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Fellas what follows may be a bit off topic. I think it
may be of interest to some so here goes....
IVAN & Pensacola
Sunday morning WEAR TV, Pensacola's only local channel aired a one hour program dealing
with all aspects of Hurricane Ivan. They put together some of their most compelling footage
to chronicle the storm from people on Pensacola Beach waiting for its' arrival to present day
recovery efforts. All I can say was it was mind numbing. We had our share of problems over
in Alabama, but nothing like Pensacola. It really made me count my blessings!
After the show Brenda and I decided to ride over that way and look around. We have not
been over there since the storm because we were busy taking care of our own damage. We
have wanted to see first hand what happened at NMNA plus we have not been able to get in
touch with some folks. We know their names were not on casualty lists but we did want to
see how they were and how their homes made it through the storm. As we headed east on
I-10 these was not much damage until we got almost to the state line. The further east we
went the worse it got. Lots and lots of snapped off pine trees, signs wadded up like paper,
and buildings with varying degrees of damage. We got off on Pine Forest Road and headed
south turning onto Blue Angel Parkway headed for the back gate. We'd heard the front gate
was closed. Again, the further we drove the worse it got. Lots of blue roof material, downed
trees, crumpled signs, and so on greeted us. Many businesses had "Closed" signs on them and
your could tell a lot of damaged homes were empty.
Things at the back gate looked pretty normal. Once inside the destruction began to become
apparent. All the vegetation on the Gulf (water) side of the road was brown from salt water
exposure. Bushes, pine trees, grass - everything - was brown. The running trail was just
gone. The boat storage lot and marina had boats strewn everywhere. They were on top of
each other, buildings, on the brown grass; pretty much everywhere they shouldn't be. To the
land side of the road many trees were blown over or snapped off. To the water side they
were just about all gone. The C-45 that sits forward of there the tower is was down on one
side. It looked like the left gear collapsed. The hangers looked pretty good from the road
although I know from aerial shots the Blue Angels hanger and VT-4 sustained quite a bit of
damage. Since 9-1-1 there has been an enormous amount of chain link fence put up round
the bast to improve security. Miles and miles of it was pushed down flat. This fence is ten
or twelve feet high. The Civil War forts looked untouched. The only sign of the storm being
patches of brown grass and the fence knocked down.
Finally we rounded the corner and there stood the Tomcat on the pole in front of NMNA.
Most of the trees out front are now gone but that was about the only sign from the road that
anything had happened. Once inside we greeted friends that were working, picked up our
Ivan T-shirts, and began to walk around. The Cabot flight deck had been wet from the
skylight being blown in but they cleaned it up quickly and I didn't see any warped up wood.
They have blue roof over the skylight where the NC4 is but that area has leaked when it rains
for years. One window was blown in over in the Cubi Point bar, water blew in and wet down
the carpet and some of the squadron plaques. A few of the plaques were missing and the
carpet was pulled up. Over in the Blue Angel Atrium there was some visible sheet rock
damage on the balcony level where the atrium joins the original part of the museum. Some ceiling
tiles were missing from the areas where the additions are joined together and a few buckets
and trash cans were strategically placed to catch water. There have been leaks in there areas
for years anyway.
Although I was not able to get into the restoration hanger to see the Buffalo we did catch
the flight line tour trolley to see the planes out back that did sustain damage. I shot some
pictures from the trolley which I will post when I get them developed. Unfortunately they
take a dim view of getting off the trolley and walking around. Pretty much everything looked
fixable. It's just going to take time and money. Most of the rudders and canopies blown off
by the wind have been recovered. A notable exception of the radome that was atop the
Super Connie. It's just gone! So if you stumble across a large saucer shaped object....
Something else that looked quite out of place was a USAF F-15 tied down with a canopy
cover in place just like it belonged. I have no idea what it was doing among the museum
aircraft but if I had to guess I'd say the Air Force puke got lost....
We left the museum and rode around the base a bit. You could see where a lot has been
cleaned up but the tree loss is amazing. Several crews were busy cleaning up. Mustin Beach
looked pretty good from the road. From aerial photos I know it sustained quite a bit of dam-
age. About the only evidence from the road was the tents with tables set up in the parking lot
to feed folks. Much of the pavement on the water side was still covered in sand. Again all the
grass and bushes were brown from the salt. The McDonalds was closed and being worked on.
Same thing for the Italian restaurant on base. The buildings had varying degrees of damage. I
didn't get far off the main road as I didn't want nails in my tires and a flat on the way home.
The closer to Allegheny Pier we went the worse it got. Part of a wall of Bldg. 604 was down.
The old Post Office and Fire Station were hit hard. Carl Hall, the Marine Headquarters
building looked like it had been bombed. The bust of Gen. Marion Carl was sitting out front.
I found myself wondering where his effects, that were displayed inside, were now.
Surprisingly, the old "mosquito wall" (that I could see) was intact. Not so Admirals Row.
Again, there were varying degrees of damage but every home had some. Pretty much every-
thing that was green south of Barrancus is now brown from the salt water. I have heard
estimates of four to six feet of water over these areas.
We left via the front gate (now open after all). We drove through Warrington over to
Second St. to check on one of the folks I'd not been able to reach. The term "war zone"
is often used but it applies. Debris, appliances, roofing, etc. was piled up on either side of
the roads. It was apparent that the area still had no electricity. The home we went to see
was largely intact but you could tell it had been flooded and no one was at home. Next
we went over to Navy Point where my grandmother used to live. I have a cousin there I
have not heard from. Again, the red brick house was standing unlike many on the street,
but there was a water mark on the outside and no one was home. We looked around a
bit and were amazed at the destruction. Trees down everywhere! Boats in peoples yards.
The road was washed away in many places. It was an amazing site! The old Marchello's
Restaurant had what had to be a multi multi million yacht in the parking lot. It was flanked
by two sailboats. There were two huge cranes working to pick up the big boat. I found myself
wondering what they were going to do with it because there sure wasn't any trailer around.
After that we rode around town a bit. You can tell a lot has been cleaned up, but an
enormous amount remains. Again damage varied widely. The clothing store adjacent to
where Trader Jons was is just devastated. The entire front of it is gone revealing three floors
of displays. The only thing remaining of Traders is the historic sign. There is no evidence
of the place left. I wonder where all the memorabilia is now....
Heading home and assessing the situation the thing that sticks out most for me is how well
the museum held up. All that glass on the front and over the Blue Angel atrium is still in
place! Down the road brick buildings have walls down. Now I'm no engineer but that is
amazing to me. The condition of the museum in light of the surrounding area is astounding.
Yes, there was some damage. Some outside aircraft are dinged up, Bldg. 604 where many
artifacts are stored has roof and wall damage. Bldg 3221 out back of the museum has some
damage but the artifacts are safe. Folks we were really fortunate. I remember reading some-
where that the museum has supposed to be able to stand 175 mph winds. I always thought
that an exaggeration, perhaps it was not.
I got to talk with many folks at the museum and hear their stories. I still need to find some
other folks and talk with them. Again, this trip really made us count our blessings. Everyone
who loves old airplanes and history should breath a great sigh of relief.
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