Crash boats finally make their splash

June Casagrande

NEWPORT BEACH -- Just as they once waited in the water for a chance to

make a difference, veterans of Air Force crash boat crews have waited for

decades for a chance to have their story told.

They wait no more. Thanks to a Newport Beach woman, veterans of Air

Force boats in World War II and the Korean War have taken their place in

history.

Kathy Leek, public relations director for Adventures at Sea in Newport

Beach, has produced the documentary “Crash boats: Air Force Sailors in

WWII & Korea.” The film, which will make its debut Wednesday in the

Newport Beach Film Festival, may be the first public recognition the

aging veterans have ever received for the grim but crucial role they

played in these two wars.

“What a great way to honor the guys who served on these boats,” Leek

said.

Leek first learned about crash boats when she found out she had been

working on one. Adventures at Sea’s “Dream Maker” was a former crash boat

that had been stationed in the Aleutian Islands in 1943-44 and had been

converted into a commercial pleasure boat. Fascinated by the history,

Leek began trying to locate veterans who had worked on crash boats -- the

Air Force vessels that waited in the water for a chance to rescue downed

pilots.

After nearly two years of placing ads in veterans magazines, Leek

received a call from Lt. Les Adams -- a crash boat veteran who published

a newsletter for the other roughly 200 surviving crash boaters. Through

his newsletter, Adams organized a reunion of about 50 veterans aboard the

“Dream Maker,” formerly the P-510.

“The crash boats were kept secret for 25 years after the Korean War,

so no one had ever really told their story or done things like holding

reunions,” Leek said.

For perhaps the first time, the documentary, produced by Trish Kinney,

examines the bleak task of the crash boaters.

When a pilot went down in the waters off Alaska, where the P-510 and

other crash boats were concentrated in World War II, crews could seldom

get to him in time. The average survival time in the freezing waters was

six minutes.

“There were not a whole lot of rescues,” Leek said.

Living 12 men to a boat, the men found comfort with each other and,

through their adversity, became a family.

“What amazed me most was the brotherhood these guys created, how they

were family,” Leek said. “That is what was most incredible to me.”

* June Casagrande covers Newport Beach. She may be reached at (949)

574-4232 or by e-mail at o7 june.casagrande@latimes.comf7 .

FYI

WHAT: “Crash boats: Air Force Sailors in WWII & Korea”

WHEN: Documentary will be screened at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.

WHERE: Lido Theater, 3459 Via Lido, Newport Beach

TICKETS: Call (949) 253-2880 for tickets and (949) 728-0980 for

information, or visit o7 www.newportbeachfilmfest.comf7 .