WCS Prayer

 

Dear God, in your infinite wisdom and mercy, please let me have one more maintenance call before I die.  Let it be on a rainy night in a war zone in some exotic country (OK, I’ll settle for Ubon in 1969).

 

Please God, let it be a hard gig to diagnose so I can stay on the flight line for a long time.  Please allow me to hook up a –6 cart and a Wolf one last time.  Please let hydraulic fluid spill over my hands because I forgot to connect the return line first.  Let me pop the radome (but don’t slam it shut in the wind and smash my thumb like you did last time) and slide the nose package out on its rail.  Let me use sophisticated test equipment (you know, like a PSM-6) to troubleshoot the synchronizer or TIC.  Please let there be lots of jet exhaust to smell.

 

Let me climb the ladder one last time and sit in the back seat (don’t forget to have me check all the switches in front and make sure all the ejection seat safety pins are in place).  Let me touch the radar set control and feel the knobs and switches.  Let me turn it on (30 seconds to warm it up and another 3 minutes to get all the electrons going in the same direction) and go to built in test.

 

Let me grab the antenna hand control one last time and select half action and then full action.  Let me see the B sweep display jiggle just a little bit so I can use my ICU card removal tool (I still have it) to pull the #2 card (I think).  Let me feel the pain as I bend my elbow, wrist and fingers in ways you never intended so I can reattach the ICU cover.

 

If I’ve done a good job, let me sit in the front cockpit, close the canopy and lower the seat to battle position.  Let the warm, soft red glow from the instrument panels wash over my body.  Let me hear and see the rain on the canopy and know that I’m safe inside this warm cocoon.  Let me go to Master Arm, select Missiles and pretend, just for a minute, that I’m Robin Olds boring in for the 5th kill.

 

If you’re a fair and reasonable God, you know that I’m a good person and have tried to live by your rules (I’m really sorry that I kicked the dog that one time, but he ate my homework).  Please allow me to do this one last thing before I die and go to WCS heaven.

 

I ask this in your name.  Amen

 

 

PS:  Can I have a working WCS and a front and rear cockpit for Christmas next year?

 

Hank Verbais
Ubon, January 1969- January 1970