The Curse of the USS Annie Oakley

When she learns of the warship’s special designation, the First Lady, LADY BIRD JOHNSON casts a curse on the USS Annie Oakley and all who will sail on her. A short while earlier she gave the warship her name, smashing a bottle of Champagne off her hull.
The saga of The USS Annie Oakley opens with DANIEL KELLY vowing to give his life to combating injustice when he gets news of the assassination of his godfather, President John F Kennedy. Believing communism is behind the killing, he makes an impromptu vow, dedicating his life to combating the purveyors of evil. In time, so as to best advance his pledge, he joins the Navy to become an aviation pilot.
The Vietnam War is at a crucial juncture when the USS Annie Oakley comes into service with the blessing of the Commander-in-Chief, the President of the USA. The war-ship is the flagship of the Gay Navy, a covert force, conceived out of desperation during the crucial conflict with communism. From the outset, her Captain has his share of on-going problems, interpersonal and operational, but in adversity, he has the skill to steer a steady course.
During a rest and relaxation visit to Hong Kong, Daniel Kelly, now a Skyhawk attack pilot attached to the USS Annie Oakley; meets and falls for a beautiful singer CHRISTINA ALZONA. Even though their liaison is short-lived, their relationship has far-reaching repercussions. Daniel’s meeting and association with her is the trigger that changes his one-time enthusiastic attitude to the War, his Country and the Navy.
Back at Yankee Station, the US Navy’s constantly moving area of operation off Vietnam, Daniel agonizes over issues of morality, justice and injustice, good and evil. His reflections on his Catholic and Navy indoctrination play on his mind, having mainly negative effects. He struggles with his conscience, struggles with fighting the enemy, and struggles with the morality of the mass killing of civilians. The changes in his outlook have serious consequences for his very existence, and in time leads to his demise. In his final tormented act, goaded on by his obnoxious squadron commander, he deliberately crashes his fully armed war-plane into the superstructure of his beloved carrier. Only then, is he at peace.
As the wreck of USS Annie Oakley smolders off Vietnam, the North Vietnamese make the most of the holocaust. In a propaganda coup, North Vietnam’s national radio station English-speaking announcer claims that one of her country’s Russian built MiG aircraft has penetrated the air defenses of Yankee Station, successfully attacking the USS Annie Oakley.
The President of the United States has difficulty in dealing with the demise of the World’s most modern conventional aircraft carrier, sinking in the Gulf of Tonkin. In his final year in office, he grapples with the fall-out from the fiasco. In order to conceal the existence of the flagship of the Gay Navy, he organizes a cover-up.
Meanwhile, Christina Alzona, pregnant with Daniel Kelly’s child, clutches onto her religion faith and to her faith in SAMMY WANG, the enterprising concierge at Hong Kong’s Orient Hotel. When Daniel’s father refuses to acknowledge that Christina is expecting his grandchild, Sammy brokers a financial settlement with him.
Putting together the pieces of her shattered life in the final stages of her pregnancy, with the help of Sammy, Christina makes plans to return to the Philippines, her native country. On the voyage home on board the cruise liner the SS Oldany, she goes into labor and gives birth.
The story has a heart-warming ending in Manila, where Christina’s infant baby girl is about to be christened.