Ken Heitel flew an A-4E ‘Skyhawk’
as a ‘Cold War warrior’ in the 1970s
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Lt. Ken Heitel is pictured in his A-4E "Skyhawk" jet fighter. He flew off the deck of the carrier Independence during the Cold War of the 1970s.
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It was a close call for Heitel, whose fighter developed engine trouble while landing on the carrier's deck. He had to eject and is pictured coming down beside the carrier that was clipping along at 30 knots. The splash below is from his A-4 going in the drink.
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A couple of A-4 "Skyhawks" shadows a Soviet "Bear" bomber flying a reconnaissance mission in the West.
SUN PHOTO BY DON MOORE
Ken Heitel of Venice at 68.
Ken Heitel was a “Cold War warrior.” He flew an A-4E “Skyhawk” jet fighter off the USS Independence, a Forrestal-class carrier, as a Marine Corps aviator serving in the Mediterranean during the early 1970s.
“When I was aboard the carrier we did a lot of patrol work. The Soviets were trying to dominate the Mediterranean with their fleet and planes,” the 68-year-old Venice jeweler said. “We’d fly up along the Soviet border playing cat-and-mouse games with the Russians.”
