BLUE ANGEL #8

[rooter]

SOMETHING THE MEDIA WON'T TELL YOU, (THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED)!*
On November 1, 1986, a Coca-Cola corporate jet 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 jet
was about to take off. It was headed to Memphis, Tennessee to pick up a
little girl by the name of Crystal Grant and carry her on to Good Samaritans
Children's Hospital in Houston, Texas, to undergo a liver transplant.

As the Coast Guard Falcon 20 jet was beginning its takeoff, it blew both
front tires, causing the jet to veer off the runway and run into a fence
line. The pilots of the Coca-Cola plane watched the events and slowly began
to hear reports over their cockpit radio about the other 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 the Commander 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," pointing 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.
Word of the dilemma made its way to Elisabeth City. The situation was
reaching its last window of opportunity for the surgeons. Time was now
becoming an enemy.

Again, the CEO of Coca-Cola was called to help out. He jumped on the phone
and contacted his pilots, who were now in Houston. They told him there was
just no way they could go from Houston to San Diego, retrieve the organ, and
then return to Houston in time for the operation to take place. The CEO
began to consider what would be speedy enough to retrieve it in time.

The answer came to him like a miracle. A call was placed to the Governor of
Georgia, and he in turn placed a call to the Governor of California
requesting help. On that day, sitting on the ramp at the Miramar Naval Air
Station in San Diego, were 8 brand new F18 Fighters wearing the colors of
the "Blue Angels."

They were waiting for their debut at an Air Show on November 6th. It took
four phone calls to reach the Air Station Commander, and two more to reach
the Commander of the "Blue Angels." In less than an hour, Navy Lt.Tony Less,
in Blue Angel No. 8, was geared-up and East-bound. His precious cargo was in
the rear seat, securely strapped in place by fourdress belts.

In Houston, neither the family nor anyone else knew what events had been
unfolding. Without the family or anyone else knowing, the local media had
interviewed little Crystal moments before she was placed into the prepping
room for her surgery. A reporter asked her if she was scared. Crystal 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
disengaging from an Air National Guard refueling tanker over New Mexico and
making a mad dash for Houston. The clock was still ticking, and 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 event involving Coca Cola and 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.

[berto64]

Thanx Rooter,

Dang fine story. I had heard something about this yrs ago but had forgotten about. Thank you for bringing back to me.

BTW, welcome back!

[Marlin T]

That was way to cool Rooter, thanks for sharing it.

[Marlin]

Terrific, Chief. Thank you for posting.

Miracles DO HAPPEN, e v e r y
d a y!!!!!!

[Pistolenschutze]

Great one Chief, as usual! Isn't it interesting how often our military forces perform acts like the one described, actions that are so rarely ever brought to the attention of the public by the media.

[Marlin]

Although it is a warm, fuzzy story, a quick check with Snopes reveals that it is not true.

Earlier today I tried to get on Snopes but our wireless network was not cooperating even after a re-boot.....

To read the entire commentary, go here:

http://www.snopes.com/glurge/blueangel.asp

[rooter]

Isn't that the way with happy stories? For years I was an avid believer in that Tooth Fairy until my older brother popped my bubble about that one!!! He also shot me out of the saddle when he told me Humpty Dumpty was a damn egg!!! Chief