This spring, on May 30, I was peacefully relaxing in my anti-gravity chair at Barnes Point enjoying the tranquil beauty of Lake Crescent, only to have it shattered by the roaring blast of two Navy jets flying directly over Lake Crescent between Barnes Point and the Spruce Railroad Trail at a relatively low altitude.
On a number of occasions over the past couple of years I have witnessed Navy jets blasting alongside the Spruce Railroad trail well below the ridge line along the north side of Lake Crescent well within the Olympic National Park.
It angers me whenever I hear and see Navy jets blasting past me while I’m peacefully relaxing at Lake Crescent.
The Navy jets make me recall my experiences aboard the USS Oriskany on the WESTPAC Cruise of 1972-73 in the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast line of North Vietnam.
One night time bombing raid in particular on North Vietnam, that I witnessed at an exceptionally close distance that I recall vividly whenever something triggers it, consumes my mind sometimes for weeks on end.
The phrase horrifyingly wicked and evil does not adequately capture the experience.
Especially when you realize that there are people below those bombs that are being literally vaporized.
I would rather experience the tranquility of Lake Crescent than recall the tons of bombs exploding simultaneously on North Vietnam, literally turning the dark of night into the light of day.
Rick Sindars,
Port Angeles