Oral History: Panek, John

John Panek enlisted into the U.S. Navy in 1972. He started as a boatswain’s mate and served his first tour at the Boston Naval Shipyard. By 1980, he had become a diver and had completed his First-Class Dive Qualifications. In 1991, he was commissioned as a Chief Warrant Officer and, at this time, set a world record for the deepest ocean recovery, salvaging the UH-46B helicopter from 17,251 feet. Mr. Panek served on the USS Fulton (AS 11), USS Kittiwake (ASR 13), USS Preserver (ARS 8), USS Salvor (ARS 52) and the USS Inchon (MCS 12) and all over the world. He retired as a Chief Warrant Officer 4 (CW-4) in 2002 and resides in Texas.