John was attached to the squadron from  MAG disbursing when we went aboard ship as part of the SLF.  Joel Vignere was again involved.  This time he was the HAC.  "Fish" Williams was the crew chief.  Mike Fulstone writes that he had been asked to give up his set of skins so that Mooney could get his wings.  Curt Gray got off the flight  for lunch and Mooney replaced him.  Joel's log indicates the bird was bureau number 147192 and the LZ was Duck.

There seems little doubt about what happened.  They were picking up grunts from the above named LZ.  Climbing aboard, one's grenade came loose and exploded killing the grunt and Mooney.  I seem to remember that a radioman was saved when his radio caught most of the shrapnel.  I also remember a personal conversation with the c/c who told me that he was standing on the step when the grenade went off.  Vignere's summary is the most comprehensive although his knowledge was limited to what he could see and surmise at the time.  The crew was picked up by a 46 and flown back to the Iwo Jima.  Either Carl Wheeler or Deac Warner flew the badly damaged a/c back to the ship.  Fulstone reports that the ship treated it as if it were an ongoing crash with full alert.