Hamner (DD 718) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 26 text:

SIGNALMEN AND QUARTERMASTERS-Front Row: DOUGLAS, HOUSTON, CHAPMAN, DAY: Second Row: THOMPSON, HIGH- STREET, CAGLE, FULLMER, V. C., JACKSON, Missing: CHALLINOR. SIGNALMEN AND QUARTERMASTERS Knowing well the multi-colored signal flags flapping tauntingly in the breeze, the flashing of red, white, amber or violet signal lights, the casual interchange of semaphore during alongside replenishments, the violent cursing evolving from vain efforts to train optical telescopes or nancy gear adequately with the HAMNER pitching and swinging radically, the beautiful golden tans resulting from shirtless days under a warm sun, the coarse faces hardened from cutting winds, slashing rains and sting- ing salt spray, the tense and strained eyes alert to detect the minute differences in dot and dash and the stiff, unresponding hands or nearly frozen feet in the bitter cold winter nights, we signalmen lay hearty claim to being the most colorful gang aboard the HAMNER. From swab down at the first light of dawn until the darkest hour of the following morn, we of the signal gang are always ready to respond to the sighting of visual signals and try to head off the peace shattering roar, Signals! ! or On your light! ! from a disturbed OOD. Underway we're always under the close scrutiny of the Captain and the OOD, but in port the bridge becomes our sole territory, high above the bustling activity of the rest of the ship, where we can pipe relaxing music into the tactical radio speakers, bring the coffee pot, books, and magazines and spare mat- tresses out and relax in an almost civilian atmosphere while carrying out our bridge maintenance and normal comm guard duties. Don't overlook the four of us here in the Quartermaster gang who, in addition to our normal underway duty of maintaining an accurate log of the ship's movements and activities, supplement the signalmen during shorthanded night watches or during inport duty days with our additional knowledge of visual signaling techniques. lt is we who assist the navigator with his visual fixes or celestial sightings, and the hundreds of navigation charts required for the HAMNER's travels are kept up to date by diligent and meticulous entries of every correction, addition or deletion as promulgated by the various Notice to Mariners, Monthly information Bulletin and other hydrographic publications. F ,i tix N f- Mffjm UJW4 vis ' My fi,XW l 2

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RADIOMEN- Back Row: LAKE, BENNETT, WERNER, MCBRIDE, ENS WILLIAMS: Front Row: LOUVIER, HARBERT, BOSS, HELMS, L. I. RADIOMEN To be able to convert the buzz of dots and dashes thumping into our ears onto a neat printed message in the typewriter before us is one of the many tricks of the radioman's trade. Of course, trying to accomplish this trick successfully while the second man of the watch, the messenger, is out routing the message board and the bridge is hollering over the squawk box for adjustments to their voice radio circuits is another story, generally of frustration and anguish. lt is on our shoulders that the maintenance of radio communications with the ships in company and the naval communications stations ashore rests, and it is within the crowded radio central, containing sixteen receivers, four transmitters, two teletypes, typewriter tables and work desk areas, patch and antenna coupler panels, status boards, drawers for spares, tools and the various communica- tion publications, bins for current messages and boxes upon boxes upon boxes of back message files, that the communication activity of the HAMNER is centered. ln fact, radio central is so crowded that we've overflowed in to the adjacent radar transmitterlroom, and we are eyeing temptingly the fire control radar room across the passagewey. Except for inport periods, all voice communications are administered from the remote control units of either the bridge or CIC. Our headaches arise from maintaining these voice circuits at peak performance on the proper frequen- cles despite the fact that we aren't using them, from keying out by Morse code our administrative messages over the CW circuits, and from watching the ship-shore teletype Fox-skeds for all mes- sages concerning the HAMNER whether they be operational immediate encrypted schedules changes or routine telegrams from families at home rendering to any one of our crew news of good fortune, complicated domestic problems or distressing sorrow. Every message coming to or leaving the HAMNER must be written up in a smooth multicopy form for dogged routing to the various concerned officers, sometimes the most difficult of people to locate. Though reduced in strength during the latter part of the cruise from eight men to five by two schools and Boss' broken leg, we were never found lacking in endurance to satisfactorily maintain our important communica- tions guard at all times! ,E if 55.- Q7

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ELECTRONIC TECHNICIANS-Front Row: MILLER, COCKE: Back Row: FLETCHER, HOWERTON, BROWN, Missing: EDMUNDSON. Qc Dil T'-X Q iii f 4 ELECTRONICS ET 1 V my re TECHNICIANS YOMEN AND PERSONNEL MEN From our small 8x12 foot filing cabinet and desk crammed office and seemingly lost under the stacks of incoming and outgoing mail, the multitudes of untyped correspondence, the score of thick volumes containing the thousands of Navy directives, instructions and notices, the uncounted pamphlets and publi- cations dealing with everything from enlisted men's schools to wardroom etiquette, stacks of personnel records requiring entries, the tape recordings, crumpled shorthand sheets and fine legal papers of the various courts martials, the transfer orders, the special request chits, etc., etc., etc., we yeomen and personnel men utter our cry for recognition. For in manning our typewriters, smooth talking ourselves out of squeeze situations arising from the demands of the various officers and, based upon our scanning knowledge of the many Navy instructions, pulling solutions out of the clear blue sky to the various leave, transfer, schooling, etc., problems of the multitudes of ship's company constantly beating down the path to and through our door, we of the ship's office KNOW that the timely and efficient accomplishment of the HAMNER's administrative paper work, the leg work associated thereto, and many of the minor decisions rest solely with our initiative, endurance, and above all, PATIENCE! WOW, enough said!! The duty ET of our Electronics Technicians gang may only be a crumpled dozing figure on the work- bench or the hard rubber deck matting of the ET shop, but the loud buzz of the JX circuit, indicating that the RDS and RMs are having electronic troubles, snaps him quickly to his feet to answer the cry for an ET. We ETs pride ourselves at being the only highly skilled technicians aboard able to cope with and especially keyed to the needs of the HAMNER's radio and search radar equipment, whether it be a quick job of replacing fuses or a major repair to a transmitter or radar that everybody from the Captain on down must have for use ASAP. Unlike fire control gear, our communication or search radar equipment must be in use 24 hours daily, and we know repairs have to be initiated immediately and completed as soon as possible without regard to our own requirements of sleep, cleanliness, or, occasionally, even food though the repair period may drag out for hours or days, It is while underway and during those fateful and unpredictable periods when electronics casualties seem to multiply one after another that lull periods find the ET shop a dark sleepy hallow where grizzly fatigued fully clothed ETs, a foul weather jacket for a pillow, grab those few precious winks of sleep before the JX buzz announces more trouble. X aagx PNFYN X efgefiiizf l ss? fN l fig' kfflil if w it -If-Jia-J ,,,e I YEOMAN AND PERSONNELMEN-Front Row: FOSS, WILSON, I. F.: Back Row: WEBB, R. W., GERKEN, DE SORMIER, STANEKQ Missing: CHAPOOSE.