Ardis and I were driving to meet friends for dinner in St. Augustine last night.\u00a0 Whenever we drive down US 1, just south of the airport and north of the Ancient City, I would always slow a little to look toward \u201cthe graveyard\u201d to pay homage to the S-2 Trackers standing watch over the northern approach to the city.<\/p>\n
The airplanes, a half dozen or so, sat in a lot just off the highway.\u00a0 They are no longer chasing submarines for the US Navy; however, many still fly various missions for the Forestry Service and other types of missions for several foreign nations.\u00a0 Since Grumman stopped production a while ago, parts for the model are no longer readily available.\u00a0 Occasionally, the owner of the relics sitting in the lot would pull useable parts off one of the planes and ship it to an operator somewhere else in the world.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, St. Augustine residents became accustomed to the old airplanes guarding the northern boundaries of the settelment.\u00a0 No longer chasing Russian submarines on the high seas and guarding America in that way, now the old airplanes stood watch for the past couple of decades against ghostly threats to the oldest city in North America.<\/p>\n
The first time you would see the old airplanes, you would get a sense of the Apocalypse.\u00a0 They sat out in their field with vegetation growing up through their airframes in interesting patterns.\u00a0 They were very interesting subjects for photographers.<\/p>\n
Many of the Ancient City visitors, who were repeat tourists, would stop first at the aviation graveyard on their way into the city just to pay their respects to the antiquated sentinels.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the airplanes attracted more than local curiosity and tourists.<\/p>\n
Thieves also targeted the airplanes for their rare parts.\u00a0 In the past, criminals stole wings, doors, and other equipment from the lot.\u00a0 Additionally, vandals or thieves damaged five windows in the airframes.\u00a0 The windows alone were valued at $1400\u2014each.<\/p>\n
Last night, on our way to meet our friends, I slowed as I approached the graveyard. \u00a0Over the past five or six years, I always had the same thought.\u00a0 I need to get permission from the owner to photograph these airplanes<\/em>.\u00a0 I was in the process of having the same thought while slowing to glimpse at the airplanes.<\/p>\n They were not there.<\/p>\n I could not believe I drove past the airplanes and missed them.\u00a0 At the risk of being late meeting our friends, I did a U-turn and went back to find the graveyard.<\/p>\n What I found was the location and freshly dug dirt \u2014 and no airplanes<\/em>.<\/p>\n This past Wednesday, the owner of the airplanes and property decided it was time.\u00a0 He brokered a deal with a metal salvage company who brought in men and equipment and destroyed the airplanes for the scrap. \u00a0As it turns out, this is another situation for me in which I waited too late to do something…something important.\u00a0 Now I will never get the shot.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pardon me for not having photos for this post.<\/p>\n -30-<\/p>\n \u00a9 2011 J. Clark<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ardis and I were driving to meet friends for dinner in St. Augustine last night.\u00a0 Whenever we drive down US 1, just south of the airport and north of the Ancient City, I would always slow a little to look … Continue reading