Taking a camera on a hop

After examining thousands of pictures from the Intruder’s action in Vietnam, I recognize some general patterns. For example, a lot of Intruder squadron members had personal cameras. Early on, I see pictures of flight operations, and imagine taking snapshots so I didn’t forget this awesome site. After awhile, many of these pictures of cat shots and recoveries looked the same, and I imagine that’s why, over time, less film was expended on deck.

Pictures from ashore during port calls start popping up more. I imagine seeing these exotic places for the first time and thinking “so and so will never believe this!". Pictures from Sasebo, Hong Kong, Australia and Olongopo City taken so long ago, are in front of new eyes for the first time in decades. Usually having been stored away for many years, I see that bringing them out for another look brings a fresh perspective and can initiate family conversations with the stories behind the pictures.