plaque that bears the names of the few who successfully hooked the wire, but alas, the Cat Room seems to have been left to the memories of those who were there.
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Now, this ain’t no bull. One day SECDEF visited the site in question and, after donning appropriate apparel was persuaded to ride the cat. As I recall the story, he failed to hook the wire and got wet. Much later he departed and was seen boarding his plane, still wearing his jumpsuit with “CUBI POINT CAT HOUSE” (or something similar; can’t recall) emblazoned on the back in red letters. I know I have some details wrong, but the story is still noteworthy.
Now I remember: SECDEF’s jumpsuit was emblazoned with “RED HORSE CAT HOUSE” on the back. 🙂
I love this story.