THE  SCUTTLEBUTT

 

The Newsletter of the

USS Buchanan (DDG-14) Association

 

Fall, 2005

 

Vol VII.  No. 3    http://www.uss-buchanan-ddg14.org    Editor: David B. Malone

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As was decided by ballot from the membership, the next reunion will occur in Branson, MO next year, May 17 - 21, 2006.  This will be our mid west reunion.  As voted by the membership at the San Diego reunion in 2002, reunions occur every two years and alternate between west coast, east coast, and mid west locations.  The last reunion was in Pensacola, FL, which means that the reunion following the Branson reunion will be slated for a west coast location.  Our reunions are planned by Tim Nightingale, who did a wonderful job with the Pensacola reunion.  Here is his note on the upcoming Branson reunion.  As always, you can find up-to-date information on the association’s website.

 

USS BUCHANAN DDG-14 ALL HANDS REUNION

Mark your calendars Wednesday May 17, to Sunday May 21, 2006 Branson, Missouri. The location will be the Grand Plaza Hotel and Conference Center

Rooms

                     Standard Queen                                $76.00 + tax per night

                     Mini Suite                                           $89.00 + tax per night.

                                                                                                 The taxes are 11.475%.

Tour #1

                     Ride the Duck                                 $17.50 per person

 

Tour #2

                     Veterans Memorial Museum        $15.50 per person

 

Registration, and Banquet Dinner

                     Single Person                                    $75.00

                     Per Couple                                        $110.00

 

Complimentary Deluxe Continental Breakfast Served Daily 7:00 AM - 10:00 AM

 

Go to the reunion web page at http://us-sailors.com/Reunions/index2006.html , or go the association’s website http://www.uss-buchanan-ddg14.org; click on Reunions, then on 2006 Reunion for all the information.  You can also download forms from the same location so that you may send your registration and checks by US mail.  If you would like Tim to send you the forms contact him at  Tim@military-reunion.com and he will send them out right away.  Making payment by mail, make all checks out to Tim Nightingale, and send them to Tim Nightingale C/O USS Buchanan Reunion at, 152 37th Drive SW, Vero Beach, Florida 32968-3166.  You can call him at (586) 202-2202 for any and all reunion information.

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PAID MEMBERS (54)

Costa, Javier; Alexander, Ted; Andrew, Randy; Bails, Bruce; Burleson, Don; Banc, Phil; Borg, Gene; Boyle, Tim; Browning, Rob & Marian; Boyle, Tim; Bussed, Robert Cabahug, Jaime; Casmier, Dave; Clark, Jere; Connell, Dan; Cotant, Mike; Crisp, George; Daisley, Dick; Doran, Paul; Egge, Dennis; England, Carl; Falkenhan, Marc; George, David; George, Ken; Heffernan, Michael; Kern, Tom; King, Michael; Kupec, Cole; Larsen, Jerry; Looney, Glenn; MacAdam, Mac; Malone, Dave; Marak, Ron; Martelly, Pete; Mezori, George; Myers, Dean; Nightingale, Tim; Norrod, Michael; Parks, Bill; Probus, Ed; Proctor, Lou; Ridley, Ray; Rudisill, Terry; Sample, Eric; Sena, Pat; Sheridan, Tom; Smeltzer, Steve; Snyder, Tom; Stroud, Mike; Taylor, Jim; Tom, Phillip; Ursich, Al; Wallace, Jim; Wihera, Victor; Ziesmer, Jim; Zimmermann, Dick

 

NEW MEMBERS SINCE JUNE 2005

Ray Ridley                      ETR3                  63 - 65

Tom Snyder                    LT (MC)              70 - 71

Mike Stroud                    BTC                   88 - 91

 

 

TREASURER’S REPORT

Balance 1 Jul 2005

$4,119.95

 Dues 

 

       112.00

 Ship store sales

89.15

 Baseball Caps for Ship Store

-1,548.00

 ADAMS Class Vets

-350.00

 Ship Store Shipping

-22.90

 Balance 30 Sep 2005

$2,400.20

 

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THE PASSING OF A SHIPMATE

My husband, Larry B. Payne, was on the Buchanan some years back and he found the website and was able to connect with several of his fellow shipmates from the past.

It is with sadness and a heavy heart to tell you about his passing on August 6, 2005. It was a sudden death from a heart attack just 30 days after retirement and short of the completion of our dream home at Table Rock Lake.

I thought some of his shipmates might want to know of his passing.

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INFORMATION NEEDED

From Dino Myers.

 

I have been contacted by Commander John Robinson, USN (ret.), He is writing an analysis of the attack on the Do Son Peninsula and Haiphong on the morning of 9 and 10 May 1972 for the Naval Historical Foundation in Washington, DC. and the Naval Institute Press for future publication.

 

He is looking any recollections of crew members aboard on 9/10 May for this project. He is interested in what you remember and your feelings at the moment plus any information on the position of Buchanan during the 9/10 May attack, who was the guide, etc. It is not clear from the deck log and there is not Buchanan History in the Archives for 1972 Whether it was lost, never written or classified is anyone’s guess.

 

If you are like me over the years the strikes we made have blended together.

We made 6 strikes on Do Son/Haiphong that line period. The one May 10 was the first that New Port News made an attack on Vietnam she had just arrived from Atlantic. It was written up in several papers as the largest Navel Bombardment since WW2. The firing at lights I believe was us shooting that boat that illuminated us with 50 Cal. I believe we fired over an anchored ship that had mooring light on????

 

Following is information he has to date please contact him at jgrobinson70@hotmail.com Or me at dmyers@myers-vacuum.com

 

Dean Myers AKA Dino     

                                               

Your ship was in company with Hanson, MC Fox, Oklahoma City, Newport News and Providence on the morning of 10 May 1972 when you attacked targets south of Haiphong (Cat Bi military air field) and various targets on the Do Son peninsula.

You were also in company the previous morning with Fox, Edwards, and Berkeley when you made a daylight attack on the Do Son peninsula prior to the mining at 0900 on the 9th.


 9 May

On the 9th, according to Admiral Walt Doran, GQ OOD in Fox, he recollects all four destroyers headed into the Do Son area to engage targets on the peninsula. I do have the NGFS grid chart with the targets thanks to the ASW officer in Fox. Admiral Doran told me he thought Buchanan was the guide and turned to starboard with Fox astern in a clockwise direction. He believes Berkeley turned to port with Edwards astern in a counterclockwise direction. CO of Fox has told me he was taking close aboard rounds from the shore batteries during the retirement phase.

Soon thereafter, Berkeley and Edwards went on to other assignments, Hanson joined Buchanan and Fox and the three destroyers met the three cruisers at 0100 the following morning.

10 May


I do know that most of the ships went to GQ around 0200 on 10 May. They secured around 0430. I understand that initially, the three cruisers were headed more or less on 000T from 0100 that morning with the three destroyers, Fox, Hanson and Buchanan, on a line of bearing from Newport News. In other words the three cruisers were in column headed north, the three destroyers on a line of 057T from Newport News, 2000 yards between each ship on this line of bearing. Then the cruisers turned to approximately 240T at the five fathom line--in other words, not much water under the keel and Newport News commenced firing at 0347 at max range to reach the airfield at Cat Bi.


The lead ship Hanson GQ OOD said their orders (the DDs) were just counter battery, so did not fire that many rounds, maybe 40 shells. He does not remember too many enemy rounds hitting near his ship, but other ship said there were. Admiral Haynes said just a few hit near Providence.

I believe Buchanan was the last in line, but not sure at this point about her exact position, the order being Hanson, Newport News, Oklahoma City, Providence then Buchanan I think. Buchanan fired 146 rounds of counter battery. Firing was to starboard of course.


By the way, this battle was maybe more important than you think. It was the first strike of what ended the war. Your attack on Haiphong discouraged the N. Vietnamese leadership and that, with the B-52 attacks, ended the war. Your battle was the first action that brought the N. Viets to sign the peace accord in Paris. So this was more than just a shore bomb, it had major strategic implications as it turns out. The war was really ended between May 9 and Dec 25 1972 due to the two attacks by the Navy on Haiphong, the mining, and the B-52 attacks. All these were ordered by Nixon. People think he caused the war, actually, he ended it, by letting the Navy and Air Force attack Haiphong and Hanoi in those few months. Remember we only had 6000 trigger pullers in S. Vietnam at the time, another 50,000 technical types trying to turn over gear to the S. Viets. This did not scare the North. They sent several divisions south to destroy the US Army troops there. Your attack was the first message to the North to stop the invasion or else.

Again, any recollections of crew members aboard on 9/10 May would be great for this project. It does not matter what position in the ship you held, I am interested in what you remember and your feelings at the moment plus any information on the position of Buchanan during the 9/10 May attack, who was the guide, etc. It is not clear from your deck log.

I also have had conflicting reports on the 10 May attack in regards to firing on a Chinese freighter or any junks in the area. Again, the logs are not clear. Admiral Haynes does not remember firing on the freighter, but saw it. Newport News secondary battery crewmen have told me they did fire on lights of vessels in the area. However, they are not completely sure after all this time.

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A CAPTAIN’S NIGHTMARE

Here’s one that might keep you up at night.  Seven (count ’em...seven!) brand new destroyers go hard aground and are dashed to bits in the surf just north of Santa Barbara, CA in 1923!  The Navy’s worst naval disaster up until Pearl Harbor in 1941.  Click on the link below.

 

http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/ev-1920s/ev-1923/hondapt.htm

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NOW ON THE BUCHANAN...

Moments in the life of USS Buchanan (DDG-14), taken from the ship’s annual reports.

         

Forty years ago... 1965

December 1965 found BUCHANAN participating in a missile testing project for the Navy.

 

Thirty Five years ago...1970

From 15 September to the 6th of October BUCHANAN conducted Gunfire Support for the Allied forces throughout the DaNang and Northern I Corps area. During this time the forces supported consisted of the Americal Division, the First Marine Division and the Army's First Brigade, Fifth Infantry Division (Mechanized).

 

Thirty years ago...1975

During October and November, the long, hard hours, intensive training and difficult preparations paid dividends. The forward LOE was given to BUCHANAN by the CINCPACFLT Propulsion Examining Board on 21 October and on 10 November this same board conducted the LOE for the after engineering spaces.

 

Twenty Five years ago...1980

With the projected overhaul completion date rapidly approaching, BUCHANAN cast off all lines from the pier on 22 October and got underway for the first time in 1980 to conduct the first of two sea trials. Classified as a machinery and electronics sea trial, it proved to be a long but very successful week.

 

 

Fifteen years ago...1990

Following a long inport time BUCHANAN was again underway on the 16th of October to conduct NGFS and to complete the final phase of Engineering Mobile Team Training. Following completion of MTT BUCHANAN's Engineering Department was deemed ready to face the Propulsion Examination Board.

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SEA STORY OF THE QUARTER

 

Re-Arming gone Awry

By Anthony S. Leanza, GMM3, 1969 - 71.

 

This all started during my ASROC sentry watch, at sea....somewhere off the coast of Viet Nam....as I recall.  I was doing the 8:00 am to 12:00 pm watch that morning...although it may have been the 4:00 am to 8:00 am watch...but the watch I was on is not of any impact to the story.

 

We were scheduled to do a re-arming early that morning.  The seas were as rough as I have ever seen them.  The ship was tossing all over.  I went to the bridge to report condition normal, and as I spoke to the Office of the Deck I had to hold on to something to keep from being knocked over.  The OD was an ex-white hat, and you could really talk down to earth to him. I had asked him if they were still going through with this re-arming despite these extremely rough seas, and he said as far as he knew, that yes they were.  I was really amazed personally that they were going to go through with it, with the seas being as rough as they were.  I knew that in the past, anytime the seas were like this, any form of unreps were canceled due to the rough conditions of the seas

 

I left the bridge and I returned to the desk, which is located right near the ASROC magazine, right akin to the ASROC deck where the re-arming would take place.  So I had a good overview of all that transpired there.  Not too long after that the re-arming ship came along side, and their lines were sent over and established. They then started to send the pallets of five inch projectiles over. They set the first pallet down on the port side of the ASROC deck.  While this was going, on the ship drastically began to pitch and roll.  Then the second pallet was sent over and placed on the deck along side the first pallet, the ship pitching even more fervently than before.  Then the third pallet was sent over and placed on the deck next to the other two pallets.

 

Suddenly the ship took an enormous roll to starboard, which in turn set the three pallets in motion.  All three slid across the deck tread, making a horrendous scrapping noise.  Two of the pallets were stopped on the starboard side, most likely by the stanchion that supports the starboard lifelines, but not before they had injured two men in the course of their slide. Meanwhile a little further down, the third pallet went unchecked, careening right through the starboard life lines, taking a crewman over the side with it into rough seas.

 

Someone yelled "man overboard."  Emergency Break-away.....the ship in short order was free of the re-arming ship and made a 180 degree turn back to locate that man in the water.  Fortunately they were able to locate that sailor in the sea, and I say that was great.  It was a miracle that he was even seen in those high caps that day.  Accolades for the man who spotted him.  We then retrieved the man from the water.

 

Later on I had heard all three were in the Chief's Quarters awaiting transfer.  I walked past the Chief's Quarters and the door was open.  I saw all three there on the deck.  I believe they were laying on Stokes stretchers.  Later, they were transferred (I believe) to the hospital ship USS Sanctuary, for treatment and evaluation.  This was indeed a re-arming gone awry.