THE SCUTTLEBUTT
The Newsletter of the
USS Buchanan (DDG-14) Association
Spring, 2005
Vol VII. No.
1 http://www.uss-buchanan-ddg14.org Editor: David B. Malone
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Our next reunion is still in
the planning stages, according to Tim Nightingale. It is slated for Branson, Missouri in late
May or early June of 2006. Right now Tim
is still collecting info on what will be available for us. The shows and other amenities that would
occur at the time of our visit are still in the planning stages at this
point. Until that stuff is known, Tim
will not be ready for the serious planning that he has earned a reputation
in. He hopes to have more information
available to the membership in the next few months. In the mean time, the thing to do is to keep
our eye on the reunion page on our website at http://us-sailors.com/Reunions/index2006.htm . Tim will
post info there as it becomes available, and of course a summary of that info
will appear in the newsletter.
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TREASURER’S
REPORT
PAID MEMBERS (54)
Acosta, Javier; Alexander,
Ted; Andrew, Randy; Baile, Bruce; Beinke, Phil; Borg, Gene; Botti, Bill;
Browning, Rob & Marian; Boyle, Tim; Casmier, Dave; Clark, Jere; Connell,
Dan; Cotant, Mike; Crisp, George; Daisley, Dick; Doran, Paul; Egge, Dennis;
England, Carl; Falkenhan, Marc; George, David; George, Ken; Ginter, Roger; Heffernan, Michael; Heisler, Tim; Hoermann,
Richard; Kern, Tom; King, Michael; Kupec, Cole; Larsen, Jerry; Looney, Glenn;
MacAdam, Mac; Malone, Dave; Marak, Ron; Martelly, Pete; Mezori, George; Myers,
Dean; Nepper, Jerry; Nightingale, Tim; Norrod, Michael; Probus, Ed; Proctor,
Lou; Rudisill, Terry; Sample, Eric; Schaefer, Larry; Sheridan, Tom; Smeltzer,
Steve; Taylor, Jim; Tom, Phillip; Ursich, Al; Wallace, Jim; Wihera, Victor;
Yow, Tom; Ziesmer, Jim; Zimmermann, Dick
NEW MEMBERS SINCE
DECEMBER 2004
Larsen, Jerry LTJG 1962 - 64
Clark, Jere FT2 1962 - 63
Martelly, Pete FTM3 1971 - 73
Norrod, Michael OS3 1975 - 77
TREASURER’S REPORT
Balance 1 Jan 2005 $3,483.20
Dues 112.00
Ship store sales 281.05
Ship store expenses -25.80
Balance 31 Mar 2005 $3,850.45
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HISTORIC NAVAL SHIPS ASSOCIATION
This will be of interest to those who study naval
history and enjoy visiting restored naval ships. A website URL for the Historic Naval Ships
Association. The website lists detailed
information and the history of restored naval warships from all over the world,
and includes a detailed list of ships for each state in the union. It seems to be a fairly complete listing,
although I did notice that a few rather significant ships were missed. Mostly notably missed was HMS Victory which
was Nelson’s flagship at Trafalgar, and the Japanese battleship Mikasa, Togo’s
flagship during his brilliant victory over the Russian black fleet in the
Tsushima straight during the Russo-Japanese War in 1905. Many of you may recall visiting Mikasa in
Yokosuka. The reason for not being
listed may mean that those ships are not members of the association. Perhaps one day we’ll see a Charles F. Adams
Class DDG added to the list?
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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
In March 1965, Commander Atkinson was relieved as Commanding Officer by Commander Harrison C. Murray. During the second deployment BUCHANAN was awarded the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for service in the South China Sea in support of strike operations over hostile territory.
Thirty Five years ago...1970
From 1 to 11 March, BUCHANAN participated in Ropeval (1-70). During this period she completed numerous Naval Gunfire Support qualifications and conducted various ASW and missile firing exercises as a participant in a major fleet exercise.
Thirty years ago...1975
During the first week of March, BUCHANAN was administratively reassigned from DESRON THIRTY-ONE to DESRON SEVEN to facilitate her stay in the yard (Long Beach) during the deployment of DESRON THIRTY-ONE.
Twenty Five years ago...1980
After having the hull cleaned, propellers replaced
and rudders removed, in addition to SONAR being removed and replaced, BUCHANAN
was floated out of dry-dock I on May 6 and berthed at Pier 2. This movement
marked the midpoint of the Warship's regular overhaul. Once out of dry dock,
the awesome task of upgrading systems and equipment still existed.
Twenty years ago...1985
BUCHANAN was underway with Battle Group CHARLIE from 15 February - 02 April,- and participated in FLYING FISH 85-1 (08-13 March) with the Royal Australian Navy. During that period BUCHANAN visited the ports of: Rabaul, PNG (22-25 February); Sydney, Australia (04-07 March); Brisbane, Australia (14-17 March); Rabaul, PNG (22 March); Cebu, RP (29-31 March), before returning to Subic Bay for upkeep (03-21 April).
Fifteen years ago...1990
The last few days of February were spent in Seattle
and then it was on to Nanoose test range off the coast of Vancouver Island. It
was there that BUCHANAN took part in CI40, project 371 from 26 February
- 1 March. The project involved testing a new torpedo against a ship of
destroyer size and speed, namely BUCHANAN. BUCHANAN had the rare
opportunity of firing a total of six tube-launched torpedoes, which proved to
be an invaluable training experience for BUCHANAN's crew.
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SO, YOU THINK YOU’RE A SALT?
OK, this is a bit of fun and was sent to us by Dick
Zimmermann. Take this online quiz and
see how much US Navy slang you remember.
Since every last one of you did some serious sea duty, I’d be very
surprised if you didn’t get at least half of these correct.
http://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz.cfm?qid=136994
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SEA STORY OF THE QUARTER
Hidden Treasure
Dean Myers, ETR2, 1971-75
BUCHANAN at the end of the 1972 cruse was one of six
destroyers that were designated Mod Squad ships. Mod Squad - for those who
haven’t heard this term - was one of Admiral Zumwalt’s programs to reward
deserving officers with commands normally given to officers of the next higher
rank. For example, the Commanding Officer of a destroyer is normally a
Commander, but in the Mod Squad, a Lieutenant Commander was given command. The
failure of the concept is the subject of another story that will come later. At
this point, late in 1973, we had been Mod Squad for over a year, and by then we
were already on our second CO.
The command had made the decision
that the reason we had been unable to pass FIT REP was because very important
warfare things had been overlooked - things like cleaning, painting, replacing
linoleum in passageways, insuring that the Bosn’s Pipe call was played before
every 1MC announcement when we were at sea.
I had been aboard for two years when LCDR Roche took
command in June, 1973. During those two years, I could count the number of
times I had heard the Bosn’s Pipe onboard on one hand and have fingers left
over. And just as important, that all the windshield wipers on the bridge
pointed in the same direction – either all to port or all to starboard.
To assist with resolving some of these problems,
Thursday of each week was designated for Captain’s Inspection. This consisted
of all hands being reclassified as janitors for the day. In the morning, all
passageways and spaces were secured so they could be cleaned. The only spaces
accessible were those that had access via weather decks. After lunch inspection
started, teams each with an officer to find dirt and a Yeoman to record the
event left the Wardroom on their mission. Captain Roche would go with different
team each week.
One Thursday a young Ensign asked to
look inside a locked cabinet in Radar. This cabinet contained the extra parts
all ETs kept outside the supply system – parts like vacuum tubes, transistors,
and fuses. There had been some concern by Captain Roche about unauthorized
spare parts hoarding - wanting it stopped and all parts returned to stock. I
did what any Second Class would do when a green Ensign asked dumb questions. I
explained that it contained the manuals for equipment and they were kept locked
up because they were classified. This confused the Ensign because he knew he
did not have the need to know , and so he wasn’t sure if he could make me open
the cabinet. Being unsure how to proceed, he did not press the issue.
The following week Captain Roche
happened to accompany the inspection team that was to do the Radar Rooms. I
never knew if this was just their time in the rotation, or if the events of the
previous week had any thing do with it. Well, whatever it was, the inspections
had started and we were waiting to present the spaces when a panicky young
Third Class ran into Radar and insisted I go across the passageway to Aux Radio
and see something that seemed to him to signal the end of the world. In the
space was a ship’s entertainment speaker box about 18 inches square and 6
inches deep, mounted on the bulkhead just above shoulder height.
He had gotten bored while waiting for the inspection
party and opened the box – only to discover there was a half-full fifth of
Scotch in the speaker! It took me just a couple of seconds to figure who the
Scotch belonged to, based on location and brand. This individual had been
discharged and had flown home from Subic Bay over a year and a half earlier.
The bottle had been fermenting there ever since with no one knowing of its
existence. I figured that running through the passageways with a bottle of
Scotch to dispose of with all Officers, Chiefs and the Master at Arms
patrolling everywhere was a bad idea. Besides - who would ever believe my
explanation?
The only thing that made sense was to close the box
and go through the inspection as normal. I would dispose of it later. After all
it had already been there for over a year with no one the wiser.
Radar was the first space inspected.
All went well but as the Captain was just about to leave, he stopped at the
locked cabinet. Then he looked at me with a half smile/smirk as if to say he
knew what was inside but there were certain things officers should not ask -
also to remind me not to blow too much smoke at his young Ensign. I smiled back
so he understood that I had gotten the message with the knowledge that the
spare parts inventory was safely hidden in the SPS 37 power supply. The cabinet
now contained manuals as I had described to the Ensign the week before.
Next was Aux. Radio. I was concerned
that the Third Class would prostrate himself over the speaker box screaming ”There
ain’t nothing in here that shouldn’t be in here!!,” so I stepped over to “supervise.”
I don’t know what brought the Captain’s attention to the speaker box (maybe I
was not as cool as I thought, or maybe the Third Class was staring at it with
sweat on his forehead, or maybe it was just dumb luck). The Captain asked what
a ship’s entertainment speaker was doing in a working space, so I explained
that during the last cruse this space was used by our DJ to transmit from, and
there was no longer a speaker in the box. This seemed to satisfy the Captain’s
curiosity, and my blood pressure started to return to normal as the Skipper
turned away.
But then the Ensign reached up and pushed on the
speaker screen. There were no screws in the top of screen and it caved in,
hitting the bottle which then started to wobble. My ear was only inches from
the side of box so it sounded like a freight train to me. The space was small
and with the Captain, Ensign, Yeoman, Third Class and myself, there was no room
to spare. The Captain had turned his back so I slid between the speaker box and
the Ensign, and glared down at him. After all, what good does being big and
ugly do if you don’t use it? This move sent the Ensign to the Skipper’s side
for protection, and we got through inspection without disturbing the Scotch
anymore.
At liberty call that day the bottle
of Scotch left with me and was used to celebrate the fact that I had again
somehow managed to finish the day at the same rank that I had started with that
morning.
Got a good one from your time
aboard? If you have a sea story you’d
like to share, e-mail it to me at malonedave@aol.com, or put in the mail to Dave Malone,
9617 Route 38, Port Byron, NY 13140, and I’ll publish it in the newsletter.