Frank Darrington: Navigator for the Apollo 13 Recovery

By Al Rodriguez, Honor Flight Chicago Veteran Interview Volunteer

During his time in the Navy, Frank crisscrossed the Pacific on two ships, sailing thousands of nautical miles and crossing the international date/timeline and the equator. But there is one trip that he’s not been on and is looking forward to: his one-day, 600-mile Honor Flight Chicago plane ride to D.C.

Frank grew up in East Chicago and graduated from Bishop Noll High School.  He attended Purdue University and admitted that he wasn’t much of a student and felt that the Draft would soon be calling for him. He went to a recruiter and chose to join the Navy and Quartermaster as his profession. As he explained, a Quartermaster is an enlisted man that is a navigator. The Navy had a great need for them so it worked to his advantage.

Frank was sent to Boot Camp at Great Lakes Naval Station. It was winter and what he remembers is the wind and the cold. Right after arriving, everyone in his ship came down with the Hong Kong flu. He said that didn’t stop them from training. 

After Boot Camp, Frank was sent to San Diego for Quartermaster A training. Using the American Practical Navigator Manual, the bible for navigators, and the Quartermaster 3 & 2 manual, he learned everything there was to know about celestial navigation. One of the navigational tools he learned to use was a bearing circle, a ring designed to fit snugly over a compass, provided with vanes for observing compass bearings. Another duty he learned as a Quartermaster was to be the helmsman that steers the ship. 

Frank was assigned to the USS Bexar APA-237, an attack transport ship. They were a new crew and spent a year practicing amphibious landing exercises with the Marines. The ship was then sent to Da Nang Harbor Vietnam. Their primary mission was transporting men, ammunition and small arms throughout Vietnam. On their way to Vietnam, they passed the International Date Line. Frank became a member of the Silent Occult Mysteries of the Far East in the Domain of the Golden Dragon. The ship made many trips to Okinawa Japan to pick up armament to distribute throughout ports in Vietnam.  The ship’s area of operation was the Pacific Ocean because they were sent between Okinawa, Korea, Vietnam and Hawaii. The USS Brexar was sent back to San Diego for decommissioning in December of 1969.  Frank was a Decommissioning Crew Plank Owner. Since the ship would be scrapped, the Naval tradition is for the crew to take a piece of the ship.

Frank was then assigned to the USS Iwo Jima LPH-2, an amphibious assault ship. It was scheduled to be the primary recovery ship for the Apollo 13 space capsule. The crew that trained for this mission was hand selected by the Captain. Frank said that even though it was a young crew, the Captain trusted them and their abilities to recover the astronauts and capsule safely. Frank as the Quartermaster was sent to a special satellite navigation training school. At the time there were only 4 satellites in space. You had to wait with radio headphones on listening for beeps emitted from the satellite passing overhead. He explained that the Earth and the Ocean are lumpy. Using charts for the ship’s approximate position, the satellite would tell you the height of the ocean. Even though the antenna was on a mast on the top of the ship, it could still be below sea level. To determine the antenna height above sea level, they had to tune in the satellite radio, turn the computer on then program the information from the satellite and acquire the coordinates where the capsule would land. Technology was not as sophisticated as it is today, but it was accurate to about two yards.

After the explosion on the Apollo 13, the ship was ordered to leave for the rendezvous point earlier than expected.  Houston gave them the approximate location where the capsule would land near American Samoa.  That’s when Frank became a member of the Silent Occult Mysteries of the Far East for crossing south of the equator. 

With the information from the last satellite pass, four hours earlier, they were able to get the coordinates for the rescue location. According to Frank, it was too accurate. A Constant Bearing Decreasing Range alarm went off  that no one on a ship ever wants to hear. If they continued, the ship would be on a collision course with the capsule in about 2000 yards. Because of the normal overcast and cloudy conditions at the equator, the parachutes on the capsule could not be seen. When they finally were in sight, they saw they were too close. Frank was the helmsman and instinctively and without orders, turned the wheel 30 degrees, right rudder. Luckily for Frank, the Captain gave the same orders. This would take them two miles out which is still relatively close on the ocean but far enough away not to collide. The astronauts were helicoptered to the flight deck and the capsule was put on the hangar deck. The USS Iowa Jima sailed to Pago Pago American Samoa where Air Force planes waited to take the astronauts on to Hawaii. In 1994, he went to a book signing of Lost Moon by the commander of Apollo 13, Jim Lovell at the Museum of Science and Industry. He told him about being the helmsman on the USS Iwo Jima and the C.B.D.R. incident. Jim Lovell said he had never heard this story before and found it funny.

Frank was discharged from active duty on November 4, 1970. He had a job waiting for him at the Research Lab with Standard Oil Company in Naperville, Illinois. He retired after 31 years of service. He then opened a Graphic Art Studio in Munster for 20 years. He says now he’s officially retired. 

Frank married Joanna in 1968 while in the Navy. He has two children and three grandchildren. Two of his grandchildren currently live with him. While his children were young, he was an A.A.U. swimming referee for children eight through eighteen. He was a member of the Munster Jaycees. He was one of the founding members of the VFW 2647 and their Commander for 18 years. For the years 2019 thru 2021, their VFW was on the All American Team.  He is currently the Commander of the American Legion Post 369.

Frank has been to D.C. but is especially looking forward to his Honor Flight trip. He said his seven VFW friends submitted their Honor Flight applications so they could fly together. It should be a fun trip.

Frank, thank you for your courageous service for your country! Enjoy your well-deserved day of honor on Honor Flight Chicago’s 104th flight.