Invasion of Panama - Opening Minutes

 I started laughing ... and then I got scared.

Contributed by Woody Wagner, Special Boat Unit 26, US Navy

I belonged to Special Boat Unit 26, one of the two combat operational units the U.S. Navy had in the Republic of

Panama. During the opening minutes of Operation Just Cause, we were standing by to launch more boats in the Panama Canal. The Panamanian Defense Forces Patrol Boat across the Canal, tied up at Balboa, had already been sunk to the bottom of the Canal (taking half the pier with it). The unit had all the support personnel out on the pier. While we're loading up the combat craft, .50 cal tracers are flying from the vicinity of Fort Amador, 3 to 4 miles away. The tracers were flying over and under the Bridge of Americas. I recall one of the Admin people up on the pier yelling out, "Request permission to lock and load!" I started laughing ... thinking that it sounded like "Pass me the toilet paper!"... and then I got scared ... I mean here's a small arms untrained administrative type (REMF) with a loaded weapon and scared. Hey... get me into the combat... I think I'll have a better chance! (grin). And that's what I remember mostly about those opening minutes of the invasion of the Republic of Panama.