Haleakala (AE 25) - Naval Cruise Book

Text from Pages 1 - 80 of the 1982 volume:

■■I ■ • HI SM Mi HBa HMHL H ■ H n nHSg atkKhISkmw . ' ,-■, M ,■■ ' ■ . .: ' ■ ■ ■ ' • , ' , ■ . V-i . ■ - ■. ' .V ' -v::.-i ,v; f . ' -. . ' .•hri: VOWV ■ 1 Hi H 1 SbRe 1 WM«! % ■ ■ —Ml ■ ■■.■■■■.• ' . PACIFIC VOYAGER being the adventures of the UNITED STATES SHIP HALEAKALA (AE-25) during a seven month voyage to Micronesia and the Orient, including winter transits of the Inland Sea of Japan (riptides, whirlpools, serpents) and port calls to Hong Kong, Jinhae, Sasebo, Olongapo and other exotic seaports 1981 - 1982 Goodbye To All That R. P. GLOVER Thanksgiving, 1981, Yokosuka, japan Captain GLOVER bids farewell to the HALEAKALA and her crew. W. H. GRAHAM CDR GRAHAM assumes duties as Commanding Officer on Christmas Eve. 1981. while the ship lies at anchor in Sasebo. Japan. CDR GRAHAM greets Korean General. Commander Transportation Command (Jinhae) Commanding Officer Commander Walter H. GRAHAM, USN, was born 5 January 1940 in Washington, D.C. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1962, the Naval War College (Command and Staff) in 1973, and has a master ' s degree in International Affairs from George Washington University. He served in the destroyers, USS BORIE (DD 704) and USS LAFFEY (DD 724). the heavy cruiser, USS NEWPORT NEWS [CA 148). the replenishment oiler, USS KANSAS CITY (AOR 3). and commanded river patrol boat divisions RIYDIY 513 and 594 in Vietnam. He has been an exchange officer to the Italian Naval Academy and has served on the staffs of Commander Cruiser Destroyer Force. U.S. Atlantic Fleet: Commander Striking and Support Forces Southern Europe; and the Chief of Naval Operations (Plans. Policy and Operations). Commander GRAHAM has been awarded the Bronze Star with Combat V twice, the Navy Commendation Medal, and the Purple Heart. We Were Not Cast Upon The Bitter Seas Alone We Had Our Shipmates, And Friendship Was Our Bargain aleakalans work hard . . . and play hard Liberty In The Tropics Spanish Steps Guam H ALEAK ALA f s Community Project, Philippines y gafcMRVfe If - ... %  A Day ' s Work Done i Ship ' s Party ' ■ Beggar ' s Banquet, Olongapo City HaHUBUMUUB Transiting The Inland Sea Of Japan The Inland Sea of Japan has to be the coldest place on earth. At least it seemed that way to us. Four days earlier we were stretched out on the beaches of Subic Bay, sleeping, drinking, and dreaming beneath the tropical sun. Life was easier then. Liberty was a grandslam of fun and relaxation. It ' s amazing what a change in latitude can do to the enviroment. A lot of good our sun tans did in these freezing waters. We started out at 0530 in the morning, zig-zagging around the super tankers, floating cranes, and fishing boats in the Shimonoseki Straits. It wasn ' t even daylight yet. The watchstanders on the open bridge and f ' c ' sle were exposed to the icy winds that swept down from the surrounding mountains. It didn ' t matter how many layers of clothing were worn. The cold penetrated to our bones. A cup of hot coffee was good for two sips, and then it was too chilled to drink. This was no two hour sea detail, either. It was a twelve hour transit from the Shimonoseki Straits to Iwakuni. The shipping lanes are the busiest in the world. It was like taxiing down a water paved freeway. We were all too numb too feel anything when the anchor was finally dropped at Iwakuni. It was just one more of a hundred such anchorings. By this time we had become very professional in what we did. We ended our day on the Inland Sea of Japan as we had met it, in the ethereal glow of twilight. HALEAKALA Sailors Tour Japan , Mystique of the Orient • ■ 5 FLOATIN9 RESTAURAN ■ V • ■ k  + £Z Hong Kong £ v Turn To fs • ftl Well, Almost Flight Quarters! Flight Quarters! Damage Control Is Everybody ' s Business i The Boot: The Story Of A Seaman Recruit ' s First Days Aboard The Haleakala The sea state had intensified considerably since Taps. Forty knot winds screamed through the kingposts and stirred up a chorus of ghostly moans throughout the ship. Whenever the bow slammed head on into a swell the ship ' s frame shuddered and creaked. Most of the crew was indifferent to the rocking and pitching motion of the ship, but the new man on the leehelm was beginning to feel seasick. Every jolt and tremor tortured him. He was obsessed by the image of the rivets popping in the bow, and the forward compartments filling with icy water. The deck quivered beneath his feet as the ship slid steeply into the trough. He lost his equilibrium and felt queasy, weightless. The bow speared deeper and deeper into the trough. The Seaman Recruit clamped his eyes shut and imagined that the ship was plunging into the bottom of the ocean. The Pilot House was flooded by a gush of black, briney water. Bodies were swept up like leaves in the wind. The Seaman Recruit was pounded to his knees, and as the water rose above his head he flailed his arms wildly. Enormous air bubbles escaped from his screaming mouth. He was drowning. Mind your leehelm! The BMOW bellowed into his ear. Fall asleep again and you ' ll be standing double watches ' till the end of WestPac. The Seaman Recruit straightened his stance and blinked his eyes rapidly in order to clear them of sleep. He had boarded the ship in Yokosuka only four days before, and this was his first time at sea. He had not slept decently in those four days and now he felt exhausted. He was also afraid. He began to feel the steady pulse of fear when the airliner rolled down the runway and he lost sight of his family. He felt it again when he was airborne and watched as his homeland shrank beyond the glittery ocean horizon, and again as he waited for the HALEAKALA on the pier, his seabag weighing heavily on his leg, and the gloomy, overcast skies of Japan weighing heavily upon his heart. In a sense he was drowning, only the fluids that filled his body were loneliness and doubt. The others seemed so coarse and hardened by their life at sea. He would never make it. He would never be one of them. You day dreaming again? The BMOW was hovering over him, a cigarette slanting down from the corner of his mouth. The red light that shone on one side of his face gave him a sinister appearance. His face was gaunt and elongated, and his eyes were hard yet weary, as if they had spent many hundreds of hours gazing into the low-light reflections of bar room mirrors. I ' m awake, the Seaman Recruit replied hastily. You could have fooled me. You ' ve got an extra two hours. Nobody sleeps on my watch. The Seaman Recruit was burning with anger. He glared at the BMOW but held his tongue. He was already in enough trouble. The JOOD stepped in from the starboard bridge wing and shouted, All ahead two-thirds. The Seaman Recruit instantly shifted the lever on the leehelm to indicate ahead two-thirds. His anger had sharpened his reflexes. Indicate four-seven RPM ' s for ten knots. Indicate four-seven RPM ' s for ten Knots, Aye sir. Main Control, Bridge, indicate four seven RPM ' s for ten knots. Bridge aye. Sir, Main Control answers up four-seven RPM ' s for ten knots. Very well. The Seaman Recruit could still feel the anger tight inside him. He stared straight ahead and ignored the helmsman who insisted on explaining everything in the world to him because he was new. The helmsman was casual on the helm, and that bothered him. He was one to talk though; two extra hours for sleeping on watch, two more lost hours of real sleep. The sea and winds shifted and the ride became smoother. No longer was the bow overwhelmed by the crashing waves. The moon was now high among the stars and the clouds were gathered at the horizon, piled low like a vaporous wall encircling the ocean plane. The bridge watch was worn out by what must have been their umpteenth watch on WestPac. The BMOW was leaning with his back to the heater, smoking one cigarette after another. The Seaman Recruit refused to look in his direction. He concentrated upon his leehelm and ignored the BMOW ' s disapproving gaze. At 0345 a sleepy sailor poked him in the shoulder and reached for his headphones. The Seaman Recruit pushed his hands away and said, Relieve somebody else. I ' ve got two hours of extra watch. What ' d you do wrong? Fell asleep. That ' ll do it. I might as well hit my rack for another two hours. Have fun. He slapped the Seaman Recruit on the back and strode toward the door. The BMOW was right behind him, breathing down his neck like a riled bull. Where do you think you ' re going? Where do you think you ' re going? To my rack. Negative. Relieve the leehelm. He just told me he had two extra hours. The Seaman Recruit was watching the exchange out of the corner of his eye. Was he going to have to spend his two extra hours freezing his bones on the bridge wings? You ' re the one who ' s going to get an extra two hours if you don ' t relieve the Boot right now. Geez, make up your mind, he said and felt the BMOW ' s fingers dig into his shoulder like talons. You ' re always dogging me. The Seaman Recruit removed the earphones and unhooked the harness from around his neck. You, the BMOW said, pointing his finger at the Seaman Recruit. Hit your rack. And you ' d better sleep good because I ' m going to be dogging you in the morning. The Seaman Recruit slipped past the BMOW and slid down the ladder. He was feeling miserable, like some kind of animal that didn ' t know right from wrong. The BMOW kept his promise. Early the next morning he was out on main deck slushing wires. His hands were slippery with grimey lubricant and his new Boot Camp dungarees were soiled beyond further use. This was frustrating. Working was actually costing him money, and he didn ' t like the way the others were milling about, coasting along while he did all the work. Whenever the BMOW appeared, the others would push him out of the way and begin slushing the wire. By the time the BMOW arrived, the Seaman Recruit was on his rearend, struggling to his feet. The BMOW gave him a dirty look and walked away shaking his head. The Seaman Recruit returned to his work and slushed the wire angrily, while the others wiped their hands clean with rags and resumed their relaxed poses. I ' m nothing but a Seaman Deuce, he thought. After dinner, he sat on one of the bitts and studied the motions of the waves as they peeled away from the ship. Thousands of jeweled reflections sparkled on the water. Dolphins arced in and out of the frothy crests. Their playfulness relaxed him and he felt good for the first time in days. How ya doing, bud? The BMOW was leaning over him. He had been so entranced by the dolphins that he hadn ' t heard him apporach. There ' s something I ' ve been meaning to give you. The BMOW was holding a rusted, gnarled pipe. My God, the Seaman Recruit thought, he ' s going to bash me in the head! The BMOW raised the pipe over head, and the Seaman Recruit flinched as he threw it overboard. Here, he said, laying a brand new, freshly stenciled foul weather jacket in the Recruit ' s lap. You ' re responsible for it, so you ' d better keep an eye on it. The BMOW turned away and ambled toward the quarterdeck, pausing at the firestation to rearrange the firehose before continuing on down main deck. The Seaman Recruit dug his fingers into the jacket and looked at the number on the back: 47; just the right number of RPM ' s for ten knots. The Seaman Recruit had been onboard for five days now. Things were coming easier, but he was still in a daze. He just followed orders and stood in line when he heard chow piped. He missed a roofs of the houses he knew he was back in Japan. As the ship neard the drop point it slowed, came to all stop, andbegan to back down. The signal was given to the foc ' sle to let go the anchor. Amid a peal of excited cries, the brake was released and the anchor hit the water with a huge splash. The anchor chain thundered off the Wildcat, reeling out shot after shot and sending up a cloud of minute rust particles. It was a fearful and exhilarating sight. The Seaman Recruit was shaken by the utter silence that followed. As soon as the Sea and Anchor Detail was secured, the BMOW called his work group together. The Seaman Recruit stood at the very end to avoid notice. Yesterday you guys were supposed to slush some wires, but you fooled around instead. You kicked back and let the Boot Camp do all the work. Don ' t think I didn ' t notice. Do it again and I swear few meals before he figured out that he had to eat early if he had the next watch. He was surprised when he heard that the ship would be pulling into port in two hours. He wasn ' t even sure what country it was going to be, but he was too embarrassed to ask. He decided to remain low key and let somebody else ask all the stupid questions. Someone always did. The two hours passed slowly because he was anxious. Misty apexes appeared on the horizon, and as HALEAKALA sped nearer, the mountain peaks fanned out and formed several ranges. Bobbing fishing boats appeared in small clusters. Some passed so near abeam that the weathered, intense faces of the fishermen could be seen, as well as the startled fish flapping in their nets. At the harbor entrance the HALEAKALA came left sharply and entered Sasebo Ko. When the Seaman Recruit saw the terraced farms on the hillsides and the blue tiled you ' ll be hating it. I ought to throw your liberty cards over the side. I ' d do it in a heartbeat if the Boot hadn ' t carried your load. You can thank him for your liberty tonight, gents. From now on we work as a team, right Boot? Great, the Seaman Recruit fretted, I ' m an outcast for sure now. The sailor next to him rudely grabbed him by the arm, and the Recruit tensed for the sucker punch he expected to receive in the ribs. Hey, big shot, the sailor snarled, and then smiled, I guess I owe you a beer. Negative, the BMOW boomed. You all owe him a beer. And you owe me one too, so let ' s hit the beach. The men let out a cheer that frightened the seagulls off the kingposts. It was going to be all right after all - just as soon as they quit calling him The Boot that is. Executive Officer . ,,. ,„  i ;i - - 1 1 LCDR J. E. SCOTT 1st Lieutenant LCDR M. D. SIMPSON Chief Engineer LCDR R. D. CHENETTE Operations And Supply LT J. M. NANCE ENS C. R. COLBERT (1ST DIVO] WITH OSSN EVANS A Smattering Of J. O. ' s ENS R. D. BYLAND (DCA) LTJG R. W. BUTLER (CICO) Engineering Department £i P And M Division Port E Division Starboard A Gang And R Division Deck Department: First Division Third Division Third And Stream Casuals Supply Department oc Operations Department ON OE OI OX Division A Few More Memories . . . I - • IT H i f i h bb ? f Y ' t B 1 fa r H07 B V ! J it. 3gj|Br v B B § 1 KTjuB i 1 WALSWORTH|| , n „ se Book Sale- Office PU COMPAN?lJi ' ' V E n, o.„ ..... San Diego, CA 95 ■ ■ • ;ttCIH ■ -?.■■. H ■ ;v } f rvKna- rjrw ■ . , ■ 1 1 • ■ • . ■, ■ I - A •■• , ■. ' .. I ■ t «. ' ■• SIB B 329118 N • ■ ■ K ■ v M 1