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Well, shipmates, spring is almost here, and so it's time for another newsletter. As usual, I've put a few things of interest into this issue, in addition to some of the usual articles that appear. We have a new item in the Ship's Store you will want to read about, and there is some info about how to order mugs. We also have a poem, and of course, the Sea Story of the Quarter.

 It's time we all started thinking about reunions again. Our first local, or Regional Reunion is occurring this June in Pensacola, FL. Jim Wallace is heading up the Pensacola reunion, and I've put a lot of info in this issue to help you get ready for it. Also, a little less than a year from now our first National Reunion will occur in San Diego, and there is some info here as well about that. Rob Browning is heading up that reunion. We should all be receiving a questionnaire soon from ML&RS (a reunion planning outfit), so we can decide

what we want this reunion to be like.  

The main thing is that we all need to start thinking about making plans to attend these reunions. If you're going to the Pensacola reunion, you don't have a lot of time to get ready. The itinerary for Pensacola is in this newsletter. Let Jim know if you intend to make any of the functions. For San Diego, we all need to start thinking in terms of putting vacation time aside so we can all be there. It's almost a year out, but now is the time to prepare for it. We want this reunion, our first National one and the first in Buchanan's home port, to be a special one. I hope to see you there.

The reunion will be at the Holiday Inn, in Gulf Breeze, FL. The rooms are $79.00 per night, pool side, and $69.00 per night, non-pool side. You are responsible for making your own reservations at the hotel. The phone number is 1-850-932-2214. tell them you are part of the Buchanan reunion to

June 12th; 0730: For those who can make it early,

June 13th; 1200: Hospitality room opens. Begin

June 14th; 0730: A planned tour to Mobile, AL to visit the battleship USS Alabama (BB-60), and submarine USS Drum (SS-228). There is also a collection of aircraft from W.W.II, the Korean War, and the Cold War. Admission is $8.00 per person. The day ends with dinner at Lambert's, approximately $15.00 per person.

June 15th; 1400: A planned trip to the gambling    ships in Biloxi, MS. Cost is $7.00 per person, with a minimum of 35 people.

June 16th; At 18:30: A suit and tie banquet. Price is $65.00 per person. Kids up to 12 are half price. The $65.00 takes care of the dinner and hospitality room. Entree choices are Chicken Parmesan or Roast Sirloin of Beef. Let Jim know what your choice is.

Note: A possibility of obtaining a bus for the 12th and 14th exists. The price for the bus is $500.00 for each day. It will depend on how many want to attend these events.

Reunion contact: Rob Browning

Phone: (408) 377-5099

e-mail: stg1navy@aol.com

This will be our first National reunion, as decided by the membership at the business meeting in Baltimore last June. It will be in San Diego, which was our home port, and we plan for it to be a big one. For many of us, it will be our first trip back to San Diego since we left the Navy. The year will also mark 40 years since Buchanan was commissioned in 1962. We want this reunion to be a special one, so start thinking now about putting some vacation time aside so you can attend. 

We are going through a company that has made a profession of planning reunions, called ML&RS. They have placed ads in newspapers throughout the country to advertise this reunion. Rob indicates that there should be a questionnaire coming to the membership from ML&RS. This will give them an idea of what activities and events we would be interested in during the reunion, what kind of a hotel we want, what we want for entrees at the banquet, etc. ML&RS has a good reputation in planning reunions, and they come to us highly recommended. 

All of those attending either of these reunion are encouraged to dig out old photos, cruise books, momentos from ports of call, old pieces of uniform, etc., and bring them to the reunion to share with your shipmates.

The following is a list of all those who are considered to be members in good standing, as of March 1, 2001. A member in good standing is defined as one who has submitted his membership application, and is current in his dues. To date, we have a total of 89 members in good standing.

I like the Navy. I like standing on deck on a long voyage with the sea in my face and ocean winds whipping in from everywhere, the feel of the giant steel ship beneath me, its engine driving against the sea.  

I like the Navy. I like the clang of steel, the ringing of the bell, the foghorns and strong laughter of Navy men at work. 

I like the ships of the Navy. Nervous darting destroyers, sleek cruisers, majestic battle ships and steady, solid carriers. I like the names of Navy ships: Midway, Hornet, Enterprise, Sea Wolf, Iwo Jima, Wasp, Shangri-La, and Constitution - majestic ships of the line. I like the bounce of Navy music and the tempo of a Navy Band, "Liberty Whites" and the spice scent of a foreign port. 

I like shipmates I've sailed with - the kid from the Iowa cornfield, a pal from New York's eastside, an Irishman from Boston, the boogie boarders of California, and of course a drawling, friendly Texan. From all parts of the land they came, farms of the Midwest, small towns of New England - from the cities, the mountains and the prairies. All Americans, All are comrades in arms. All are men of the sea. 

I like the adventure in my heart when the ship puts out to sea, and I like the electric thrill of sailing home again, with the waving hands of welcome from family and

friends waiting on shore. The work is hard, the going rough at times, but there's the companionship of robust Navy laughter, the devil-may-care philosophy of the sea. And after a day of hard duty, there is a serenity of the sea at dusk, as white caps dance on the ocean waves. The sea at night is mysterious. 

I like the lights of the Navy in darkness. The masthead lights, the red/green sidelights, and stern lights. They cut through the night and look like a mirror of stars in darkness. There are quiet nights and the quiet of the mid-watch when the ghosts of all the Sailors of the world stand with you. And there is the aroma of fresh coffee from the galley. 

I like the legends of the Navy and the men who made them. I like the proud names of Navy Heroes: Halsey, Nimitz, Perry, Farragut and John Paul Jones. A man can find much in the Navy - comrades in arms, pride in a country. A man can find himself.

In years to come, when the Sailor is home from the sea, he will still remember with fondness the ocean spray on his face when the sea is angry. There will still come a

faint aroma of fresh paint in his nostrils, the echo of hearty laughter of the seafaring men who once were close companions.

Locked on land, he will grow wistful of his Navy days, when the seas belonged to him and a new port of call was always over the horizon. Remembering this, he will stand taller and say,

A lot of you guys have been asking if the Ship's Store would be carrying Buchanan ball caps, like the ones we used to be able to buy aboard Buchanan. Thanks to some good work by Dick Zimmermann, a good source of ball caps has been located. Dick sends this report on the ball caps.

I have gotten a sample of the cap, and can vouch for its excellence. USS

BUCHANAN, DDG 14, and the ship's silhouette are embroidered directly onto

the cap rather than onto a patch. The ship's silhouette is as close to precision as you can get with thread, and the cap even has a cushioned sweat band. This makes it comfortable whether you're standing a fireroom watch, lollygagging on the signal bridge, or relaxing on the fantail. If you don't do those kinds of things anymore, it's just as good for watching a Red Sox game at Fenway Park.

Ship's Store Operator Rob Browning now has a supply of these well made ball caps.

For one cap, $18.50 For two, $36.00 For three, $53.00 For four, $70.00

All prices include Shipping & Handling. For those of you who were Commanding Officers aboard Buchanan, you can get a ball cap with scrambled eggs on the visor

for an additional $3.00. Send your checks, made out to USS Buchanan

All hands interested in coffee mugs like the ones from our shipboard days, are advised that there is a company called Military Art China, which made the mugs sold in the ship’s store. They have a website at http://www.milart.com/, where you can see the different kinds of mugs available, as well as the different choices of things you can put on your custom made mug. 

Because there are so many choices available, it isn’t really feasible for the Association to sell the mugs – it is better if individuals wanting mugs just deal directly with Mil Art. You can either sign up for a paper catalog at the website, which they will mail you, or you can do everything online. If you want, you can get your name, rank or rate, and even a few choices of insignia, in addition to the ship’s crest. If you don’t yet have internet access, you can call them toll-free at 1-800-445-6847 to ask for a catalog. 

Before you order, you should be aware of the fact that the crest they use for BUCHANAN is what I will call the Lion’s Crest. This is the crest that was in use at the time of decommissioning, and from what we can tell, it started sometime in 1972. There were slight variations over the years, but the Lion’s Crest always had a shield with two lions and a Latin phrase. YOU CAN GET A MUG WITH THIS CREST NOW. Order directly from MilArt yourself – the cost is $15-25, depending on the size of the mug and how much personalization you want.

Those ‘older salts’ like myself, who served before the Lion’s Crest was adopted, remember a crest that briefly described is a shield that is half blue and half white, with a gold border and large gold 14 in the middle of the shield. There is a gold knight’s helmet at top. DDG in blue letters at the top, and USS BUCHANAN in blue letters at the bottom. This is the one we think we had from commissioning until sometime in 1972. WE CAN’T ORDER MUGS WITH THIS CREST UNTIL WE GET 100

BUYERS, unless you want to pay about $60 or more for a mug.

I can keep tabs on how many potential buyers for the original crest there are. Just notify me at dzimmerm@dandp.com if you are interested in a mug with the original crest. If we ever get enough buyers to get the price per mug down to about $15-25, I’ll let the buyers know.

The USS Buchanan Coat of Arms was used for all official documents and books. We had it on the quarter deck, on the 02 level (Port and Starboard), plus wore it on our uniforms. But how many of us knew what it represented?

The USS Buchanan Coat of Arms was the heraldic arms of the Buchanan Family. The motto inscribed on the upper scroll, AUDARES JUVO, is translated as "I assist the bold"; the lower scroll, NOBILUS EST IRA LEONIS, as "The Wrath of the Lion is Noble. The Buchanan  

The Coat of Arms was the originated in the village of Drumpellier, in the county of Lanark, located south of Glasgow, Scotland. It is complete with its Esrutcheon, Crest, Helmet, scroll and Motto. Its shield (Esrutcheon) is divided quarterly and read left to right, top to bottom. 

In the first and fourth quarter a black Rampant Lion is shown on a gold shield. The Lion symbolizes Strength, Courage and Generosity: Gold represents Generosity and Elevation of Mind. The border is double tressure flory counterflory gules, which is a decorative narrow band, prevalent in the Scottish heraldic designs. 

The second and third quarters are designed on a chevron between three argent silver bears’ heads with red muzzles, torn roughly off at the neck. The bear typifies Courage, Bravery and Endurance. A gold cinquefoil is situated center of the chevron and medieval helmet rests above the shield. Traditionally a helmet is located above all shields and holds no significance aside from an appropriate display of the Crest. 

The Crest, a hereditary device, is comprised of a hand holding up a purple lined Ducal cap, made of Ermine tufted on the top with a red rose within two branches of laurel. Ducal pertains to a Duke, which is the first and highest rank in the Peerage. The Peerage is a book listing the peers and giving their genealogies. All peers and peeress’ may sit in the House of Lords, the upper House in the British Parliament. Ermine is a white fur with hints of black, the hand is the Pledge of Faith: the rose, a symbol of Beauty and Grace. The ornamented mantling encompassing the shield is unimportant in the Heraldic translation.

Suggested Sea Story Groups

We now have a constantly building Crew's List on our website, which offers the potential of linking up BUCHANAN sailors spanning the entire ship's life. This can lead to a lot of fun between guys having a common bond, and it's really easy to do. For example, Dick Zimmermann, Chief Engineer from 1970-71, has set up two groups of snipes who are now exchanging experiences via e-mail. Our Boiler Technician group presently has 16 BTs covering the BUCHANAN years from 1967-91, and our Machinist Mate group has 17 shipmates covering every year of the ship's life except 1975. It isn't all that surprising that the firerooms of 1990 had a lot in common with the firerooms of 1967, and you can have a lot of fun swapping tales.

If you want to join in the snipe groups, they are already steaming at 12 knots and hoping to go even faster as more guys come on line. If you would prefer to 'light off' your own group of Boatswain's Mates, Radarmen, Gunner's Mates, or whatever, it just takes one person to go through the Crew's List and send a message to each guy in a particular rating. It doesn't happen by itself - somebody has to get it started. Once it gets started, it seems to run by itself.

Sea Story of the Quarter

At the time this was occurring I was #2 engine room messenger of the watch which meant at least 2 things: 

1. I was fairly new and 

2. I had the dubious honor of waking the reliefs. 

One situation that still remains vivid in my mind is the first time I attempted to wake a

certain, somewhat large FN whose name now escapes me. After calling his name several times and receiving not even a bit of response I, without a second thought,

reached up to him in his top rack and shook his shoulder. His immediate response was to sit straight up and let loose three solid haymakers in my general direction. His fists resembled 2 large hams and came so close I could feel the breeze as they flew by. I didn't even have a chance to duck so divine providence is the only thing I can give credit to for my not being knocked into next week. Once he realized what was going on he delivered me a severe reproach for touching him while he was asleep and explained that I should never do that and if I simply called his name he assured me he would wake up. I was inclined to go along with him, at this point anyhow. So come the next night I dutifully stood at the foot of his rack and, at first, gently called his name several times to no avail. After a few more attempts at increasing levels of volume I'm still not getting even a moan out of this guy and now I'm waking people that don't need to be. This is not good for my popularity at all. So, ducking down as low as I can and

from as far away as I can possibly get, I just barely shake his big toe. Sure enough he comes up swinging. That's all it took to get him going. But now I'm way out

And so this is how I had to continue to wake him for the next few months until I was able to qualify for throttle watch and never had to wake him again. Now there's some incentive to advance to the next level! I don't remember if I ever warned the new messenger. I'd like to think I did.