Veteran recalls time with John Wayne

Sep. 27--It was a foggy morning onboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Philippine Sea as its pilots conducted training.

The weather was rough enough that the aviators flew only by instrument, so bad that one almost plowed right into a 19-year-old Richard Wilde.

"A man standing behind me said 'wing ding dilly,'" Wilde said. "When I heard this, I turned my head, and the man looked down at me and said 'that was pretty close, wasn't it?' I said 'just about too close.' He laughed at me and patted me on the head."

That man was John Wayne.

Wilde, an 85-year-old Navy veteran and Haywood County native, served onboard the Philippine Sea for about three years, beginning in 1954.

In 1956, a whole film crew came aboard to film "The Wings of Eagles," a movie that chronicled the storied life of Naval aviator Frank "Spig" Wead. Naturally, Wayne played the lead role.

Wilde recalled one funny anecdote about Wayne, a towering figure both in legend and stature.

"In the movie, John Wayne had to be transported from one ship to another over the water," he said. "Transportation included traveling in a boatswain's chair, a seat consisting of a board and a rope used while working aloft or transporting from ship to ship. The boatswain's chair had to be extended 8 inches in height so John Wayne could sit in it when he was leaving the ship."

Legendary director John Ford, however, seemed a bit strange.

"He'd twist on this rag and just chew on it all the time," Wilde said.

One night, Wilde was in the coffee locker playing cards with three of his friends -- Mike Burns, Eddie Tingler and Tony Miguel.

"We would do this quite often in hot weather and leave the hatch open to catch a breeze," he said. "That night, this big man looked through the hatch and said 'Oh, I'm sorry, you boys are having a meeting.' I said 'No, no, come on in, and I hope you like coffee.' He commented that he loved coffee and pulled up a chair and sat in it backward, resting his arms on the back of the chair."

It turned out that Wayne was having trouble sleeping at sea. After chatting for a bit, Wilde referred to him as "Mr. Wayne."

"He asked me to call him Duke," Wilde said. "He said he answered to that better than 'Mr. Wayne.'"

Wilde, his friends and The Duke had coffee a few more nights before the film crew finally returned to dry land. One of those nights, The Duke even brought along his friend and costar Ken Curtis, who is best known for playing Festus on "Gunsmoke" but also starred alongside John Wayne in the classic Western "The Searchers."

"We asked Mr. Curtis to talk like he did in that movie playing the part of Charlie," Wilde said. "As he was showing off his accent, we all laughed. John Wayne stuck his head through the door and commented 'that'll be the day.' We all had another good laugh."

Wilde said that about three weeks after the film crew left the ship, they sent the sailors a large coffee urn bearing the engraving: For the boys in V1 division, from the boys at MGM. But before everyone parted ways, The Duke left Wilde with a signed one dollar bill, something he'd forever cherish.

"I've never met anybody more down to earth than John Wayne," Wilde said. "I had a doctor at the VA ask if there was any amount he could buy [the dollar] for, and I said it isn't for sale. It won't ever be for sale."

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