Hamner (DD 718) - Naval Cruise Book

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rx --me msi'fife'e-E rff'4lf 7 R' 'i ! V THE DECK FORCE FIRST DIVISION DECK-Front Row: MALONE, WICKS, IENKINS, W. R., JOHNSON, V. H., BERRY, J. R.: Back Row: PACK, CROM- WELL, SMITH, LTJG BETHEL, WALLROFF, NELSON, E. E., BERRY, M. W.: Missing: SAADI, LUNSFORD, FUENTES, PUFFENBURGER. From swab down in the morn till well after 1600 sweepers, we of the deck gang, undermanned as usual, can be found working the sides, cleaning or painting weather deck areas or, during foul weather, blocking every inside passageway with our scrubbing and painting. Topped by our two boisterous but very effective leaders, the Boatswain's Mates of the HAMNER fight the continuous, often despairing, seldom encouraging battle to preserve and keep shipshape the exterior areas, the,crowded heads, and the equipment-packed passageways. To ease our never ending need for more men, almost every seaman apprentice reporting aboard fresh out of boot camp can look forward to a manda- tory tour of duty with us to orient him rapidly to the rigors of destroyer life before he is considered eligible to strike for other rates. We are the Turn To gang on this ship, make no mistake about it. It is we who ride the spinning anchor buoy while struggling to link up, crawl out the mooring lines to tie on rat guards, and spend days suspended over the sides in the dinky boatswain chairs or from swing- ing stages. Whenever there is a refueling or transfer at sea to be accomplished, the deck gang does the rigging, handles the greater share of the inhauling, and receives, on occasion, the soaking black slimy oil spray from an overflowing oil trunk or parted fuel hose. Upon sighting our next port of call, little time is left for daydreaming of liberty ashore, the Boats keep us keenly aware of more timely tasks at hand such as a complete fresh water washdown of the ship, rigging of awnings, laying out of mooring lines, assembling the accommodation ladder and preparing the motor whale boat for its various duties in port. The clutter of paint cans, uncleaned brushes, soiled rags, and worn canvas about the paint locker in port or underway and the figures of tired men, paint brush or chipping hammer in hand, at random about the decks indicate we're busy, and as the other one hundred and seventy HAMNERites start their eternal complaining about the blocked-off passageways, secured heads, or roped-off deck areas, you KNOW the deck force is turning to! Keeping the HAMNER's appearance squared away is OUR job, and we give it our best! We also draw our share of the watches varying at sea from the various lookout stations, all either under the torrid tropical sun, in the face of heavy winds, torrents of rain and bow salt water spray or SECOND DIVISION DECK-Front Row: FOWLER, R. H., RITCH DUFFY, SWALLOW, FLOYD, F., RO0TS:iSecond Row: ROBINSON MEBUS, TAUL, ENS BEIERLING, SUMNER: Back Row: ROSENFIELD BELL, S., BADAYOS, McCOgMICK, CALDWELL, MAKIQ Mlsslng COX, I. E., CHEVEZ, SIMS, F WLER, C. S., JENKINS, D. L. during the frigid black nights of the Taiwan Patrol, to the more shel- tered duties as boatswains mate of the watch, helmsman, lee helms- man, messenger, and phone talker. After a tiring day's work on mport duty days, there is no escaping, no matter how much we try, the long, uneventful, lonely, sleepy bow or stern sentry watches. However, regard- less of how long, tiring, tedious or repetitious our duty may be, we Boatswain Mates boast with great pride that our rate, senior in the Navy, was pulling its load in our Navy long before most of the other rates were conceived and will continue to do so long after they have expired. For there is no ship, sail, oil or atomic powered, Man 0' War or merchant, that will ever put to and stay at sea without us. . . . .,. ,...,f,,.,.:-zz ,,.,-gff.--11.-.1. . .. nv. 2 ., ... ..- A11 . .. .., , . L --Hr-L,-

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