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Fleet Week, Parade of Ships. |
The annual Fleet
Week appearance by the Navy's precision flying team the Blue
Angels has San Francisco buzzing for days at a time. The sheer military
braggadocio of their awesome speed and power stirs tensions between hawks
and doves. The sonic serenade of the F-18 Hornets' jet engines scares cats and veterans
- pets and vets! But no reaction can match those of San Franciscans who
witnessed the startling debut of the Blue Angels over the City skyline
in 1983. Without notifying the public or then mayor Dianne Feinstein, the
Navy obtained a waiver from Federal Aviation Administration restrictions
against flying very fast at altitudes within 1000 feet of things like buildings
and people. When a practice session began without warning in the skies
of San Francisco on Wednesday, October 12, the public freaked. Hundreds
of calls were received at police stations and San Francisco International
Airport during the half hour the Navy jets (then A-4 Skyhawks) roared over and around downtown
office buildings and City landmarks. One of the jets is said to have come
within a few feet of Coit Tower. Feinstein ordered the Navy to land the
jets but the session had already ended, and even if it hadn't, the matter
wasn't within her jurisdiction. To be sure, many people thought the Blue
Angels were cool then, as a millions do today. But in 1983, a lot of
people thought the Russians were coming. Like San Francisco, Feinstein
quickly became accustomed to the annual spectacle. One year after the cease
and desist, Feinstein went on a ride-along with Lt. Commander Mike Gershon.
The iron mayor described an exhilarating experience and said she wasn't
at all queasy. Fleet Week started in 1981 to celebrate the anniversary
of the U.S. Navy. San Francisco and the Bay Area have a rich naval history,
though the Navy's presence, and that of all military personnel, has been
reduced to almost nothing since the Bay Area base closures of the 1990s.
Detail
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Copyright 2002 Hank Donat |