Buchanan (DDG 14) - Naval Cruise Book

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Helo details were short but frequent Yankee Station Gperations Unreps were less frequent but much longer After nearly a three week tour as a member of Task Force 71 and a week of upkeep in Sasebo, Japan, we returned to the combat zone and , joined USS TICONDEROGA lCVA-'l4l. For 30 days we acted as escort and plane guard ship for TICO as she launched attacks round the clock, penetrating deep into Vietnam to conduct offensive operations against the enemy. During this period our jobs fell into a routine and we became a veteran crew, working as a team to accomplish BUCHANAN's mission.

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I I I II 1. A leisurely trip across the Pacific I I I I I I I I I t.4f f--f V I y ,f 3 i ,, .ll After a brief stop at Yokosuka, Japan vve proceeded to Yankee Station f . rw ' ' I I Carrier OPS while alongside Our Russian friend or duty. Barely inside the Vietnam Surveillance area, vve received vvord that a Navy EC-121 had been shot dovvn in international waters off the coast of Korea. We immediately reversed course to join the largest task force assembled since the Korean War, Task Force 71. Such an assembly was of extreme interest to some people and vve kept a close vvatch on a Russian destroyer sent to keep track of us. I 12

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While operating together, BUCHANAN developed an excel- lent working relationship and close friendship with TICONDEROGA. We initiated an exchange program whereby officers and men of the attack aircraft carrier spent a day or two of orientation aboard which helped us work better as a team. On the 14th of lVlay at 1400 an amazing coincidence occurred resulting in the following press release: 14 lVlay 1969 aboard USS BUCHANAN lDDG-14l in the Tonkin Gulf. Many might say the Navy planned it that way, but it was purely a coincidence when at 1400 hours on 14 lVlay, three ships carrying the number 14 made a rendezvous in the Gulf of Tonkin for an underway rearmament. uss BUCHANAN lDDG-14l and uss TICONDEROGA lCVA-14l were alongside USS FIBEDBAKE lAE-14l for a normal underway rearmament when this unusual event occurred. BUCHANAN and TICONDEBOGA, both homeported in San Diego, have been operating together since they departed Task Force 71 in the Sea of Japan in April. While alongside, during this interesting replenishment, BUCHANAN proudly displayed the official flag commemorating the 200th anni- versary of San Diego, California's oldest city. To add to the coincidence of the day,-for cross training purposes, USS TICONDEROGAV had sent LTJG' Walter Buchanan of Lebanon, Indiana to ,USS BUCHANAN lDDG-14l. This transfer was part of a program the destroyer BUCHANAN had initiated and the dual coincidence had not been preplanned. While on board the DDG, LTJG Buchanan had the pleasure of meeting RlVl3 Robert L. Buchanan, who hails from Redondo Beach, California and is one of BUCHANAN's crewmembers. USS BUCHANAN's commanding officer presented LTJG Buchanan a ship's plaque and a certificate making him an honorary member of BUCHANAN's crew. After an overnight visit, LTJG Buchanan departed DDG-14 to return to CVA-14.