Perry Pettus

Airman on the USS Kitty Hawk
June, 1972- July, 1974

I vividly remember the night of the incident and consider Commander Cloud a hero as he moved about the ship, talking to us crewmembers, and settling everyone down. I served on the flight deck as a member of the crash crew, operating a tow tractor moving jets between the aircraft elevators and staging areas for launches. Backing up aircraft was easy for me because I grew up on my grandfather’s farm operating tractors. I witnessed a terrible accident when a jet landed, catching the steel arresting cable. My division officer had stepped over a safety line and the suddenly tightened cable took off his legs just above the ankles. I visited with him years later after I read about him in a golf magazine. He was very active in the American Disabled Golfers Association. He was another good man.