Petty Officer 3rd Class Gerald Lisansky
U.S. Navy Reserves– Aircraft Hydraulics
Squadron VA97 Fixed Wing
U.S.S. Enterprise
October 1970 - Sept.1974
U.S. Navy Reserves– Aircraft Hydraulics
Squadron VA97 Fixed Wing
U.S.S. Enterprise
October 1970 - Sept.1974
Gerald Lisansky was born in Boston, Massachusetts at Beth Israel Hospital on April 25, 1952. Grew up in Dorchester and later moved to Canton, MA. Gerry grew up with an older sister and two younger brothers. His father, Joseph, served with the Marines in WWII and fought in the Marshall Islands where a Japanese bomb exploded quite close to him, he lost his hearing. That injury earned him a Purple Heart when. “We never talked about it (WWII).” His mother, Ruth, recently turned 95 years old. Gerry attended Canton High School on the south shore of Boston and graduated in 1970.
“I always wanted to go into the Navy. I remember going on a tour of a Navy base years earlier. I thought, this is great.” When Gerry graduated from high school, he signed up with the Navy Reserves and in October he took his first plane ride to Naval Station Great Lakes for boot camp. “I never knew I had an accent (Boston).” This was a great source of amusement for the guys in his unit when they heard his pronunciation of car or bar. “Anything that ended with an ‘R’.” Boot camp ended in February and Gerry came home for a few weeks off before heading to Hydraulics school in Millington.
After his advanced individual training in Millington Gerry was able to return home for a visit. In June 1971 Gerry headed to Naval Air Station Lemoore, just south of Fresno, California. By the end of June Gerry was assigned to the U.S.S. Enterprise and he was headed for the Gulf of Tonkin in Vietnam. The U.S.S. Enterprise was the world’s first nuclear powered aircraft carrier. While they waited to deploy on their first cruise, Gerry explored San Francisco which he found very exciting. Gerry and his squadron boarded the ship in Alameda, California. “The first look at the Enterprise is just an incredible view. It was pretty exciting.” Gerry recalls his squadron had 32 Officers and 126 enlisted men.
Gerry was one of 5,000 seamen on the carrier. As the carrier headed out to sea, they were short personnel to unload, organize and store the vast quantity of supplies needed extra to support 5,000 seamen headed to sea. Jerry and some of the other first year men were used to supplement the supply area. After 4 months Gerry was assigned to another detail that provided housekeeping to the Chief Petty Officers quarters. “They were pretty clean. We didn’t have much to do.”
As the U.S.S. Enterprise headed to sea, Gerry recalled sailing under the Golden gate Bridge on their way to Hawaii. The ship stopped in Pearl Harbor. Gerry recalled the entire crew lining the edge of the flight deck saluting the Pearl Harbor Monument as they entered and exited the harbor. The next stop was the U.S Naval Base in Subic Bay in the Philippines.
While the ship was at sea the pilots were flying training missions. Gerry recalled losing one pilot in a training exercise. Gerry recalled most of the time at sea was spent off the coast of Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin. The operational tempo on the ship was high with pilots flying sorties day and night. The cruise lasted nine months and Enterprise ultimately returned to Alameda.
In September of 1972 Gerry and the Enterprise headed back to the Gulf of Tonkin in Vietnam. On this cruise Gerry’s first assignment was as Plane Captain. The Plane Captain’s job was to ensure the plane was ready to fly. “Before the plane is catapulted you pull out the pins (on the foldable wings). You check over the whole plane. You check for leaks. So, it was pretty important to be a Plane Captain.” When the plane returned from a mission, the wings would be folded up and the pins reinserted.
Gerry eventually returned to his primary responsibility of maintaining the hydraulics of the A-7E Corsair, one of the most capable attack jets in the world at that time. The operational tempo was again high with the pilots flying missions day and night. Gerry recalled the pilots as being great guys “who really loved to fly.”
Gerry recalls being in the Gulf of Tonkin for a “month at a time” and then returning to Subic Bay for resupply. He also recalled when the war between India and Pakistan broke out in 1971 and having to sail “to that area”. Gerry thought that was the longest time at sea; 60 days.
Gerry didn’t recall many accidents on the flight deck during the cruise. He did recall a fighter jet having its “front strut disintegrate” during the catapult process. The pilot ejected and the plane went into the water. The pilot was safely recovered by the ship’s rescue helicopter. Missions were curtailed until all plane’s struts were inspected.
On this cruise Gerry was also part of the Nuclear Weapons Team. He had an upgraded security clearance and received additional special training. While on the ship they had two General Quarters alert to train for a nuclear weapons mission. The first training went well. During the second drill Gerry was in the cockpit of one of the planes and he found a broken wire on one of the nuclear weapon control boxes. “Everything on the ship stopped, an officer checked the wire and called for someone and the wire was fixed.”
Each time the ship departed from the Philippines the Navy asked for volunteers to stay behind and work on the planes that were not mission ready. When the planes were repaired the Navy would fly those planes and the sailors that remained behind to work on them out to the carrier. “They asked me to do that one time, and I always regret saying no because how many people land on a carrier. My biggest regret in the Navy was not being a member of the Tailhook Group.”
It wasn’t always ‘all work, no play’. Gerry recalled one Sunday when the crew was given the day off and there were no flight ops. “They had all these grills, and they put them on the flight deck. It was relaxing and they gave us helicopter rides. It was pretty neat because not only did we get to see what the Enterprise looked like, but we got to see all the other stuff we never got to see” (the other ships in the carrier group.)
Gerry recalled a Japanese pilot from the Enterprise who was shot down and held prisoner by the North Vietnamese. This pilot was held in a Japanese internment camp as a small child and now found himself in a North Vietnamese POW camp. When the war ended Gerry recalled the pilot make it back to the states before the Enterprise.
When Gerry left the Navy, he went to Massasoit Community College and earned his associates degree. He then took a job with the Post Office. In January of 1978 there was a big snowstorm in the northeast and Boston got walloped. He wasn’t able to get home for a week. Gerry decided it was time for warmer weather and he transferred to Florida in May of 1978.
Gerry was single when he came to Florida, and he began to acquire rental properties while he was working at the post office. He did much of the work on the properties himself. Gerry was unmarried at the time and decide he wanted to meet a nice girl. In the 1990’s on-line dating had not been developed and romantic hopefuls placed personal ads placed in a variety of magazines and newspapers, which had a much larger circulation at that time. Gerry placed an ad in the Jewish Journal in hopes of meeting a nice girl. Eleanor Springer from the Miami area responded to his ad. Eleanor was originally from New York and the two hit it off. They tied the knot in 1998 and have been married for 26 years.
Gerry retired from the Post Office for 31 years at the age of 55. Over the years he has sold off his properties and today he is a licensed realtor.
Gerry, we thank you for your years of service and sacrifice at sea. There is always hope that you might somehow find a flight onto a carrier to join the elite Tailhook Club.
“I always wanted to go into the Navy. I remember going on a tour of a Navy base years earlier. I thought, this is great.” When Gerry graduated from high school, he signed up with the Navy Reserves and in October he took his first plane ride to Naval Station Great Lakes for boot camp. “I never knew I had an accent (Boston).” This was a great source of amusement for the guys in his unit when they heard his pronunciation of car or bar. “Anything that ended with an ‘R’.” Boot camp ended in February and Gerry came home for a few weeks off before heading to Hydraulics school in Millington.
After his advanced individual training in Millington Gerry was able to return home for a visit. In June 1971 Gerry headed to Naval Air Station Lemoore, just south of Fresno, California. By the end of June Gerry was assigned to the U.S.S. Enterprise and he was headed for the Gulf of Tonkin in Vietnam. The U.S.S. Enterprise was the world’s first nuclear powered aircraft carrier. While they waited to deploy on their first cruise, Gerry explored San Francisco which he found very exciting. Gerry and his squadron boarded the ship in Alameda, California. “The first look at the Enterprise is just an incredible view. It was pretty exciting.” Gerry recalls his squadron had 32 Officers and 126 enlisted men.
Gerry was one of 5,000 seamen on the carrier. As the carrier headed out to sea, they were short personnel to unload, organize and store the vast quantity of supplies needed extra to support 5,000 seamen headed to sea. Jerry and some of the other first year men were used to supplement the supply area. After 4 months Gerry was assigned to another detail that provided housekeeping to the Chief Petty Officers quarters. “They were pretty clean. We didn’t have much to do.”
As the U.S.S. Enterprise headed to sea, Gerry recalled sailing under the Golden gate Bridge on their way to Hawaii. The ship stopped in Pearl Harbor. Gerry recalled the entire crew lining the edge of the flight deck saluting the Pearl Harbor Monument as they entered and exited the harbor. The next stop was the U.S Naval Base in Subic Bay in the Philippines.
While the ship was at sea the pilots were flying training missions. Gerry recalled losing one pilot in a training exercise. Gerry recalled most of the time at sea was spent off the coast of Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin. The operational tempo on the ship was high with pilots flying sorties day and night. The cruise lasted nine months and Enterprise ultimately returned to Alameda.
In September of 1972 Gerry and the Enterprise headed back to the Gulf of Tonkin in Vietnam. On this cruise Gerry’s first assignment was as Plane Captain. The Plane Captain’s job was to ensure the plane was ready to fly. “Before the plane is catapulted you pull out the pins (on the foldable wings). You check over the whole plane. You check for leaks. So, it was pretty important to be a Plane Captain.” When the plane returned from a mission, the wings would be folded up and the pins reinserted.
Gerry eventually returned to his primary responsibility of maintaining the hydraulics of the A-7E Corsair, one of the most capable attack jets in the world at that time. The operational tempo was again high with the pilots flying missions day and night. Gerry recalled the pilots as being great guys “who really loved to fly.”
Gerry recalls being in the Gulf of Tonkin for a “month at a time” and then returning to Subic Bay for resupply. He also recalled when the war between India and Pakistan broke out in 1971 and having to sail “to that area”. Gerry thought that was the longest time at sea; 60 days.
Gerry didn’t recall many accidents on the flight deck during the cruise. He did recall a fighter jet having its “front strut disintegrate” during the catapult process. The pilot ejected and the plane went into the water. The pilot was safely recovered by the ship’s rescue helicopter. Missions were curtailed until all plane’s struts were inspected.
On this cruise Gerry was also part of the Nuclear Weapons Team. He had an upgraded security clearance and received additional special training. While on the ship they had two General Quarters alert to train for a nuclear weapons mission. The first training went well. During the second drill Gerry was in the cockpit of one of the planes and he found a broken wire on one of the nuclear weapon control boxes. “Everything on the ship stopped, an officer checked the wire and called for someone and the wire was fixed.”
Each time the ship departed from the Philippines the Navy asked for volunteers to stay behind and work on the planes that were not mission ready. When the planes were repaired the Navy would fly those planes and the sailors that remained behind to work on them out to the carrier. “They asked me to do that one time, and I always regret saying no because how many people land on a carrier. My biggest regret in the Navy was not being a member of the Tailhook Group.”
It wasn’t always ‘all work, no play’. Gerry recalled one Sunday when the crew was given the day off and there were no flight ops. “They had all these grills, and they put them on the flight deck. It was relaxing and they gave us helicopter rides. It was pretty neat because not only did we get to see what the Enterprise looked like, but we got to see all the other stuff we never got to see” (the other ships in the carrier group.)
Gerry recalled a Japanese pilot from the Enterprise who was shot down and held prisoner by the North Vietnamese. This pilot was held in a Japanese internment camp as a small child and now found himself in a North Vietnamese POW camp. When the war ended Gerry recalled the pilot make it back to the states before the Enterprise.
When Gerry left the Navy, he went to Massasoit Community College and earned his associates degree. He then took a job with the Post Office. In January of 1978 there was a big snowstorm in the northeast and Boston got walloped. He wasn’t able to get home for a week. Gerry decided it was time for warmer weather and he transferred to Florida in May of 1978.
Gerry was single when he came to Florida, and he began to acquire rental properties while he was working at the post office. He did much of the work on the properties himself. Gerry was unmarried at the time and decide he wanted to meet a nice girl. In the 1990’s on-line dating had not been developed and romantic hopefuls placed personal ads placed in a variety of magazines and newspapers, which had a much larger circulation at that time. Gerry placed an ad in the Jewish Journal in hopes of meeting a nice girl. Eleanor Springer from the Miami area responded to his ad. Eleanor was originally from New York and the two hit it off. They tied the knot in 1998 and have been married for 26 years.
Gerry retired from the Post Office for 31 years at the age of 55. Over the years he has sold off his properties and today he is a licensed realtor.
Gerry, we thank you for your years of service and sacrifice at sea. There is always hope that you might somehow find a flight onto a carrier to join the elite Tailhook Club.