Last Updated on Friday, 10 July 2009 16:46
Jake Gallup is a 1972 graduate of the United States Naval Academy with four years of stories too numerous to capture in this small bio box.
After graduation Jake deployed to Viet Nam on the USS Racine LST-1191 as the navigator.
He took fire going up the Saigon River and returned fire with the bridge mounted 50 Cal.
His Commanding Officer was heard to shout the question that still haunts him to this day:
"Who do you think you are? John (Freak'n) Wayne?!" "We have Gunner's Mates for that."
Jake received his wings in 1974 and was selected to be a flight instructor with VT-22 at NAS Kingsville, Texas. He worked his way up the instructor ladder and became an ACM instructor. It was at Crazy Zack’s (the bar at NAS Kingsville) that Jake learned to drink the infamous 'flaming hooker!'
After his tour with VT-22 he went to the East Coast F-4J RAG VF-101. Jake flew his stearman down to Key West to join the VF-101 F-4 ACM Det Key West. On his way down to Key West Jake performed 'average' air shows in his stearman for food and drink for his RAG class that was driving down in Roy 'Flash' Gordon's 'farm' car.
After the Det, while flying back to Va Beach, Jake's stearman's engine quit on numerous occasions and he was forced to dead stick it twice. The last dead stick was onto a road between two corn fields (see hard sayings log).
Jake joined VF-33 on August 8, 1977 and became a super-sonic Bug Eating Monkey
and has never been the same since!
While at VF-33 he was the leader of Jake's Flying Circus comprised of Jake, Minky and Tokyo.
The Flying Circus put on 'average' air shows and was known to miss every fly off, but one.
They were also granted the opportunity to ride the ship back into port.
With all this said VF-33 sent Jake to Top Gun where he did ok.
After VF-33 he went to VF-43 and was a bogey driver flying the A-4 and F-5.
Jake married Jill had two great kids and lived a fine life of simple abundance.
When asked, "what made him what he is today?" He quickly answered:
"It was my time on the Indy with VF-33 that made the difference!"