Bordelon Sea Stories 01/10/06 1950 We were patrolling off the coast of New York City for 30 days, checking all incoming and outgoing aircraft. The SS United States was heading out to sea at night and we were going ahead one third. I had the lee helm, we were on a collision course with the SS United States. We were steaming north and about one hundred yards from her when the OOD ordered all engines emergency back full and the helm hard to starboard. I rang up all back full from ahead one third. Main control in the engine room called the bridge and asked what was happening and why back full from ahead one third. The sound power phone talker said emergency back full. All hell must have taken place in the engine room because you could feel the screws backing down, all the way up to the bridge. Later the chief on watch in the engine room said it was the first time he ever had an emergency back full from ahead. I don't think the SS United States ever knew how close she was to being rammed. (see below regarding our reinforced bow) Bill Madden 1955-1958 The first time I had the conn while bringing the Mighty Forerunner alongside another ship for refueling, Captain Mullen was nervous as a cat. We swung wide, aft of the oiler, to come to a parallel course and to try to match their speed while maintaining a proper distance between the two ships. I, too, was quite nervous LCDR Joe Doak, the XO, in the pilot house, was cool as he could be. I was standing just outside the pilot house door behind the alidade compass with the Capt. just forward of me. His concentration fully on the two ship's shifting positions. Wind and waves toyed with our good intentions. Joe, on the other hand, stood relaxed as could be, just inside the pilot house, swinging an imaginary golf club and occasionally glancing at our progress and position. Periodically he would indicate I should add or drop "two turns" (rpm) or come right or left a degree or two to maintain our proper position. Soon the Captain was saying, "Now you're getting it! That's it! Good work!" I was shouting the orders, but Joe was conning the ship. However, I did learn the technique. Be calm. No sudden or abrupt moves. Change only in small increments and keep your eyes open. Ace Mullen and Joe Doak were a marvelous combination. Joe went on to command his own ship, a then new DL, and Ace went to the Squadron Staff. They were two of the finest officers I ever worked for. I still remember overhearing Ace Mullen's first call to his wife after he had been relieved. He said, "Well Honey, it's just Commander Mullen now". He really enjoyed being a fine captain and good example to his officers and crew. Dave Reedy Chief Engr Frank, A follow up to Lt. Dave Reedy's story: It was really my 1st experience at the helm, as it was Lt Reedys 1st experience at having the conn, while bringing a ship alongside for refueling. The O.D. was Cdr. Joe Doak, the XO, while Skipper ACE Mullen was barking out orders to Lt Dave Reedy and he then to me. I must concur, Cdr. Doak was a very good officer and he and Capt. Mullen did make a great team. Mr. Reedy and I became very good friends after that, which leads me to another story: During August 1956 We docked at Genoa, Italy. Lt Reedy and I went to visit an Orphanage. Our mission was to be a goodwill mission, asking the Mother Superior to visit our ship along with the orphans. It wasn't the easiest to communicate with her but as I remember, Dave spoke some Italian and at least was able to get our offer across to her with some help from a sister who knew some English. She was reluctant at first but then agreed to visit our ship. I'ts been many years so some acts may be incorrect but the story is true. The Nuns all had their habits on with these HUGE hats that spread about 4 ft across. All the children were in uniforms and very well mannered. I believe there were about 20 kids and 6 sisters and Mother Superior. Dave Reedy and I met them at the gangplank, The crew had balloons and candy and toys and games for the children. There was one little girl that held back, being a bit shy, I took to her immediately, her name was Angelina, she was 7 years old I believe, Anyway I took her by the hand and got her a balloon and candy etc. and showed her around the ship. We were watched closely by a sister that went with us. It was hard talking to her but our gestures and giggles and laughing made up for it. I asked her if she would write to me and she said yes, she would. The kids had a great time and many wrote notes to the crew thanking us for a wonderful time. I actually discussed adoption of "Angelina" with my wife and Mr Reedy tried very hard to get this done for me, however the big stumbling block wasn't the language problem but that I wasn't Catholic. For that reason, Angelina stayed at the Home. We wrote to each other for about two years, then she stopped writing and I lost track of her and don't know what ever became of her. Bill Thornley FT2 1957 Hi Frank, Here is a short story of how & when we won our first "E". I was an FT3 at the time, and we were on a Med cruise during July 1st to Oct. 22nd 1957. I worked the Range Finder on top of the Pilot house for the Main Battery Guns. We had shooting exercises, shooting at the drone in competition with the Greene, Dyess and Furse. We were in 2nd place after 6 shots and of course the Greene was in first place. They had won the "E" 4 years in a row and were pretty cocky about it. On the last run the Dyess hit 8 ft in front of the drone, the Furse hit 17 ft behind the drone, the Greene hit 3 ft behind the drone, nearly assuring her of their 5th Award in 5 years. We were Last to shoot. Chief Carberry said to me, "Bill, we need to get inside 3 ft of the drone and must be forward of it, not behind it. It's on your shoulders Bill". Well, my God, talk about pressure, I really didn't need that pep talk at that time, anyway, The drone came in Port to Starboard. I locked on it at a range of 347 yds out. I pressed the firing trigger and held my breath. We got a direct hit, knocking the drone out of the sky. The exact date was 8th July 1957. During that cruise we were operating with the 6th fleet and visited ports, in Lisbon Portugal, Athens Greece, Palma-Majorica, Spain, Cannes, France, Suda Bay, Crete, Gibraltor and Corfu, Greece. While at Gibraltor BC, The Commanding Officer of the 6th Fleet boarded the USS Bordelon and presented us with the "Battle Efficiency Award" for outstanding performance in battle readiness. We had won the Award and ended the USS Greene DDR 711's reign. The FT & Gunnery crews were very proud of that accomplishment. Bill Thornley FT2 1958 -1962 I got some pictures of us in a storm over in the Med. We were in it for 4 days. We lost all of our rubber rafts and our motor whale boat. There were 4 life rafts left and they were up by the Bridge. Guess where I lived for the four days we were in the storm? We made one turn around and got caught by a big wave and I was standing side ways inside the signal shack looking down at the yard arm blinkers in the ocean. She just hung there for it seemed like a lifetime and I did not think she was going to make it back up. You could feel the starboard propeller was out of the water and the ship was vibrating & shaking like a leaf. What an experience that was! I will take that memory to the grave with me. Those waves were so high that they were coming down on top of the signal shack and bridge!! Albert Young SM2 The Cuban Crisis 1962 It was October of 1962 and the attack on Cuba was imminent - believe me I knew as I read the incoming messages. We were positioned directly off Havana and our primary mission was to alert Boca Chica if an aircraft taking off from Havana airport did not make an immediate hard right turn after departing. This happened a few times and the fighter aircraft were launched immediately. Our planes were on the runway 24/7 ready to go. No ship was closer to Havana than we were. Fortunately they never had to attack. The Cuban or Russian aircraft got the message in time to get back on an acceptable flight path. Then the air search radar at GTMO failed. We were ordered to proceed to GTMO at flank speed to serve as their backup air search radar system. We were almost there when the crisis ended and the Russians backed down and left. We got to GTMO but we missed the real fun. The base commander thought it would be a good idea to stage some prize fights to relieve the pressure on the marines who were ready to go into Cuba. The "fights" turned into a full scale riot with the spectators fighting each other for fun. It was a real show to say the least. At the same time, Castro accused us of stealing water. All of GTMO's water came in over the hills in a single highly visible pipeline. The base commander did not ask anyone up the chain of command what to do. He took immediate action and sent the Seabees up the hill and had the water line cut and capped on each end. He then told Castro that we had never stolen his water and would never pay him for any again. We were lucky because we could produce our own water supply. It only took a few days before the first tanker came in loaded with water and the problem was fixed, at least from an emergency point of view, but in the meantime the officers and enlisted clubs had great happy hours. A double Scotch on the rocks was a nickel (ice didn't count) but a Scotch and water was $1.00. You could get enough booze to kill you for $.50. Larry Maucher Gitmo Water Cutoff 1964 If memory serves me correctly, seems I remember the Admiral who was CO of Base GITMO back in '64 when Castro cut the water off. Admiral Bulkley, in a red MG sports car and dress whites made a ceremony of cutting the pipe line carrying water into the base. He must have ruined his choker whites with that cutting torch, ya got to admire his guts. We had the FDR and a bunch of cans there with us to help defend the base. I rode horseback patrols up in the mountains until a sailor from another ship got off the trail and his horse was killed by a mine. I turned 21 the day of the incident. On board the Bordelon DD 881( Seaman/ GMG striker) we alternated plane guard duty with gun guard duty anchored off Hospital Cay, manning our two 5" 38 mounts with half crews and zeroed in on various parts of the base. The FDR kept a combat air patrol over the base and herself which kept everyone busy, but feeling safe from the Cuban Migs. I remember those long hours on the helm staring at the stern of the FDR and the hot long hours manning the 5" 38s while we were making water for the base. As to Admiral Bulkley, in case some of you don't remember, he was the PT skipper who took MacArthur off Corregidor under the noses of the JAPS. I am almost positive he was the CO of Gitmo during the water crisis. Not sure though, too many years have passed. Feed back from anyone requested. Doug Traylor Reinforced Bow Some tincans had the reinforced bow, with the knife edge for ramming. Some of the cans were done that way during WW II, the Bordelon was that way, and she even had railroad rails welded into the bosun locker. The bow leading edge was capped with a sheet of high strength steel folded to fit the bow with a sharpened edge. The USS Strong was that way, and so was the John R Craig, Strong cut a sea-going barge in half, as I was watching, clean cut, just like a saw. The Craig cut over 50 foot straight into a concrete wharf in Key West. I saw that too. About 1964 for both incidents. Doug Traylor Oct 72-July 73. I joined the Navy when I was seventeen year's old. After completing boot camp and BT school I was stationed aboard the USS Bordelon. Soon after I arrived on the ship we left for Vietnam. I was a young man, excited at the thought of going half way around the world and the places and things I would see. I share a lot of stories with my children who think I should write a book about some of the things we did. While in Vietnam I never missed a chance to go above the bridge and hang out with the lookout to watch the show. The radio crew was usually there with a military radio so we could listen to talk between the chopper crews who flew low near the jungle to draw fire and watch as the jets dropped their bombs. At night we watched the tracer fire and bombs going off. One night after getting off watch, I went to my favorite spot above the bridge and talked to the lookout. We had fired our guns for hours that day during a mission. Everything was quiet as we sat still in the water with several other ships near the North Vietnam coast. I could see the coast line and see a lot of guns firing on land. There was tracer and artillery fire going in all directions. I asked the lookout what was going on and he told me some kind of battle. I saw these red lights blink on and off and asked the lookout what those light were for? He told me that the lights came on just before the artillery fired, some kind of warning to the gun crew. A few minutes later a high pitched sound came by my head. It sounded like a big bumble bee. The lookout and I looked at each other and I said "what was that". A few minutes later we heard a high pitch sound and saw the water splash near the port side of the ship. The sounds and splashes kept coming, one right after the other. I counted seven before I realized someone was shooting at our ship. As the lookout reported to the bridge what was going on, I decided I did not like the view from the lookout station anymore and leaped for the ladder going down to the main deck. It was a long drop, but to this day I do not remember touching the ladder. When I got in side of the ship I ran into several crew members who saw the look on my face which told them what just happened! The ship moved a few minutes later from our position. I later found out that the North Vietnamese eight inch guns fired about eight or ten rounds at us and that this was no big deal because this went on all the time! The next day as I met the XO in the passageway. He told me he wanted to talk to me. Someone must have told him I witnessed what happened the night before because he asked what I saw. After I told him, I just knew I was going to be in trouble but he just laughed and told me, from now on, wear a flack jacket when I was with the lookout! I would like also to add a fews details not in the story told on the Bordelon Home Page when we lost our turbine during a linebacker operation. Before the linebacker operation began, we were given a briefing on our mission. The Bordelon was going along with several other ships to support our troops assaulting North Vietnamese gun and rocket sites. Because we were the oldest ship on the mission we were picked as the decoy. We were to draw the North Vietnamese fire so the other ships could take out their guns and rockets. My job was to wear a flack jacket and be ready to cool the barrel of the aft gun mount with a fire hose in the event of a misfire. We did our job drawing fire from the Vietnamese and everything was going as planned until we lost our starboard turbine. The ship slowed to a crawl while we were under heavy fire. Our guns continued to fire while we made our slow escape out of the range of the Vietnamese guns. After we were safe, the Captain addressed the crew and explained what happened and how lucky we were. He explained about the turbine failure and shore gunfire and told us that the USS Lawrence took out a rocket site who's radar was locked on our ship, ready to fire. He then told us that it was our duty to buy the drinks for the crew of the USS Lawrence when we got to Subic Bay for repair's. We were not a crew to disobey an order from our Captain, so we did just as we were ordered! Russ Bernard BTFN 1974 I have a story about the Bordelon. We were steaming off the coast of Libia, of course we were at GQ. I was Mount Captain of mount 51. We were in formation as part of the Kennedy BG. Anyway, headed for us was this Soviet tanker. She didn't seem to want to give us the right of way. Bordelon was blowing the whistle, but she wasn't altering her course. I called down to fire control and ask permission. They said yes. I called down to both Mt 51 & 52 "Surface action port" Both gun mounts trained to port and pointed right at the tanker. The tanker changed her course as soon as we trained at her. I was was quite pleased with my self, however the CO didn't seem to share my feelings. The next thing I heard from Fire Control was, "Mt 51, Mt 52. Ready surface," "Secure from General Quarters, Petty Officer Caldwell, lay to the bridge." I won't go into detail, but I think I lost about 5 Lbs. of ass that afternoon. Ed Caldwell Frank... ran across this online http://65.18.140.28/vbpro/htdocs/seastories/entries.html Sebastian Riccobono How Bordelon ended up in place of the Sims. 1976 USS Sims The incident with the top portion of the mast snapping off happened during the cruise in 1976. During that transit the superstructure of the ship broke from the main deck up and over sonar control. It seems as if we were traveling with some old Fram 2 destroyers that could not handle the seas at 18 knots, they were taking belly slaps. The Sims didn't handle 14 knots well as our sonar dome came out of the water and induced a vibration throughout the ship. That was determined to be the cause of the mast problem and with the superstructure. When the JFK collided with the Bordelon, the Sims was late getting on Station and the Bordelon took our place. It could have been us! At least those are my recollections. The mast incident was very memorable as I was almost written up for assisting the BMC in lashing the mast to the tower. The BMC went up with some line and no safety harness, I donned a harness and tied myself off and attempted to secure the BMC. He was nominated for a NAM for the same action I was threatened with being put on report. Both actions were dropped, the BMC didn't care much for me after that!! The Sims was later fitted with an expansion joint across Sonar Control. Tom Cash Collision with the carrier Kennedy 1976 I was on board the Bordelon from Spring '75 thru decommissiong... I was an MSSN straight out of MS "A" School in San Diego. The Bordelon was my first ship.. One night that will forever be etched in my mind is the night we were along side the USS John F. Kennedy (Or if you prefer, USS JFK...Underway Saturdays and Sundays just for kicks). It was a fairly mild night, the wind was stirring enough to send a chill down your back, especially at night. Out of the black night appears this behemoth of a ship. Being fairly new and naive to the Navy, I had not been this close to a carrier. Anyway we were along side taking on fuel. I was a bit curious about this ship after hearing that she had already collided with a couple of other ships. There were three of us on the top of the Signal Shack handling the Distance Marker as it stretched between the ships. Myself, a SN and the BM3 (whom I thought must just be a couple steps from God. I already met god himself I thought, when I met the Command Master Chief. All was going good and then for whatever reason, the USS JFK started getting closer. I remember we were calling out the numbers as the marker was hauled back onboard. Not knowing any better it was my job to keep that line tight and to let the OOD know how far, or for that matter, how close we were. Anyway, it got down under 50, I can remember hearing the collision alarm and then hearing the BM3 tell me to get the hell down. Here I was, 6'6" tall and standing there watching the underside of the carrier Island closing in on us. I got down next to the signal locker and held on. While I was lying there on my back I was wondering why the heck they were trying to get so close. They were so close that in my mind I reached up and tried pushing the carrier away... like I was superman or something or it would even matter. I can remember we bounced countless times. Then started to pull back away from the Kennedy. I looked around and found the SN was pinned by the fallen masts. Doc, the HM3 was already there tending to him, it was as if he appeared by magic. I remember looking forward to the bow, then aft to the fantail. It was if someone had came along with a big saw and cut us from the bow up to the deck I stood on and then along a straight line aft to the fantail. We had suffered some damage. I remember seeing a bulkhead patch up fwd. and masts were gone but the mighty Bordelon kept running and going. She may have been hit and hurt but she could still function. I remember everyone checking on everyone else to make sure we were all accounted for. Of course we all went into our GQ stations and stayed there till everyone was accounted for and every space had been checked. Mine was the repair party amidships, right next to sick bay so we got to see when they brought the very few injured people in. I think they only had to evacuate the SN from the signal deck. I counted my lucky stars that it was not me, it had been so close. We were damaged enough that we pulled into Davenport, Portsmouth, England for some temporary repairs. They welded a patch up forward to close the hole where our anchor got us when we were underneath and along side. We also got a new Radar so we would be able to see a few miles, at least. We would be traveling with another ship headed home so we only needed to be able to see it. We were traveling with them as protection. While we were in the yard we found out what damage we had done to the USS JFK. The Bordelon had gotten in a few licks with the forward anchor. It seems we had crippled the fwd elevator so it would not work. We had also torn a gash in the carrier's side. Well, as you all know this is what finally brought the Bordelon down. We decommissioned her and her hull went to Iran for spare parts. Hope you all enjoy reading this. It was kind of nice reliving the past a bit and thinking of old shipmates and such. David Taylor MSSN