While stationed with VP-6 at NAS Barbers Point, Hawaii between 1964 and 1966 – at the height of the Cold War – LT Henry Crowhurst got a German Shepard for a family dog, the AKC registered name of which was Chancellor of a Kai Kai, or ‘Chan’ for short.  There are many 'Chan' stories, particularly involving cats, but one story in particular, from when the squadron was deployed to Adak, stands out.  

During this deployment, Chan served as an unofficial squadron mascot.  Chan even flew with Henry and his crew and is pictured in the squadron’s 1966 Adak cruise book as an Observer, a certified crew position.  It was one of those male-dominant, "seemed like a good idea at the time" deals and was blessed by the squadron CO.  The only accommodation for Chan, who was terrified of walking down the plane’s ladder, was that Henry had to carry him out after flights.  The ladder is very steep, and Chan objected to the holes punched in the steps for traction.

During one flight out of Adak, which was supposed to be a routine maritime air patrol mission, the crew found a sub tender that was used for a particular type of Soviet submarine that had only been seen in the Atlantic Ocean.  If that sub-tender was in the north Pacific, then that submarine was also in the north Pacific.  This was a big deal.  The crew was immediately tasked to remain on-station until the ready alert plane could relieve them, many hours more than usual.  

This didn’t pose a problem for the aircraft because the P-3A had long legs and could easily handle long flights.  The plane was equipped to take care of the regular crew’s needs, with an onboard kitchen, hot racks, and a toilet.  But Chan wasn’t a regular crew member, and the plane couldn’t accommodate his special needs.  Chan had only a standard-mission bladder.

The air over the north Pacific is not known for being calm, and the flight crew was used to the noises associated with equipment being stressed from the turbulence.  It was no different on this flight, but as the flight time exceeded the capacity of Chan’s bladder, each shake of the plane produced a new noise – Chan whimpering in extreme discomfort as his bladder was forced into war-emergency capacity, and each bump caused him to have little accidents.

The Russian ship sighting was quite the event - enough so that there was an entourage waiting on the tarmac when the plane finally landed.  The entourage consisted of the squadron CO and various senior officers, including one or two admirals, all dressed in (summer) whites.  The plane taxied into its spot where wheels were chocked, and the props slowly wound down.  With the group of VIPs patiently waiting on the tarmac, the hatch was finally opened, the ladder was positioned, and the first crew member to pop out was...
...Chan, in full sprint to the bottom of the ladder (he apparently never touched the steps!) and into the midst of the scrambled-egg visor'd dignitaries, where he immediately released the object of his discomfort...for-freaking-ever.  The puddle grew to the point of threatening to stain many polished white shoes with a tinge of yellow.  There was nervous laughter and the crowd moved to a drier area of the tarmac.  

Not one to sweat minor issues of protocol, Henry never-the-less worried about his decision to take the squadron mascot for that particular flight.  Minor breaches of protocol, blessed by the CO or not, are one thing.  Making superiors aware of them in such a spectacular fashion is quite another thing.

After the debrief, Henry was summoned to the squadron CO’s office, expecting to hear that Chan's mascot status was immediately terminated and the dog would have to find a non-Navy method of returning to Hawaii.  The CO instead mentioned that the event was the funniest thing he'd ever seen, and nothing was said about an early return-to-station.  This was likely supported by the other owners of those color-threatened shoes, who did not want to add a "but" to the Attaboy.  

Humor, punctuated by a job well-done, usually wins out over minor breaches of Navy protocol.  Dismissed!

PS – We can still watch Henry, (who passed away in 2021) do his TACCO thing in the Lockheed/Navy movie To Catch a Shadow beginning around 2:10 and ending around 6:18. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8p6noWFq20

PPS - While the plane in this story had long-since been retired, it is worth noting that Henry’s son, LT Dean Crowhurst [now LCDR (ret)], also also flew with VP-6 and logged numerous flights in Blue Shark P-3Bs and P-3Cs between 1988 and 1991.  See 1991 Cruise Book Crew 10.

submitted by John Crowhurst