Finch (DER 328) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 74 text:

That first day out was very rough. The tossing was made no better by two weeks in port and a last night's reunion with old shipmates. On October 5rd the groan- ing ceased, seas calmed, and we assumed the guard of Market Time Area Two. This area seemed quiet for the first few days. Then from the seventh through the ninth we were involved in gunfire support for the Army's Operation Logan Field. Cape Batangan, a rocky pro- jection 68 miles southeast of Danang, had been a tradi- tional V.C. hold out. The Army pushed from the west, the Air Force attacked from above, and we hit them from the sea. While in radio contact with an Army pla- toon we saw them round up a group of black clad sus- pects from a redoubt we had just destroyed. When we ceased fire, the crackle of small arms fire was easily heard. With only a little over 500 rounds of 3 f50 caliber fire, FINCH was credited with damaging or destroying nearly forty enemy structures. Our sharp shooting won notice in several newspapers, including Starr and Sniper. More than one sailor received a box of goodies from a wives' club which had seen the article in a hometown paper-Yes, Virginia, Fleet Home Town News works. The rest of the patrol passed normally and by October 22 we were back in Kaohsiung ready for more Taiwan Patrol. This time we spent as much of the inport time as possible in Keelung. Keelung itself is not so much better than Kaohsiung, for it is still cluttered with rust- ing tramps belching smoke. It also has a Nancyls. The situation of the town was its most liked feature. Scenic hills crowd the harbor, and-in addition-Keelung is Siglyfreeilzg in japan at it Underway from Szzbic Cape Bntmzgmz under fire only twenty minutes from Taipei. The real attraction was, of course, the capitol with its good restaurants, clubs, museums and scenic tours. Some people just couldn't get enough of Taipei, for there was plenty to do. To make matters even better, this pleasant Taiwan patrol was followed by an upkeep period in Yokosuka. After having worked with the MARKAB in Kaohsiung and Subic, we moored alongside in Yoko on Thanks- giving Day. Our stay started with a tough Officer fwith a little helpj-Crew football game which stalemated 0-0, Our Cooks turned to and put out a great meal. Then we got down to work. This period was a wind- fall, for it gave us a jump on our next RAV and let the crew whip up a storm before the doldrums of Guam. A two-night ship's party at the Club Alliance helped liven things up, and then there is always the Yoko Shore Patrol to make an evening interesting. In all a lot of good work was done on board and on liberty. With four days of exceptionally rough steaming, the l68 deployment chapter ended as we reached Guam on December 16th. And as the brownbaggers ran off and the families drew in close, a new cycle began. A little RAV preparation, a quiet Christmas and we were ready to get back in shape so that we would go to sea once more. Such were the courses we steered last year. We steamed among islands of laughter, reflection, buying, sightseeing, resting, good deeds, and most of all serving our country. Through hard work we reached our objCC- tives of pride and satisfaction of doing all that waS asked, and then some.

Page 73 text:

. - I : .. V. ...,4,r......:..,, . ... ..., .MN , . ,,., ., , L:-:JAN aging? ' V fp gg? .s . . ' 1. 7. -' f,. .. ffm. ntfff: A . ly V i , .5 V-, V i f p am. .. - -W. 4 ' 4-1. ' ' f ,. ' ,,,,. .. , A . g, H ' , f s . Q as f as a t . sf t of K 'Q - ' 4 me siwsaeap. if-v.a33pg,i:. . f cn ss -it N a.. : . , g.aff f 1 1' ...Q it ... Q N Mig... rcZlQi5V,g,i4gg-5 ..f.a'Q!x ft my -- Xx x H 5wf4r2.w+:. at-A 4 .M f - ' 15'-, , . 2. H vt ,-'-f tg: :fa fw... my faffaw Afgf. T M mf, ,A it . . 1 Mai- M. . W N ..Q f ?f?f531'f1ZaWf'f -f-3 i7' ' ' J 2 .I?'Zf7'i.. W.. Q , 5:7--1 5 Kaobrimzg, Taiwan On this good note we said good-bye to our loved ones Qfour officers' wives joined them in H. KJ, turned over our duties to USCGC BIBB QWI-IEC-Blj, and headed for Kaohsiung. Seas were moderately rough, but we made the one day passage on time. Snipes, however, had their work cut out for them after a generator diesel crankcase explosion. Undaunted, EINCH lost not a day of underway time. Kaohsiung, Taiwan was almost a second homeport for many of the crew. A town of over 500,000 and Taiwan's major seaport, it held a variety of pastimes. There were good buys on wood carvings, marble vases, furniture, cloth, and many other handicrafts. Kaohsiung bustled with activity-someone was always trying to sell you something. The people were clean but the town was filthy. You had to watch taxi- and pedicab drivers who would take you out in the boonies, if you let them. One also had to be careful not to get into scraps with mer- chant sailors. All this plus the good entertainments made Kaohsiung an interesting spot. It was great for a short time. So to break up the monotony of staying in port we patrolled out into the Taiwan Straits numerous times. The Straits lay unusually calm and the patrols were almost dull. But at the end of each five-day outing we had to grope our way back to Kaohsiung. The Quarter- masters felt they could navigate by smell-Kaohsiung's essence reached far to sea. The townis sweet fragrance was a delicate blend of flowers, incense, food, sewage, and coal smoke. To make things a little hairy, OOD's had to pick their way through heavy morning fog to find the narrow harbor entrance. Ships from sailing junks to Japanese tankers to floating scrapheap tramps always nearly blocked that entry. Sooner or later SOPA ADMIN KAOSHIUNG would make arrangements for our mooring and we would go in for more work and liberty. Toward the end of our Taiwan employment, we were moored alongside the USS MARKAB QAR-23j trying Szzbir Bay, P,I. to replace that generator engine crankshaft. Storm warn- ings went up for the doubleheader typhoons Wendy and Agnes. 1600, September 3rd all U.S. Navy ships sortied. The following day we rendezvoused with the KRETCH- MER and accompanied her to a lee north of Luzon. For four days we conducted inter-ship exercises. DER's don't get much chance to practice formation steaming, but now we did. We steamed in circles, racetracks, squares, leapfrogged, flashed lights, highlined, held comm checks -just about everybody got into the act. Storm evasion proved an enjoyable and profitable bonus. Originally, EINCH had been scheduled to reap a Sep- tember Sasebo upkeep. Sked changes, alas, sent us back to Subic, whence we arrived September 18th. During this work period, some diversion showed up in the form of the USS NEW JERSEY QBB-625 on her way to Viet Nam. No doubt the gun studded battlewagon looked big to a FINCH sailor: One of the NEW jERSEY's 16 gun turrets outweighs FINCH by better than two to one. As for other diversions, Olongapo City was the same as always. Mud and warm San Miguel, plus a chance to be run over by a jitney composed the thrill of a night's slumming. We'd had enough of Subic when we hauled in our lines and got underway for Vietnam.

Page 75 text:

ylbwnn - f ll hx. X., 164 ig' m93'rw.,,,s E mg M M YP vm F NME E f fig! an Q-4 ,ff g -.11 311255 F Q VW Q 4 l I Wg wa. 5 e K igf,J MVWK M 1 Q wafnv' ' is Af- :twine iff! , 5,435 + 'X P5 ei. W 'fa as 'T wx xigsv 6 ,Vw 8' -fe 1 . 4 1 fff' .35 V- 'Wia- S' QQ M' KXA N' I A , 1, V56 Y ,- as rfwr, vm we W 1' -,X 'I' if ,Q 1 2 1' 4,-I ,Q : 1. if Di 'K sa 'i