After 64 years spent flying, including in Korean and Vietnam wars, Virginia Beach veteran’s head is still in the clouds – The Virginian-Pilot

VIRGINIA BEACH — Charles “Obie” O’Brien perched a dozen black and white pictures on his knees as his aged fingers flipped via the recollections.

At 94, O’Brien’s face is lined with expertise, however his eyes nonetheless sparkled as he recalled some 64 years flying above the clouds.

“I’ll inform you I’d do all of it once more in a heartbeat,” O’Brien mentioned as a smile tugged on the nook of his mouth.

O’Brien has develop into recognized in Hampton Roads army and veteran communities as “the Corsairs man” — in reference to the aircraft he flew through the Korean and Vietnam wars. Over his 30-year Navy profession, he amassed over 1,100 hours of flight time, together with 70 hours of fight.

O’Brien’s sky-bound army profession started in 1946. However his desires of turning into a pilot had been ignited years earlier.

“My mother mentioned after I was coming house from the hospital the place I used to be born, an airplane flew over and I poked my head as much as look,” O’Brien mentioned with amusing.

O’Brien took his first aircraft trip in a Ford Tri-Motor in 1937 in Ocean Metropolis, New Jersey. The 15-minute aircraft trip price $2.50. Then simply 9, O’Brien got here up quick and talked the pilot into taking $1.75 he saved as a paper boy — managing to safe a seat within the co-pilot’s chair within the course of.

“After I acquired in that airplane, I needed to be a pilot. However after I acquired out of that airplane, I knew I used to be going to be a pilot,” O’Brien mentioned.

The 15-minute flight was all of the course he wanted. O’Brien joined the Navy on July 18, 1946. World Warfare II had ended two years earlier than that.

“So I used to be out of luck so far as wars go,” O’Brien mentioned with a sly grin. “However I used to be going to be a pilot whether or not there was a conflict happening or not.”

O’Brien noticed fight for the primary time on June 13, 1953, towards the tip of the Korean Warfare. He was connected to an air wing aboard the USS Lake Champlain.

The mission was to strike a river railway goal guarded by anti-aircraft artillery gunners. O’Brien recalled he was a 25-year-old hot-to-trot invincible bachelor, able to exit and break one thing.

“Though I used to be concentrating on my bomb web site, I used to be nicely conscious of the bottom fireplace developing at me. It appeared like a line of pink baseballs and I may hear and really feel the ‘whoop’ as every spherical handed by my plane,” O’Brien mentioned.

On his first cross, he dropped a 1,000-pound bomb from 2,000 toes earlier than climbing again to altitude. He made two extra passes, and every time the firepower towards him intensified. However after almost 4 hours, he safely returned to the provider.

“Once you come again, you’re feeling good. You might be stuffed with adrenaline. However the adrenaline wears off and also you notice you may have 37-millimeter holes in your aircraft from being shot at by folks with evil intent,” O’Brien mentioned.

Whereas he was not shot down, O’Brien mentioned each fight mission was “a detailed name.”

“You possibly can’t get shot at with out it being a detailed name,” O’Brien mentioned.

O’Brien’s flights weren’t all behind enemy strains. In 1959, he flew a F-8 Crusader into the attention of Hurricane Gracie, a class 4 storm, to take pictures for U.S Navy Hurricane Hunters as a part of storm analysis. He and one other pilot flew to 45,000 toes above the attention, then down into the middle of the storm.

“It was like a sunny day inside the attention. However the crusader is a single-engine aircraft, and on the way in which out I used to be considering, ‘If this engine craps out, I’m in huge hassle.’ I had a plan that I’d eject, float down into the attention, open my little rubber raft and await the wall of the hurricane to hit,” O’Brien mentioned. “In fact, nothing like that occurred.”

{A photograph} O’Brien captured on that flight was revealed on the again cowl of Life Journal.

“The credit mentioned, ‘U.S. Navy official picture’ — which was OK with me,” O’Brien mentioned with amusing.

In 1955, O’Brien married the love of his life, Barbara; the couple had three kids.

“She sat via two deployments earlier than we acquired married. I needed her to know I used to be going to be a Navy pilot and what it entailed — time away from house,” O’Brien mentioned. “If anyone deserves any medals, it’s the Navy spouse for holding the household collectively throughout deployments.”

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O’Brien’s army profession spanned 30 years however he continued to fly lengthy after he retired from the Navy. He joined Skytypers, an aerobatic workforce that carried out at airshows round the US utilizing World Warfare II-era planes, and later volunteered to fly for the Army Aviation Museum in Virginia Seaside.

O’Brien’s final flight was in April 2014 — 64 years after the primary flight of his skilled profession. He was 86.

“After which I got here house and sulked,” O’Brien sighed.

O’Brien’s Virginia Seaside condo is adorned with mannequin airplanes he flew and pictures from his time within the service. His olive inexperienced flight jacket nonetheless hangs off the again of a chair.

Whereas his toes have been planted firmly on the bottom for the previous eight years, O’Brien’s head remains to be within the clouds.

“I felt like I used to be full after I was flying. I had peace, tranquility — all my issues on the bottom stayed on the bottom. If I may say it in a single phrase, it could be ‘achievement’,” O’Brien mentioned.

Caitlyn Burchett, caitlyn.burchett@virginiamedia.com