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I
went on to
LDO status, was the First Lt. on the Ashtabula, Niagara Falls,
Yosemite, and had tours as Port Operations Officer at NAS Pensacola,
and as OIC US Naval Brig and CCU, also at NAS Pensacola. I retired with
30 years, 3 months service as a LCDR.
We didn't have a cruise book, HMC Lay was
in charge of that, if I remember correctly, and we just didn't do it.
Too bad.
The
Navy was very good to me and my
family, and I had a great many experiences, but the bottom line, the
USS Kawishiwi will always have a special place in my heart, because of
the wonderful times we had.
My memories are faded, unfortunately
slides I had made of the refugee event in Viet Nam were destroyed by
Hurricane Opal in 1995, where we lost our entire first floor and
garage. Still I do have some memories I would like to share.
"Having served on many small ships, LST,
ARS, DE, DER, DD, and a couple of ships that didn't ride so well, APA,
and LSD, it was a real treat to be assigned to a big girl that rode
well no matter what the conditions.
On the
USS Kawishiwi, especially when we
were topped off, you could set your coffee cup down, and not worry
about it spilling. We also had a very small complement of Chiefs, and
the quarters, although old, were very comfortable.
We were a tight group back then, everyone looked out for each other.
My memories of the Saigon evacuation were
a very hectic time for all of us, and I spent a great deal of that time
having the ships office mimeographing copies of a crude chart and
jumping from vessel to vessel to try and explain to those who were
going to try and make it to safety, on just how to follow the stars,
fix positions, and generally use whatever they had on board to
navigate. Some had sextants, but no reliable compass or time pieces. I
figured out the position of the stars to follow and generally even had
to explain to those who could speak some english how to make sure the
position of the sun would help them proceed in the general direction.
Captain Hogan was great, and he had to
make some agonizing decisions as I recall, the ship was bursting with
refugees, and we simply had no room for anyone else.
I remember a day or so on our way back to
Subic, we were hailed by an LCU full of refugees and they were
frantically waving at us, and we had to pass them by. There was simply
nothing we could do for them, and I take solace knowing that we rescued
a lot of people to freedom.
I remember when we arrived in Subic, and
the refugees were finally off the ship. We sat in the Chief's quarters
and pondered our place in history. We did a good thing. Not that we
were looking for it, if I recall correctly the reason we were there in
the first place was to refuel destroyers that were engaging the enemy.
Well, when we got to our rendevous, the destroyers weren't there, but
every other vessel type imaginable was there, and they all wanted to
climb aboard. Then I believe about that time is when we lost power and
there were Komar Class pt boats in the area, so that was an anxious
time. Loaded down with fuel, with no power, we would have lit up the
seascape had one well placed shell landed on us.
Fortunately that
didn't happen and we proceeded out of harm's way.
I do remember this, every single sailor on
the USS Kawishiwi performed magnificently, everyone did their duty. I
was proud to be a crew member.
When I returned a couple of years later as
a QMCS, my best friend, EMCM John Hill was the MCPO, and Jack Finley
was the skipper. John eventually retired and died at his home in
Kansas, in 1986 I believe it was . A great friend and shipmate, I miss
him a lot. A good man.
Sorry to note that Captain
Teague passed
away, also a good man that I met after he left the Kawishiwi.
I am the proud possessor of the Binnacle
Hood Cover that housed the magnetic compass on the USS Kawishiwi. I
intend to have it cleaned up, and put a plate on it to honor all that
sailed on board. I will bring it to the next reunion that I am able to
attend where hopefully
more sailors from the 1975 cruise will be coming
that I saw on the website.
Please keep in
touch,
looking forward to meeting you guys, I live in Pensacola, so no problem
for me logistically. See you
then,
Don
Chinery
Santa Rosa County
Public Information Officer
LCDR, USN (LDO-RET)
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