February, 2002

Notes

Reunion Countdown:  10, 9, 8 . . .

Germantown, Md. – You’re right.  We are already down to eight months before the 2002 Ship’s reunion in Norfolk, Virginia, at the Radisson Hotel.  Please!  Start making your plans now so you won’t miss the fun and the excitement.

Next month, you will be receiving a package in the mail that will provide everything you will need for registration.  Be sure to read it and respond as soon as you can. 

We are trying to make this the biggest and best reunion ever, but we need your help doing it.  I want to encourage you to, number one, plan to come to the reunion, and number two, contact other shipmates and encourage them to attend.  As soon as you put down this newsletter, pick up the phone and call three other shipmates to encourage them to come.  If you need telephone numbers, call me or one of the other officers.  We will help you find them.  (By the way, a great tool for finding names and telephone numbers is www.switchboard.com.)

As a reminder, we are going to have an “Inchon Harbor Bombing” display, so if you have any relics, photos, or other items of interest regarding that event, please bring them along.

Fairless Hills, Pa – Heard from Joe and Rose Stanya up in PA.  While visiting Atlantic City, NJ, they toured the Korean War Memorial that is there.  Rose sent along some pictures (I’ll bring to the reunion) that display a beautiful and moving war memorial.  If you’re in Atlantic City, the memorial is a must see.  Thanks, Joe and Rose.

Arlington, Va – I asked Ed Willis, who was aboard the Rock at the same time I was, to jot down some reminiscences of his Rochester days.  Ed is a historian by profession and a retired Navy Captain.  I printed one of  his stories under Reminiscences in this issue.  More will follow.

Zephryhills, Fl – Shipmate James Waddey has asked for help identifying some people on a tour with him and his wife at the Nashville reunion.  He says that he and his wife went on a tour of  “the Carter House” and the tour guide took several group pictures with his, and others’, cameras.  His pictures turned out well, but he’s having trouble putting names with faces.  If anyone who went on the tour can help him with ID’s, please contact him at 38915, 5th Ave., Zephyhills, Fl 33540-4627, or call him at 813-782-6627.  (Jim, send me a copy of the picture, and I’ll run it in the NL next time.  Also, bring it to the reunion in NORVA.  Ed.)

Ship’s Store

Monterey, Tn – Wild Bill Hummel, our faithful and hard working Storekeeper, informs us that the Ship’s store is stocked and ready to go.  You don’t have to wait for the reunion to buy your ball caps, jackets, golf shirts, etc.; you can order them with the form in this newsletter, or you can tune in over the Internet through our web page.  As a matter of fact, take a look http://www.ussrochester.org/  It’s a great web page.  It’ll make you proud. 

New Members,  Welcome Aboard Again

2001 MEMBERSHIP DUES

Cookeville, TN---- Dues for the Year 2002 were due on January 1, 2002.  If you have already paid, your membership card should show an expiration date of 2002, or beyond, for those of you who have paid beyond '02.  The Association operates from these dues, and your continued faithful membership is appreciated. 

Without your loyalty there would not be an Association.  If there is a question, you can contact Treasurer, Joe Hill, at 4011 Ditty Road, Cookeville, TN 38506-7663; Telephone 931-432-4848; FAX 931-432-2534; e-Mail: joehillsr@multipro.com.  Joe will also provide members' addresses and phone numbers upon request.  You can also pre-pay your 2003 membership, if you wish.  Thanks. 

-- TAPS --

The following shipmates were reported to have passed away recently.  If anyone has additional or different information, please let us know.

from Secondary Conn

by Garry Phillips

I was going out to Reno on business just a few days ago, so I decided to call one of my best friends from Rochester days, who was from there.  I hadn’t talked to him in years, but I’d thought about him often – even told my wife stories about him and me, how he had taken me home with him every time the ship got close to San Francisco.  His mom and dad treated me like family, and I was a little enamored by his too young sister.

In a brotherly sort of way, I loved that guy.  He was a good shipmate, and a great friend.  We even played baseball together on the Rochester team.  His only weakness in baseball was that he was an incorrigible Yankees fan.  To irritate me, he pasted a picture of Mickey Mantle on his locker door.

In my search on the Internet, I found “Ronald E. Warren,” of Sparks, Nevada.  The short biography was not what I’d wanted.  It said he died Thursday, May 20, 1999.  U.S. Navy Retired; Vietnam; survived by wife, two sons Ron and Todd, a sister, and a brother.  Ron was a great guy, a good shipmate, and friend.  My best regards, Garry

Chaplain’s Corner
 

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned,  and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,  doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

For now we see through a glass, darkly, but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Reminiscences . . .

Memories of the USS Rochester (CA 124)

CAPT Edmund P. Willis, USNR (Ret)

Rochester was a beautiful ship and service aboard her was a dream.  I came aboard as a lieutenant (j.g.) in February 1957, transferred from an Atlantic destroyer, USS Samuel B. Roberts (DD 823).  Going from a destroyer to a cruiser then was like going from hell to heaven.  The destroyer never had enough money or crew, and the operating schedule could not be relied upon for more than a few days.  Nonetheless, I learned there to roll with the punches, and I qualified as officer of the deck underway.  Thus I hadn’t been aboard Rochester long before I again qualified as officer of the deck underway.  My most vivid memories of Rochester relate to bridge watches.

The bridge required a lot of teamwork and the team up there had to rely upon each other.  Sometimes that took a while to develop.  One of my junior officers of the deck was a great conversationalist and would rather entertain the troops than get into the job of running a ship.  One night as we steamed in formation he had the conn for training.  I stood on the left wing and he was on the right, as usual talking with the watch.  All of a sudden I noticed the stars begin to wheel about in the sky and the guide ship drifted off to port.  I yelled down to the helm that I had the conn and ordered left standard rudder.  The gyro repeater had failed and the helmsman had not noticed.

ENS Edmond Fitzpatrick was my favorite JOOD.  We got so well attuned to each other that I could look across at him and he would nod and do what was necessary at the moment without resort to words.  It was also reassuring to know that there was a Chief of the Watch in the pilothouse with the helmsman and lee helm.  On the Rochester they were on the deck below in a heavily armored enclosure meant to protect ship handling under fire.  I used to stop by to greet the Chief on my way up to the open bridge.

On one occasion, however, I caught the watch below off guard with an order they had not heard before.  I had learned it on the Roberts and it was not part of the Rochester routine.  We were in a turn and I yelled down the voice tube, “Meet her.”  Nothing happened, I called it down again, we were still turning rapidly.  I realized they hadn’t understood the order and changed it to “Rudder amidships.”  The order “Meet her” tells the helmsman to use rudder to stop the turn and stay on the heading that results.  I can imagine some interesting conversation took place in the pilothouse after that. 

The Inchon Bombing

In response to our requests for  different views on the events of September 17, 1950, my friend and former shipmate, CDR Gene Bieber, provided the following:  “I am writing to give you my recollection of the bombs that were dropped on the U.S.S. Rochester in Inchon Harbor, Korea, at 0550, September 17, 1950.  I was the Mount Captain on watch in Mount 56 when the bombs were dropped.  As I recall, we were on a modified condition watch, which meant that we had an inport OOD and some of the anti-aircraft batteries manned.

Ensign F. L. Bowersox was the inport OOD and LT S. B. Killingsworth was on watch in air defense forward – he was in control of the AA gun batteries. 

As I recall, the planes approached from the starboard side and released one bomb that just missed the superstructure and exploded a few yards off the portside, causing a slight indentation in the hull just below Mount 52 and a little ways forward of the port Quarterdeck.  There were some pieces of shrapnel that landed on the main deck in the general area of the port Quarterdeck.  I have no idea who might have any pieces of the shrapnel.  The XO as the only one I ever saw that had some pieces that day.

When that bomb went off, the ship shook pretty violently.  General Quarters was sounded and we started the motors in the gun mount and at the same time I opened the Mount Captain’s hatch and just as I looked out, another bomb was dropped off the fantail and hit the boom of the boat crane, which was trained aft.  It bounced off the boom and exploded as it hit the water.  I saw the Sentry on the fantail and he was watching the plane as it flew towards the British frigate, where it was shot down. 

We were very fortunate that there were no personnel casualties and only minimal damage to the ship.  That damage consisted mostly of some clocks and some other items that were dislodged from bulkheads in the plotting rooms.

Well, Garry that is my recollection of the happenings on 17 September 1950.  I hope it will help in getting the story together for the reunion in Norfolk.  Best of Luck, Gene

P.S. – Remember they had a purple heart painted on the crane for a while.  GLB

PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN

By Jess Johnson

Americans are diverse in many ways

     But are one when it comes to their homeland

When their freedom and liberty are threatened

     United they strongly stand

Sometimes it takes a crisis

     To show how our people feel

But Americans love their country

     And their patriotism is real

American currency carries a message

     Out of many we are one

One people whose motto is “In God we trust”

     Living free under God’s great sun

Faith in God is America’s foundation

     He is our guiding light

God is our strength and power

     He protects us by his might

I stand with my fellow countrymen

     Acts of aggression and terror decry

For love of God and country

     I am willing to fight and die

I am proud to be an American

     To live in the land of the free

I am proud of our five branches of service

     Who preserve our liberty

I am proud of these United States

     The country of my birth

I am proud to live in America

     The greatest land on earth

"BOY SCOUTS AIN’T PRIOR SERVICE"

(from his book, Sailor, Write Your Mother)

By Frank Spittle

Chill from the San Diego marine layer my nostrils with each inhaled breath. We formed up in six ranks and waited. Through the semi-darkness the base loud speakers crackled a recording of reveille. Wacky timing, we awoke much earlier when Chief Young cranked his nightstick around the trashcan.

The Chief removed his stogie, smiled and spit a direct hit into the butt kit at the base of the stairs. From his elevated position on the entry porch of the barracks, he half turned toward his shorter partner.

“Looks like we rolled “em out a little early this morning, Mr. Kwiatkowski.”

Some business had to be completed before we marched to chow. Chief Young explained we needed a “Recruit Petty Officer,” a man from our ranks to be designated as the senior recruit. The job sounded good to me, I’d been the Senior Patrol Leader in my scout troop. This might get me out of some unpleasant details.

“Any of you men had prior military service?” Mr. Kwiatkowski barked.

At this point I made my first tactical error since arriving. I raised my hand, along with one other man.

The chief asked the first man, “What service; how long; what rank?”

He answered smartly,” Army; 18 months; PFC, SIR.”

I was asked the same question. I wanted to impress, so I sounded off,” Boy Scouts, SIR. I am an Eagle Scout, SIR.”

The two chiefs exploded in unison, both bent at the waist and roared uncontrollably. Had I missed something in the exchange? Possibly, these days I experienced a lot of confused feelings.

Chief Kwiatkowski was the first to gain partial control and in his Brooklynese, one laughing word at a time, declared, “LA,” his name for me, Boy Scouts ain’t prior service.

“Oh shit, Mr. Young, I give up on these clowns.” He turned and banged his way through the entry doors of the barracks, still laughing.

The chiefs felt the first man better qualified to lead. He was ordered from ranks to march us to chow. I was to stay in ranks and remain, as Mr. Kwiatkowski frequently observed, “California dog scrap.”

The gang at the CPO club must have fallen down that night listening to my story.

(For more information about Frank Spittle's book)

Things I Remember in the Navy Aboard the

USS ROCHESTER CA-124

By Daryl Cox

(This is the first if a series of the life and times of Daryl Cox (“DB”),  an FP1 in R Division, 1952-55.  It will remind you of the good ol’ days.)

“I remember going aboard the Rochester at 2:00 AM.  I was supposed to be aboard at 12:00 but my flight was delayed several hours in LA.  I mentioned it to the seaman directing me to his division’s compartment for an empty rack to sleep the night.  He went back to his post and returned shortly after and told me that the Ensign (Officer of the Deck) said he would log my arrival at 11:59.  I always liked that Ensign although I never met him, nor knew his name.  I never forgot his face.  It was also my first wide-eyed experience going aboard any ship.  I had not seen or been aboard any large ship before getting in the Navy.  And believe me, it seemed large.

I came aboard at Hunter’s Point in San Francisco and never having been there didn’t know my way.  I asked a taxi driver at the airport what he would need to take me there and he said he would turn off the meter and deliver me for $4.00.  He was glad to get the fare at that hour, and I was glad to get a ride.  He asked me if I’d like to ride in the front seat, which I did.  He pointed out different landmarks such as Candlestick Park, famous buildings on the skyline and visited along the way.  He was a friend of a Sailor in need.”

The seaman that took me to his compartment said, “Come to the Officer of the Deck the following morning and they would take me to my division.”  I went to the Deck Officer the next morning and they asked me where my duffel bag was and I said, “Where I slept the night.”  I could not tell them where because I was lost.  . . .  I took my seabag to the R Division compartment with direction and went to breakfast.  I found out where the shipfitters shop was and knew Gene Ball from pipefitters’ school, so he helped me break the ice.  (More to follow.)

REUNION – FACT SHEET

In early-2002, the USS ROCHESTER Association will send you a ”reunion package” containing detailed information, hotel registration, and tour sign up forms.

WHERE:          Radisson Hotel Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia

WHEN:            Friday, October 11- Monday, October 14, 2002

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Friday, October 11

  Arrival & Opening Reception (compliments of the Association)

  Tour available:            City of Norfolk/Nauticus Museum/USS WISCONSIN

  Dinner cruise on Spirit of Norfolk

Saturday, October 12

  Tour available: Colonial Williamsburg

  Lunch on your own in Williamsburg or Norfolk

  Dinner on your own

Sunday, October 13

  Business meeting

  Musical entertainment for spouses during business meeting

  Tour available: Norfolk Naval Base (tour of ship and lunch on Base)

  Dinner Banquet & Dancing (3 menu choices $27-$32 price range).

Monday, October 14

  Memorial Service

  Depart

Other important information: 

• Breakfast each morning is included in the cost of the room (current estimate is $90 + tax per couple per night).
• Each room has microwave, refrigerator, hairdryer, iron, etc.
• Transportation to-from the airport provided free of charge by hotel; parking in hotel parking lot is free.
• Hotel within walking distance of waterfront, General MacArthur Memorial, the USS WISCONSIN, numerous restaurants, and a major shopping mall.
• Sunday banquet entertainment to be provided by “Katz ‘n’ Jammers Band” featuring Sandra Lee.  They have performed for numerous military reunions and the play list is our kind of music.
• A photographer will be on hand prior for the Sunday banquet.  Photographer is retired Navy (PHCM) and we have seen and like the work he has produced for other military reunions. 
• Hospitality suite includes free coffee, soft drinks, & snacks.