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Coupers; I think we need to hear these kinds of stories every now
and
again to make us appreciate the world we live in.
BLUE ANGEL #8
On November 1, 1986, a corporate jet owned by Coca-Cola arrived at
Elisabeth City, north Carolina, carrying
the CEO and several members of the board of directors. At the same time as
it
was arriving, a Coast Guard
Falcon 20 was beginning its takeoff when it blew both tires causing the
jet
to veer off the runway and run into a
fence line.
The jet was headed to Memphis, Tennessee to pick up a little girl by
the
name of “Crystal Grant” and carry her
to Good Samaritans Children’s Hospital in Houston, Texas, to
undergo a liver
transplant.
The pilots of the Coca-Cola plane watched the events and slowly began to
hear
the stories about the Jet’s mercy
mission. The CEO and his passengers witnessed the scene and asked the
pilots
what was going on. Once the
CEO had learned of the situation he asked to be taken to the Coast
Guard
Station so he could speak with the
station commander.
Once there he asked him if there was anything he could offer or do.
The
Commander said, in a frustrated voice,
“Yeah, can you make miracles happen. We need a jet and we need one
fast.”
The CEO just smiled and said you’ve got one and pointed to his
company jet.
Within two hours the Coca-Cola
jet was on its way to Memphis and the situation seemed under control.
But
unknown to them a similar scene was
playing out in San Diego where the donor organ was being prepared for
transport to Houston.
The aircraft lined up to take it to Houston had lost its ability to
pressurize its cabin and a similar scramble was
under way to find a replacement. Calls went out and everyone in San
Diego
made excuses from corporate CEO’s
to airline managers as to why they just couldn’t help out.
Once word made its way to Elizabeth City, the situation was reaching
its
last window of opportunity for the
surgeons. Time was now becoming an enemy. Again the CEO of Cola-Cola
was
called to help out and he jumped
on the phone with his pilots now in Houston. They told him there was just
no
way they could go and retrieve the
organ then return to Houston in time for the operation to take place.
The CEO began to think and ponder what would be speedy enough to
retrieve
it in time. A call was placed to
the Governor of Georgia and he than placed a call to the Governor of
California requesting help.
On that day sitting on the ramp at Miramar Naval Air Station in San
Diego
were 8 brand new F18’s wearing the
colors of the Blue Angels waiting to be debuted November 6th. It took
four
phone calls to reach the base
commander and two more to reach the commander of the
“Blues.” In less than
an hour, Navy Lt. Tony Less, in
blue Angel No. 8, was gear up and eastbound with his precious cargo in
the
rear ejection seat strapped in place
by four dress belts.
Unbeknownst to the family or anyone in Houston, while all of this was
unfolding, the local media had
interviewed the little girl moments before she was placed into the
prepping
room for her surgery. A reporter
asked her if she were scared. She said, “No I’m not
worried, My mommy told
me that my Angel would watch
over me.”
It was an ironic statement indeed. At that moment Blue Angel No. 8
was
coming off an Air National Guard
refueling tanker over New Mexico and making a mad dash for Houston. The
clock
was still ticking, and with
each movement of the hand went further against the surgeons.
With only 90 minutes to spare, Angel No.8 landed on Houston’s
Hobby runway
4L and rolled out to a stop
surrounded by police cars and an ambulance to rush the organ to the
hospital.
The transplant was successful and
Crystal returned home to Memphis in time for Thanksgiving. The CEO of
Coca-Cola lobbied the Fortune 100
companies to create “Corporate Angel Network,” the name
inspired by the Blue
Angels. To this day Blue Angel
No. 8 wears a small silhouette of an Angel praying on the canopy rail and
the
name “Crystal” written underneath.
A little over a month after the surgery the “Blues” made
a planned detour
to Memphis to say hello to a little girl
named Crystal. And it was on that day, December 18, 1986, that Crystal
met
her Angel, the Angel who saved her
life.
That was fourteen years ago. Today, Crystal is 24 and every year she
is
personally invited to attend a show near
her home in Memphis as the guest of honor to the Blue Angels.
Reprinted from story sent in by Nick Schillen, (who got it from an email
sent
by Command master Chief Ed hancock to all personnel
assigned to Coast Guard Air Station Miami on February 20, 2001) to
North
Perry Chapter of Florida Aero Club.
Life is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far
as the headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.
Lynn Nelsen
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