PAN AMERICAN AIRWAYS IN COCONUT GROVE, FLORIDA 1938

It was in April 1938 that I left the U.S.C.G. Radio Station in Mobile Alabama to fly as a Radio Officer on Pan American Airways Clippers based at Coconut Grove a few miles south of Miami. Later I will tell about flying on Sikorsky S38s, S40s, S42s from Miami to the Caribbean countries and to South America as far as Rio in Brazil. Later I'll tell of flying the huge Boeing 314 Clippers from North Beach (Laguardia) to Europe, Africa and South America. This page is under construction as time permits. Meantime come and fly with me to exotic lands on this Sikorsky S-42 taking off from Biscayne Bay off Coconut Grove, Florida in 1938. How times changed!

My first trip as a flight crew member was in April 1938 on a 4 engine Sikorsky S-40 to Nassau in the Bahamas. I took this picture of downtown Nassau as we were on final approach for splashdown along the waterfront. Back then, the only respectable tourist bar was Dirty Dicks!

My second trip was the next day on a Sikorsky S-40 to Havana. Below I show the harbor looking north out to the USA with Morro Castle on the right and the Embarcadero on the left with the USS Maine Memorial. That was another time the U.S. in trying to be a crude bully came out second best but did get control of Cuba.

Below is Havana Harbor from the Pan Am docks with our Sikorsky S-40 to the left and the Merida, Yucatan shuttle Sikorsky S-43 on the right.

Revised by JWW on February 7, 1997/0025

More to come as time permits. Meantime we have to get rid of the stupid Helms Burton Bill which embargoes Cuba and hurts the people - not Fidel Castro. And U.S. embargoes are an act of war which have destroyed the credibility of the USA, made the U.S the laughing stock in the international diplomatic field and have turned allies and trading partners into opponents and in some cases - enemies. American greed has brought misery to many innocent peoples and cost many American lives along with hurting our international trade. We never cease to wonder at the stupidity in high places in Washington! The same can be said for the virtually unilaterial U.S. embargoes against Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and North Korea. We shall address these embargoes at another time and place. Xcuse typos, syntax and other errors. This is a quickie and "off the cuff - so to speak!

Mas Canosa Canosa, the main opposition leader to Castro is in Miami. He would like to be President of Cuba but it will likely never be because one of the brave ones who stayed in Cuba will likely eventually replace Castro who is firmly in charge and is considered a hero and liberator by most Cubans for driving out the crooked Batista crowd and also for standing up against the unjust and illegal bullying of the American Government. Castro presents no problem to the U.S. and the quickest way to bring cooperation and a form of representative government is through communications and trade to expose the Cuban people - and those in the Government - to the relatively good life most Americans experience. Full blown Communism cannot survive in a society exposed to outside influences but can flourish within a bunker looking out at a common oppressive enemy. If the Cubans opposing Castro had stayed and fought and been willing to die for freedom as our American forefathers did, Castro would have been gone long ago - or would have changed his modus operandi. What he is, we "ugly Americans" made him into. More later. Sic tempus fugit at 0045, Feb. 7, 1997 jww

Minor revisions April 25, 1998 with more when I get to it!