It was an event more than 65 years in the making.

Monday afternoon, in front of the PBY Catalina aircraft on display at the PBY Memorial Foundation on Naval Air Station Whidbey Island’s Seaplane Base, Elbridge Gockerell, 87, finally got his Aircrew Wings.

“(Elbridge Gockerell) was an Aviation Radioman and it was all on-the-job-training. He never went through (training at) Pensacola, so he was never awarded his wings,” said Capt. Peter Garvin, Commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 10.

Gockerell, who now lives in Sequim with Jean, his wife of 58 years, enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard in Dec., 1942. He was called to duty in March, 1943. Following boot camp, he attended radio school for six months in Atlantic City.

“My company had 120 men when radio school started. It got down to 79, and I was 79,” he said with a chuckle. “There was a rumor going around that torpedo training would be a lot better, so I had kind of eased up on the radio training, thinking maybe I’d change.”

In the end, Gockerell managed to finish radio school, passing the Morse code requirement of 20 words-per-minute. He was sent to the Coast Guard Air Station in San Francisco, he said, where he was put to work making an inventory of radio equipment.

“My on-the-job training ultimately started on the OS 2 Kingfisher, then patrol bombers,” he said. “There were five of us on the flight deck (of the patrol bomber). The pilot, radar operator, copilot, radioman and the flight engineer. The gunner’s mate was down below. But we worked both the radar and radio.”

Gockerell said the equipment on the planes of his day was a far cry from that of today’s P-3C Orion, which he and his family had a chance to tour prior to the winging ceremony.

“It sure makes what we had sound awful crude,” Gockerell said. “All the computers and various things are astounding. I learned a lot and I can see how important this job is now.”

Gockerell wound up serving in the Coast Guard until 1946, leaving as an Aviation Electronicsman (AL) Second Class. He spent a year in the Navy reserves in 1949, but that was the extent of his military service. He went on to get a degree in Forest Management, beginning a career in the State Division of Forestry, which was later absorbed into the Department of Natural Resources.

He and Jean raised three sons together, spending time over the years in Olympia, Forks and, finally, Sequim. It was Gockerell’s great nephew who actually got the ball rolling for the winging ceremony.

“He’s written books about his father and his life,” said James Bledsoe of Tacoma. “He told all about his days as a radioman and it fascinated me. That’s how it all started.”

Bledsoe, who had never met his great-uncle face-to-face until Monday, said he placed a phone call to NAS Whidbey Island’s public affairs office and spoke to Tony Popp. Soon after, he was contacted by personnel from Wing 10, who had confirmed Gockerell’s service and made arrangements for him to tour Hangar 6 and the PBY Memorial Foundation on the Seaplane Base prior to the ceremony.

“What a big day for him,” said Bledsoe. “It’s an amazing act for him to get those at his age.”

“I did everything required to get my wings but never got them,” Gockerell said. “I thought that was kind of unfair.”

Capt. Garvin and Wing 10 personnel were more than happy to right the wrong for Gockerell. During his tour of the Naval Aviation History Center, a very enthusiastic Gockerell paused long enough to swap a few stories with Garvin.

“I think it struck a nerve with him because he had some similar experiences,” acknowledged Gockerell. “Capt. Pete — that guy is going to make admiral someday. He’s intelligent, alert and nice to talk to.”

During the presentation, Capt. Garvin thanked Gockerell for sharing stories of his time in service with him, saying it was an appropriate site for what was a truly great day and proclaiming it an honor.

“Today, we stand on the shoulders of those who fought before us,” Garvin said.

Gockerell, who was also presented with a certificate designating him an official Naval Aircrewman, a cap from the Association of Naval Aviation and a flight jacket from the Wing 10 Chiefs’ Mess, told those gathered it was a wonderful day.

“I told the crew aboard the Orion I felt honored to have been aboard,” he said. “The civilian population doesn’t realize just what they’ve got protecting them.”

As for the wings, Gockerell said he doesn’t plan to wear them anywhere, really, but he’s not going to just put them in a box, either.

“I think I’ll leave them on this particular shirt because they look good,” he said. “Then when people come over, I’ll take it out and show them off. They’re nice wings.”