THE  SCUTTLEBUTT

 

The Newsletter of the

USS Buchanan (DDG-14) Association

 

Spring, 2006

 

Vol VIII.  No. 1    http://www.uss-buchanan-ddg14.org    Editor: David B. Malone

For those who missed the reunion in Branson, Missouri this year, I think I can speak for all who attended and say that you missed a great time.  As happened in Pensacola two years ago, everything went off like clock work.  The hotel was great, the tours were great, the banquet was excellent.  Simply put, everything was done right.  Our hats go off, once again, to Tim Nightingale who planned the reunion.  Everything that was promised was delivered, and as usual we got a little extra.

 

We had 36 attendees at this reunion.  Some of the same faces we’ve grown accustomed to seeing at all of our reunions, and a few new ones added.  Our hotel was the Grand Plaza Hotel in Branson.  As is usually the case, when I arrived the hospitality room was in full swing.  You could hear the party going on.  It was very obvious where the hospitality room was, even from the hotel’s front desk which was one floor below the hospitality room’s mezzanine.  A table had been set up to check in shipmates, and above a beverage counter hung a neon sign for “The Buchanan Lounge”, which had been donated by Phil Beinke.  Everywhere were shipmates reuniting.  Some after a two absence since the last reunion, and others for the first time since they had trod non-skid decks.

 

Thursday was our first tour, which was a DUCK tour of Branson.  Aside from driving around the “strip”, the tour took us out to Table Rock Lake where we did a bit of sea duty together, and up a local hill from which we could see for miles.  What most will remember of this tour was the nearly constant barrage of bad jokes and puns that came from the driver.  They were never ending.  The afternoon was left to the individual to explore the town on his and her own.  A number of us took a 20 mile train excursion that crossed the state line into Arkansas.

 

For dinner that night, a number of us went to the restaurant located on the top floor of the hotel.  It was the same restaurant we had breakfast in each morning.  During the trip up, I noticed that the elevator’s bulletin board was crowded with a great deal of baseball paraphernalia, all centered on a ball played named Jack Hamilton.  Most won’t know that name, but I happened to come from Boston.  “Jack Hamilton!”  I exclaimed.  “That’s the pitcher who hit Tony Conigliaro in the head with a fast ball in 1967!”  For those who don’t know that story, Conigliaro got popped in the head on his left cheek bone with a 95 MPH fast ball.  Fans at Fenway Park who sat in the bleachers claimed that they could actually hear the impact.  It landed poor Tony in the hospital for months and, despite a brief comeback years later, ended his career.  A career in which he was the first player to hit 100 home runs before age 21, and on track to Cooperstown.  Tim Nightingale looked at me and said, “Yeah...he owns the restaurant.”  Sure enough, it was Jack Hamilton himself who met us at the elevator and seated us as the maitre de.  I got the chance to talk with him about that day in Fenway.  I told him I knew it wasn’t his fault, and that Tony always crowded the plate.  His batting helmet came off as he tried to get out of the way of the pitch, and the ball just followed his head.  I also knew he tried to visit Tony in the hospital that night.  I got Jack’s baseball card and his autograph, shook his hand and continued my meal.  The food was pretty good too!

 

Friday included a trip to the Veterans Memorial Museum.  This museum was a salute to veterans from WW I to the present war in Iraq.  Lots of military gear and memorabilia abounded in the place, but a surprise was waiting for us.  As we turned a corner, we found two elderly black men looking at a painting of a couple of mustang fighters from WW II.  These mustangs had red tails, which was the fighter group marking for the famed “Tuskegee Airmen”, an all-black fighter squadron in the US Army Air Force in WW II.  We soon discovered that these two gentlemen had been pilots in the Tuskegee Airmen.  Not only that, but one of the gentleman’s aircraft was identified on the text panel as being the plane seen in the background.   And he had no idea this painting was in the museum or that it even existed!  He and his friend had simply walked into the museum as veterans, just like we did.  Meeting these two made our day!  We spent the rest of our time in the museum with them as they told us of their exploits over Italy and Germany.  I think I can safely say that meeting those two made the visit to the museum for many of us.

 

Saturday morning was our business meeting.  The minutes from the meeting are in this newsletter, so I won’t elaborate except that two significant things happened.  One, the membership adopted a lifetime membership with dues of $140.00.  Also, our next reunion location was selected, after a debate over four locations.  The winning city is San Diego, and it will be in February or March of 2008.  And as is our standard procedure, Tim Nightingale will plan the reunion.  Also, Tom Crosser gave the association a briefing on the plans to save the former USS Charles F. Adams and bring her to St. Petersburg, FL.  Tom and I are both members of the Adams Class Veterans Association, which is undertaking this task.  Those who would like to join or help should contact Tom at Tecrosserbsausnr@aol.com .

 

Saturday afternoon was an explore on your own day.  Personally, I visited the Titanic Museum with Rob Browning and his wife Marian.  It was quite good, containing 400 artifacts from the Titanic.  Speaking as someone who works in the museum field, they did a wonderful job of telling the story of Titanic, through hands-on exhibits as well as through artifacts. 

 

Our Association Banquet was Saturday night, held in Jack’s restaurant in the hotel.  He was on hand to make sure we were taken care of too.  The food was great, and the company was excellent.  Once again, as in San Diego, one of us squeezed into his dress blues and wore them to the dinner.  This time it was Rob Browning, and he looked splendid.  After dinner there were prizes presented and a raffle drawing.

 

After the banquet it was back to the hospitality room for more fellowship.  More jokes shared, stories remembered.  And, as it is always on Saturday night at reunions, it was the end.  The next day we were all catching planes home.  Back to the lives we now lead.

 

TREASURER’S REPORT

 

PAID MEMBERS (58)

Acosta, Javier; Andrew, Randy; Backer, Bill; Baile, Bruce; Bartleson, Don; Batterman, Bill; Beinke, Phil; Borg, Gene; Boyle, Tim; Brinley, Bill; Browning, Rob & Marian; Boyle, Tim; Bussey, Robert Cabahug, Jaime; Casmier, Dave; Clark, Jere; Connell, Dan; Crosser, Tom; Daisley, Dick; Doran, Paul; Egge, Dennis; England, Carl; Falkenhan, Marc; Gant, Charlie; George, David; Gilbert, Joe; Glidewell, Mel; Gloyd, Elmer; Heffernan, Michael; Henley, Ron; Hubner, Leon; Kane, Ken; Kern, Tom; King, Michael; Kupec, Cole; Larsen, Jerry; Looney, Glenn; Malone, Dave; Marak, Ron; Martelly, Pete; Mezori, George; Myers, Dean; Nightingale, Tim; Norrod, Michael; Parks, Bill; Probus, Ed; Proctor, Lou; Re, Joe; Ridley, Ray; Rudisill, Terry; Sena, Pat; Sheridan, Tom; Smeltzer, Steve; Snyder, Tom; Stroud, Mike; Taylor, Jim; Walla, Bob; Wihera, Victor; Wood, Ken; Yarbrough, Dave; Zimmermann, Dick

 

NEW MEMBERS SINCE JANUARY 2006

Bill Batterman                SK3              1967 - 68

Joe Gilbert                      BTFA            1978 - 79

Elmer Gloyd                   SH3              1967 - 68

Bob Walla                      ETN2            1971 - 72

Bill Brinley                      RD2              1967 - 70

Charlie Gant                   PC1              1967 - 69

Joe Re                                                 1964 - 66

Ron Henley                    SK3              1965 - 67

Bill Backer                      SK3              1970 - 73

Ken Wood                      RM2              1971 - 72

Leon Hubner                  SK3              1969 - 72

Paul Doran                    

 

TREASURER’S REPORT

Balance 1 Feb 2006

$2,524.70

 Dues

826.00

 Ship store sales

583.70

Reunion raffle

264.00

 Ship store shipping

- 32.05

 Balance 31 May 2006

$4,166.35

 

 

BUSINESS MEETING MINUTES

Recorded by Marian Browning

 

The Business Meeting was called to order by President Dave Malone at 10:00 am on Saturday, May 20, 2006.  Members present were Phil Beinke, Tim Nightingale, Charlie Gant, Dave Malone, Bill Backer, Bruce Baile, Bill Batterman, Ken Kane, Ron Marak,
Robin Browning, Lou Proctor, David Yarbrough, Joe Re, Stephen Smeltzer, Mel Glidewell, Terry Rudisill, Bill Brinley, Ron Henley, Grover Dan Connell, Bob Otis, Tom Crosser, Paul Doran, Ken Wood.

 

 

Tim Nightingale brought up the subject of locating crew members.  It was suggested that each person identify as many people as possible from the cruise books and try to find at least one person.  Names should be mailed to Tim to help with the search.  Dave Malone estimated that there are 4,000-5,000 over the lifetime of the ship.

 

Mel Glidewell thanked Tim for organizing a great reunion and appreciation from the membership was shown with an enthusiastic round of applause.

 

 

Rob Browning announced that his wife, Marian Browning, was in attendance as an associate member and that she would be taking minutes for him but is a non-voting member.

 

New business included a discussion about a lifetime membership.  A number of organizations were brought up and the amount of their lifetime dues.  A motion was made to set the lifetime membership cost at 10 times the current yearly dues ($140).  The motion was seconded and unanimously carried.  A motion was also made to have a membership card for both yearly and lifetime members.  The motion was seconded and unanimously carried.  It was decided Dave Malone would contact Dick Zimmerman and determine the best way to handle the mailing out of the cards.  Tim Nightingale volunteered to make the cards.

 

The next order of new business was the location of the next reunion in 2008.  Dave Malone asked for nominations from the floor stating that the bylaws indicate the reunion is to be held on the West Coast.  Seattle, San Francisco, San Diego, and Las Vegas were suggested.

 

Marc Falkenhan arrived at the meeting at 10:10.

 

Discussion ensued on what was in each town.  Rob Browning stated things to do in San Francisco.  Tim reported that San Diego was courting military reunions.   It was noted that the last San Diego reunion was in February and that the weather would permit an off-season timeframe which would lower the expenses.

 

A poll was taken and a show of hands indicated that 2 members were in favor of Seattle, 8 in favor of San Francisco and 15 in favor of San Diego.  Tim Nightingale made a motion to hold the 2008 reunion in San Diego.  The motion was seconded and unanimously carried.  It was further decided that the timeframe would be between February 15 and March 15.

 

The next order of business was the election of officers.  Mel Glidewell made a motion to keep the current officers; Dave Malone, Dean Myers, Robin Browning and Dick Zimmerman.  The motion was seconded and unanimously carried. 

 

Other business included a discussion regarding recruiting new members.  Dave Malone said that there needs to be a concentrated effort to recruit more officers and sailors who served on the ship post-Vietnam era.  It was mentioned that we should advertise in the Navy Time, Academy News, State VFW magazines, and the Navy League.  It was announced that the 2006 reunion was advertised in The Tin Can Sailor, VFW Magazine, Sea Classics, and with The Fleet Reserve Association.

 

Robin Browning announced that a 1972 cruise book belonging to Terry Rudisill was missing from the hospitality room.  He also stated that cruise books are available on CD in the ship’s store.  He also stated that the polo shirts and windbreakers were not available in the ship’s store but that a link to the provider should be posted on the web site.

 

Tom Crosser gave a report regarding the activities of the Adams Class Veterans Association that was formed three years ago to preserve the last Adams class destroyer, the U.S.S. Adams DDG-2.  He stated that the association was centering their activities around relocating the ship to St. Petersburg, Florida, at The Pier.  The efforts now are to gain the support of the mayor.  Tom stated that the relocation to and refurbishment of the Midway in San Diego took 11 years but was well received by the public with over 900,000 touring the ship its first year of operation.  He also stated that it would cost several million dollars to make this happen.  Each Adams class destroyer has a representative at the Association and the Buchanan representative is Dave Malone.  Tom also reported that the Adams has been on donation status for the past 8 years and it would be decided on June 3rd whether to keep it at this status for another year.  Dave announced that Tom would also make a short presentation to those in attendance at the banquet scheduled for later that day.

 

 

Mel Glidewell requested a timeframe for the banquet.  Tim Nightingale announced that the picture would be in the lobby at 5:30 and that orders could be placed and the pictures would be delivered to the hospitality room following the banquet.  Following the picture a cash bar would be available in the banquet room on the ninth floor.  Raffle tickets would be available during this time.  The dinner would be at 7:00 pm.  It was decided that casual dress was acceptable.

 

The meeting was adjourned at 11:00 am.

 

NOW ON THE BUCHANAN...

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

                                                        

Forty years ago... 1966

In June 1966, BUCHANAN began her third deployment to WESTPAC.

 

Thirty Five years ago... 1971

On 22 March, COMDESRON 15 broke his flag aboard BUCHANAN where it flew until 21 April. On 20 April BUCHANAN set sail for Treasure Island and made a brief stop a Seal Beach to unload ammunition before arriving in San Francisco on 22 April.

 

Thirty years ago... 1976

Almost totally recovered from her shipyard experience, BUCHANAN got underway for local operations for 3-7 May. It was at this time that she tested the Tartar missile system. The results were impressive: two direct hits on shore-launched drones. The successful Tartar shot was a boon to the crew's morale and a tribute to the smooth tactical performance/coordination exhibited by the Weapons and Operations Departments.

 

Twenty Five years ago... 1981

The three weeks of the Ship to Shop Availability (IS' Avail) assisted BUCHANAN in preparing for INSURV and OPPE that were scheduled for April. ECC drills were conducted again in the SCOA from March 30 until April 2. INSURV began upon returning to port on the 3rd in conjunction with another IS' Availability. These two evolutions continued until April 15 when BUCHANAN got underway for OPPE.

 

 

 

Fifteen years ago... 1991

On 11 February 1991, BUCHANAN saw her last underway period, although it was only a dead stick move from pier One to pier Thirteen. Nonetheless, the crew remained alert and positive as BUCHANAN was underway for the last time. Many exercise and training evolutions took place while the ship was in port. The crew's readiness levels grew as a direct result of the various training evolutions. The month ended with a safety standdown in which one hundred percent participation was achieved.

 

SEA STORY OF THE QUARTER

 

Working Party: E-6 and Below

By Dean Myers 71-75

 

In the spring of 1972 the NVA (North Vietnamese Army) started a major offensive across the DMZ which was later named the “Easter Offensive.” Many stories have been told and written of the events of the first two weeks. Among them are Bat 21, The Rescue of Bat 21, The Bridge at Dong Ha, and The Easter Offensive.

 

This story about working parties is one of many I remember.

 

I was a Junior Third Class ET aboard the BUCHANAN. We  were off the coast of Vietnam at the DMZ when it started. Our NGFS (Naval Gun Fire Support) was in very high demand because of heavy cloud cover that kept our aircraft from operating effectively. Our NGFS was needed to neutralize the NVA’s armor, artillery, and SAM (Surface to Air Missile) sites.

 

Our major problem was being able to get enough ammunition to fire. One time the magazines were completely empty and all we had left were the dummy rounds used for testing the handling equipment – so we shot them.  I am sure they did little damage, but hopefully we made them duck. When we could go alongside an ammo ship we would take all we could, topping off both magazines and leaving pallets out on the ASROC deck. We would then fire missions until room was available in the magazines for the ammo that was still topside.

 

That Westpac we fired over 15,000 Rounds of NGFS and received over 1,000 rounds shot at us.

 

Between calls for fire we would run to sea and grab what ammo we could. So the routine was General Quarters, working party to handle ammo, couple hours sleep, and back to G.Q. The SPA 25 Radar Repeaters started crapping out one at a time, so for three days it was working parties, General Quarters, and fix a repeater. (I blamed the recoil from the guns’ firing so much. We had cases where tubes shook out of their sockets and fuses would fall out of the fuse holders).

 

The number of hours sleep I had in three days could be counted on one hand, with fingers left over. The port repeater on the bridge had died just as we finished a strike at sunrise, and I started to repair it.

 

Soon we were unrepping some ammo. Normally I would have to wait till after Unrep but the OOD liked to use that repeater on strikes, and I couldn’t work on it at night without screwing up the watch’s night vision. Now we had been doing this for several weeks. At first the working parties were E3 and below, then E4, then E5, as more people were getting OK to continue their work, as unrepping was a priority.

 

I don't know if was because they actually needed us Junior petty officers to keep the ship running or if we got better at making excuses to stay clear of the working parties. I was told by my Division Officer John Moore to work on the port repeater right through the unrep. When they didn’t have enough people in the working party, it suddenly became all E6 and below (I only saw that twice). When my first class Wayne Holden heard he was to report to handle ammo, it occurred to him that I might need his help to "fix" that SPA 25. I am sure if someone had pointed out that it only took one ET to fix a repeater, I would have been the one sent to handle ammo.

 

So here we are, two ET's with the repeater open working in the area between the repeater and the bridge windows. I had sat down on the deck with my back propped on the bulkhead beside the Port Captains ( Commodores) chair reading a schematic across my lap. Then Holden wanted to check something and took the schematic from me, and after several minutes he realized something was not right because I had not moved in all that time.

 

He realized it had been at least 15 minutes since he had seen me move and that I was sound asleep. So he put schematic back on my lap figuring that if no one including himself had figured it out in 15 minutes, he would let me catch some shut-eye. He was quite nervous because the CO and XO were within an arm’s reach of both of us. Finally, when the Skipper stepped over my legs to cross the bridge, Holden’s nerves could no longer take the strain and he woke me up.