I spend three and a half years aboard the LY SPEAR, including a shipyard availability. My daughter is born, and I reenlist for a school with a job code to get me on a ship that goes to sea.....NAVMACS(shipboard satcom system), and orders to the USS John King (DDG-3).

I report aboard the ship while in a Norfolk shipyard. We completed the shipyard activity, and right away start workups for a Med cruise. ( More on this in one of the stories) Scuttlebutt is the ship will be decommisioned when we return from the MED. Summer 1989 in the Med (more later) We return and begin the decommissioning process. I transfer when most of the ET's work is done. I get orders to USS Ainsworth (FF-1090) (same squadron different pier) and attend the decommisioning about one month later. Ainsworth made the same deployment as the John King, so we do several one month carribean drug interdiction cruises. Iraq invades Kuwait during one of them. The radio room was a madhouse. We enter a Norfolk shipyard availability. My third. I get orders back to New London, and leave the day before all PCS transfers are frozen. I have about a year left in my enlistment, and promise my wife that I will look for employment on the outside before I decide whether to reenlist. My father passes away on the night the gulf war starts. I was supposed to take the CPO exam the next day. I take emergency leave for the funeral, and take a later exam. I find out I've been selected for Chief just before i go on leave to look for a job. Decisions, decisions......With help from some family members, I land a good job in my hometown of Syracuse, NY. I wait until the last minute to tell my division officer to avoid problems. I am discharged on Sept 19, 1991. I am happy with my decision. My family needs me at home. I do miss it a little now and then. I've written down some of my thoughts and remembrances of my time on "Small Boys". I don't know if they will fit in on your page, but these memories are still pretty fresh in my mind, and I should put them down now anyway. You are welcome to use and edit them as you see fit. First, I wrote a somewhat generic description of life on a Destroyer at sea. I'm sure there are many visitors to your page who have no clue about the experience (EXPER.TXT).

I have described my time on the John King, as this was my favorite ship, Captain and crew, and the only ship I made a cruise on -we had some milestones for a ship on it's twilight cruise. (KING.TXT)

I have described my time on the Ainsworth. Not alot to tell, but Coast Guard drug interdiction operations are interesting peacetime missions.(AINS.TXT)

I've included some qoutes from famous people about Destroyers(quotes.txt)

Finally, I've got a couple of rather funny "Sea stories" to tell. This could be a whole new page for your site. (SS.TXT)

Again, use any or all as you see fit.

The Destroyer experience

We Tin-can sailors can tell sea stories for hours, but I've noticed that very often the casual observer has virtually no clue about what life aboard a man of war is about. You can watch a movie or read a book about them, but without actually getting "haze grey and underway" it is difficult (probably impossible) to describe the atmosphere of life at sea. It is my endeavor here to try anyway.

Standing on the pier, your first impression of a Destroyer is that it's not too big. Then you realize it's not that small either. Her lines are sleek, and close to the water. On the stern, you are nearly level with the pier, and would have no trouble diving into the water. On closer inspection of the hull there is evidence of scrapes and scuffles of days gone by. Small collisions, tugboat marks, old repairs, warped plating from the relentless pounding of the waves; these are the ships "Gray hair", remnants of it's life. You notice the umbilcal cords attached to the ship. Power, water, steam, phones -the necessities of life. You smell the salt air, but a few other things too. Fresh paint, fuel oil and coffee are easliy distinguished, and ever present. You can hear the ships ventilation systems running, supplying fresh air to the interior of the ship.

You cross the brow, salute the flag, then turn to salute the OOD. You notice that the "Officer of the deck" is not an "officer" at all, but a 1st Class Petty Officer. A destroyers crew is small, which provides plenty of opportunities for added responsibility not available on larger ships. The watch section is busy with the underway checklist. The rest of the crew is busy also, readying the ship for sea. Stowage for sea is vitally important. Everything gets put in a cabinet, tied, bolted, taped, glued or otherwise secured. The pitch and roll of the ship can make unattached items fall, causing damage to equipment or injury to the crew. Duct tape and string are popular for this chore. The boilers have been lit for hours, and the ship switches from shore power to ships power. The Umbilicals are detached. The "sea and anchor detail" is set: Extra lookouts, navigators and line handlers go to their stations. The last person aboard is the harbor pilot- an experienced ship driver who knows the port well. He is escorted to the bridge. Tug boats come along side to help the ship pull away from the pier. With twin screws, It is easy for a skilled Destroyer Captain to leave the pier without tugs, but much safer to use them. The brow is removed, mooring lines retrieved. "Underway, Shift colors!" is passed over the 1mc. Simultaneously, the flag is lowered from the stern flagstaff and another raised to the top of the main mast. Signal flags are raised to indicate that the ship is under it's own power.

As the ship pulls away from the pier, gulls fill the air over the gap, searching for anything that can be gleaned from the churning water. The ship begins to move forward and you feel the vibration of the screws as they bite into the water. The transit to open water is monotonous yet tense. The ship must stay to it's side of the channel and render honors to other naval ships it passes. Small boats are watched closely to avoid collisions. As you reach open water, the ship slows briefly, and a small boat comes alongside to collect the harbor pilot. The ship is on it's own.

The special sea and anchor detail is secured, and the regular underway watch is set. The pitch and roll of the ship is more pronounced now. You realize the power of the sea. It cannot be controlled, so you must learn to live with it. It takes a day or so to regain your sea legs. In the mean time, you teeter down passageways and bounce off things now and again. The passageways are narrow, with hand rails to hold on to if needed. Watch your shins as you go through the watertight doors. Ladders (there are few real stairs on a destroyer) can be tough to negotiate in rough seas.

Normal at sea routine places you in a watch rotation. Most of the crew stands two 4 hour watches per day. There is a bridge crew, navigation, propulsion plant, lookouts, radar consoles and other stations that must be manned at all times. You begin to smell food. Lunchtime. There will be a General Quarters drill after lunch. There almost always is. Everyone mans battle stations to be sure they know where to go and what to do. General quarters isn't just for battle- it is often the most logical response to any major emergency. Be it fire, flooding or battle, "GQ" puts the ship in it's highest state of readiness. All watertight doors and hatches are closed. Fire parties and damage control teams are suited up and ready.

Fire and flooding are serious concerns. There is no fire department, and nowhere to escape.

Training, maintenance, inspection and cleaning work goes on throughout the day. Each department on the ship will hold training and drills to hone their skills. Ship wide drills and battle simulations take place from time to time. Planned preventive maintenance and repair work is done. Every division has the responsibility to clean their own spaces as well as a designated common area.

Regular ships work ends at 4pm. Those not on watch are generally free for other activities. Card games, reading and other activities are common throughout the ship. Those that can find the space to stow them persue their hobbies. Guitars and other instruments can be heard from time to time. Letter writing is common. Since it is unknown when the mail will leave the ship next, some write a little bit each night. In the past, crew members would gather on the mess decks after dinner to see a movie. Modern ships have a closed circuit TV system with TV's throughout the ship. The ship has a library of several hundred feature length movies which are shown through the evening on several channels. On extended deployments, TV series and news summaries are distributed via videotape and are shown. Some ships even produce their own live shows. Still others persue additional shipboard qualifications. College level courses are often available on longer deployments.

Sunsets (and sunrises) at sea are spectacular! There is nothing to obstruct the view as the sun slowly drops below the horizon. At the final point of sunset, the light refracted through the water causes a brief kaleidoscope of color. Nighttime at sea is a fascinating and potentially dangerous time. There is no white light allowed outside at night. The lookouts condition their eyes for the dark, and any bright white light ruins their vision. It is also good training for wartime blackout conditions. Bumping around outside in the dark can be dangerous, you may not be seen if you were to fall overboard. On a clear night with no ambient light, the view of the stars extends from horizon to horizon and is spectacular.

Storms at sea can be a harrowing experience on a Destroyer. Because of the size of the ship, the weatherdecks are awash much of the time. The crew isn't allowed outside the ship for safety reasons. Violent pitching and rolling causes seasickness in many, and makes it hard to get around the ship. You can find yourself walking on the walls at times. This is why stowage for sea is so important. When heading into the wind, the deck rises and falls unpredictably causing you to "fly". This is alot of fun when climbing ladders. In severe storms, regular ships work is suspended, and the crew can be confined to their bunks and even tied to them to keep from falling out.

Underway replenishment ("Unrep") is required every three of four days when at sea. Fuel, Food and parts are needed to keep things running. A rendezvous is set up with a supply ship or fleet oiler. At the appointed place and time, the Destroyer falls in place behind and to port or starboard of the oiler. On signal from the oiler, the Destroyer pulls alongside matching course and speed exactly. The ships are less than 100 feet apart. The oiler shoots a small line across the gap using a modified M14 rifle and a spool of line. To that line is linked a larger line, and a sound powered phone cable. These are pulled across by the Destroyers forward line handling team. The phone line is hooked up and manned by phone talkers on each bridge to exchange navigation and pumping instructions. Several more lines are attached and pulled across for aft and midships stations(if used). A large wire suspension cable is pulled across and attached to the refueling gantry. Next, a large fuel hose, suspendedfrom the cable span, is hauled across. It is important for the line handling team to pull hard and fast as the male coupling tip nears the female recepticle. A halfhearted attempt won't seat the probe, and Fuel cannot be pumped. In these cases, the probe is hauled back to the oiler, and they try again. After seating the probe, a small amount of fuel is passed to verify flow, then the oiler begins pumping fuel. The same procedure is done for the other refueling station. If supplies are transffered, a slightly different procedure is used. A pulley sling is hauled across with a basket or pallet suspended below. Mail and Parts are transfered this way. in extreme circumstances, personnel can be transferred this way. This is not usually done, as there are obvious safety concerns. When refueling and transfers are complete, the breakaway procedure begins. Pumping stops, and the hoses are blown through with air pressure. The probe is released, and retracted to the oiler. Finally, the suspension cable is released along with the phone line. When the ships are completely disconnected, the Destroyer pulls ahead quickly, then executes a hard turn away from the oiler. Typically, the Warship will play music over the ships 1MC as a "Breakaway" song, usually something having to do with the ships name or mission. This is a morale builder and a source of pride for the crew. (on the USS John King, the song was Chuck Berry's Johnie B. Goode)

These days, the more common way of transferring people and supplies is called "VertRep", Or vertical replenishment. Many modern Destroyers and Frigates have Helicopters and flight decks. They are designed for reconnaisance and Anti-submarine warfare, although they are often used for mail, personnel and parts transfers. Since Helicopters have only been used on Escort ships since about the mid-60's, older Destroyers had no flight decks. They would have items lowered from the Helicopter to the deck. Vertreps from supply ships are done this way on most ships, as pallets are slung beneath the supply ships Helo. The ships function in this case is to take a course that puts a consistent wind across the flight deck area, and to keep the incoming supplies moving off the deck.

Another task that escort ships are called upon for is Plane Guard. Carriers must maintain a steady course and speed during flight operations to keep. An escort ship will follow behind a carrier during flight operations to act as lifeboat. In case of a bad cat shot, deck overshoot or man overboard, the plane guard makes the rescue so the carrier can continue launch and recovery of aircraft.

Destroyers are designed as versatile warships. Highly maneuverable, shallow drafting and fast, they are called upon to do much of the mundane and dangerous. Anti-submarine warfare, picket duty, shore bombardment, surface warfare, plane guard, anti-air, special forces operations, search and rescue, all are Destroyer missions. The small size of the ship also allows a destroyer to enter ports that larger ships cannot.

-Eric V. Peck ET1(sw)

USS King

The first time I saw the USS John King, she was high and dry in a Norfolk drydock. Not very impressive. It was my only chance to see her out of the water. I had just received my orders, and would be transfering there in a few weeks. I went aboard, and the ship was a mess. Cables and hoses strung all over, and very dirty. It was smaller than I thought it would be. I learned of the ships's schedule which include a mediteranian deployment and decommissioning.

Refresher training and pre-deployment exercises in the Carribean went fairly well. All the ships of the battle group steamed and conducted drills together. A low point was the day of the infamous 16" gun explosion aboard the Iowa. We weren't close enough to render assistance, but we were kept updated all day long. The crew was noticably quiet and subdued. It was a soboring event for everyone.

John King was a two Gun destroyer. The only one to deploy with that battle group. We were also the oldest ship in the group. The crew prided itself on how accurate our gunners were. We scored well on our NGFS (Naval gunfire support) qualifications. Coordinated nighttime fire missions were a sight to see. We also did well on surface and air target shoots.

The Med deployment (task force 3-89) began 31 May 1989. Ships in the task force were:

(Same as left to right on the photo) USS Aylwin, USS Virginia, USS San Jacinto, USS Klakring, USS Groton, USS Shenandoah, USS Butte, USS Shreveport, USS Coral Sea, USS Monongahela, USS Barnstable County, USS John King, USS Nassau, USS Kauffman, USS Thomas S. Gates, USS Mississippi, USS Ainsworth. USS Iowa was also deployed.

We were scheduled for a number of port visits. We were most excited about the planned visits to Haifa, Israel and to Sevastopol, Russia on the black sea. This would be the first soviet port visit by a US ship since WWII. We never made either visit. Things heated up in Lebanon, and we spent the time cutting holes in the water offshore. Other port visits included: Marseilles, Toulon, Golf Juan, and Cannes, France. Monte Carlo, Monaco. Izmir and Antalya, Turkey. And a rare visit to Bizerte, Tunisia where we hosted a diplomatic reception on-board for numerous dignitaries. (see Picture).

There were a number of`events that stick out in my mind about this deployment. The first was a cold iron maintenance availability performed while underway. (see Pictures) We did this by tying up alongside USS Shenandoah (AD-44) bow to stern. We would drift during the day, then Shenandoah would get underway at night and pull us back to our original position. This proved the navy's ability to make repairs in an area without friendly ports.

During the NATO exercise Display Determination 89', John King practiced clandestine insertion operations with Navy seals, Marine recon and other NATO special forces personnel. Also during display determination, we played a surface warfare "game" wiith several other deployed warships. The object of the game was to mount a successful attack against the opposing team of two ships. For this exercise, I think we were the "bad guys". We transited around the backside of the island of Corsica to our starting position for the game. The other ships were south of us in the central Mediterranean. At the start of the exercise, we went into complete EMCON (radio silence, including radar) We occasionally used our Air search Radar in a low power mode which made it a reasonably effective surface search radar. We shadowed a merchant ship closely which would make the two ships appear as one on RADAR. As we neared our "target"(a recently commisioned AEGIS Cruiser), we pulled away from our "shadow" at flank speed, lit up the cruiser with our fire control radars and opened fire with both 5" guns and standard missiles. The exercise Referee's recorded hit after hit while the cruiser struggled to respond. I don't remember the actual scoring, but the 28 year old Destroyer did some serious damage to the brand new Cruiser (simulated of course) before they brought weapons to bear. Hopefully a soboring learning experience for them, and a source of considerable pride for us.

Following the hanging of Colonel Higgens in Beirut, the sixth fleet commenced contingency operations off the Lebanese coast. The situation was tense as we waited to see what our response would be. On one occasion as I recall, they were going to send the Battleship Iowa in close to the shore so she could be seen cruising back and forth. If she drew fire from shore she would respond with 16" counterbattery fire. There was considerable concern that we would be vulnerable to attack from small boats or low flying small planes. All through the deployment, we would occassionally be shadowed by Soviet warships and intelligence gathering ships. We stumbled across a Soviet ship refueling from a tanker. The two ships were anchored to a bouy located in international waters. Many soviet era warships don't have the ability to do underway replenishment as most all U.S. ships do. In an effort to increase battle group security and integrity during the contingency operations, the smaller ships of the force began taking turns mooring to the Buoy to deny the Soviets it's use. Since it was in international waters, there was nothing they could say. We nicknamed the buoy "BENO station". Ships would moor for 24 hours at a time, then swap with very quick and precise maneuvering.

We began the transit home on October 31 1989. Enroute, we had the chance to prove our stuff with a gunfire exercise firing 40 rounds continuous from both guns. We also made a high speed run, turning 8 turns over 33 Knots (we figure about 37 Knots). This exceeded the builders trial speed- we were better than new!!!! We returned home November 10th. After a short standdown, we began decommissioning activities. Ironically, that starts with a full round of readiness inspections. The crew began to shrink, as they transferred to new duties. Offices were gutted and painted, much of the electronic equipment was removed and sent for overhaul to be used in other ships.

Some of the more interesting work involved climbing aloft to remove the UHF and satcom antennas. One of these was at the very top of the ships mast. With no crane to help, we had to go up and get it ourselves. I was the only ET left who wasn't petrified to go up. It was windy and cold that day, But sunny. The antenna came off easy enough, although it was tough to lower down. The ship rocked gently side to side, which was greatly exagerated at the top! I decided to try and sit on the small plate atop the mast and take a look around. It took a few minutes of careful maneuvering, but I did it. What a view! I transferred shortly therafter to the USS Ainsworth (FF-1090. Same port, different pier.

My memories of the John King wouldn't be complete without discussing the crew. This was the best crew I was ever a part of. There was considerable pride and professionalism. The Officers were competent and eager to listen and learn (if necessary), and the Captain, CDR Funke, was as dedicated to the ship and crew as they come. Although he had never met my wife, he recognized her and knew her name when she came aboard at the end of the deployment. Just one of many examples. I won't soon forget, nor will I regret those times and experiences.

-Eric V. Peck ET1(sw)

USS Ainsworth

I was only aboard the Ainsworth a short time. One of our most frequent missions was Drug interdiction. We would take aboard a US Coast Guard detachment complete with boats and personnel and head for the Carribean. These cruises would last for 3-4 weeks, and if we were lucky we'd hit a liberty port on the way back. Our RADAR would be used for detecting low flying, or eratic flying aircraft. Our Helo could go ahead of us and check out certain contacts. If there was intelligence on a specific shipment of drugs, we would try to intercept the ship or boat and have the Coast Guard board them. US ships could be stopped and boarded at any time. Some other countries required that we ask permission from their diplomatic corps before boarding. Of course, the country could refuse. In which case they would be let go. If the country gave permission, the ship could be boarded and searched even over the Captains refusal. If the ship did not lie to, we could be authorized to disable the ship with gunfire, or by other less serious means. It was (and is) serious business. Our CO authorized us to purchase a video camera in order to tape the boarding operations. He felt it would be useful if there were any questions about any of the events surrounding a boarding. We would set up and standby for hours at a time. When the Coast Guard decided to stop a ship, we would man fire hoses and 50 Cal. machine guns topside just in case. The fire hoses were to spray water down the ships stack and disable her boilers. A little more subtle than gun fire. One incident invloved a small coastal freighter with a history of smuggling drugs. The ship refused to stop. We followed the ship through the night while the Coast Guard got permission to board. We watched the ship closely with night vision equipment to see if they threw anything overboard. We got permission the next day. The Captain of the freighter was notified, but still refused to stop. We pulled up close alongside, and launched the CG Zodiac. They finally slowed the ship and allowed the coasties to board. Nothing was found, -either they hide it real good, or they were just pulling our chain. Another time, we stopped a small sailboat. The search was negative. A couple of days later, we unwittingly stopped the same sailboat. It was a retired Dr. and his wife. We were sorry for bothering them again, so we sent them a couple of trashbags of ice and some souvenirs from the ship. One evening, we were following a possible candidate for boarding, when the Sonar operators reported a submarine contact. There was little chance of the surface contact running away, so we tracked the submarine for a while - excellent training for the Sonar team. We determined it was a diesel submarine belonging to one of the South American Navies. Afterward, we went on to board the other ship.

On one particular evening, our radio room went wild. Iraq had invaded Kuwait. We completed our Coast Guard committments and went home to Norfolk. We were scheduled for a shipyard availabilty. I transferred off Ainsworth the day before all transfers were frozen for the Gulf War.

-Eric Peck ET1(sw)

Sea Stories

I have never been one who gets seasick. The sight and smell of Barf however, is hard for me to handle without getting sick. So, Imagine my dismay one stormy winters morning in the north Atlantic when, on my way to eat breakfast, I encounter a rather sizable pool of chunder in the middle of the main deck passageway! We were rocking and rolling pretty good. Although i tried to step around it, the ship took a roll and i stepped right in it and lost my footing. I landed right in the middle of it, and bruised my knee. I was unable to get up for a minute or two, so I was quite a sight! I never did get sick, but I required a shower and missed breakfast.

I think every ship has had a phantom "crapper" at one time or another. You don't know if it's a medical problem, or a rather gross expression of his opinion, but he exists none the less. Occasionally, a pile of feces will show up in the most unusual places. Shower stalls, berthing compartment, outside a particular officers stateroom, the examples are endless. What i can't figure out is, how come they never seem to get caught?

A PO3 who worked for me had a habit of shoving the bill of his ballcap in the waistline of his dungarees when he wasn't wearing it. Many sailors do this. One morning, "Homer" wore a Dixie cup to quarters. One of the men asked him where his ballcap went. It seems Homer stopped for a nature call. When he got up to inspect his handy work, he saw that he had filled his Ballcap with crap. That was bad enough, but then he tried to flush it, and of course, it wouldn't go down. He had to pull it out by hand, and throw it overboard.

The ET shop on my ship had the responsibility for maintaining and operating the ships CCTV system. With nearly 500 movies, and two channels, it was fairly easy to play a decent variety of entertainment. We tried to play requests on one channel whenever possible. We tried to be fair about it as much as possible. During one underway period, we had a rash of requests to see "Bloodsport". One of Jean Claude Vandammes first movies. The movie got played every night for a week. We tried to explain that the movie was being requested frequently, and not always by the same people. Some didn't get to see it because of watches, etc. We started to get crank calls on Wednesday night. On Saturday night we had enough. We locked the door, and took the phone off the hook. On one channel, we played sappy love stories, on the other, they got non-stop "Bloodsport". This went on for about two runs of the movie. When it started it's third run, I was called to the wardroom over the 1MC. When I got there, all of the junior Officers where on the sofa watching the love story. My division officer asked me what I was trying to do to him! It seems the CO had a request, Play a certain movie instead of bloodsport, and never show bloodsport again. We were off the hook!!!!

-Eric V. Peck ET1(sw) Rich, Here's what the pictures are:

A picture of my Grandfather Fred H. Peck, Coxswain USN -1918

pictures from the flu outbreak aboard USS Georgia -July/August 1918

ussga1, ussga2.jpg
-pictures of USS Georgia -World War 1 era battleship (these are actually postcards).

This is the text of a letter sent to my Grandmother from a shipmate of my Grandfather. My grandfather served aboard the Battleship USS Georgia during the first world war. I never knew my Grandfather- He passed away before I was born. The letter and the pictures paint a picture very different from anything we would ever have experienced in the modern Navy.

I have transcribed this in Honor of My Grandfather: Fred H. Peck, Coxswain, USN

Eric Peck Feb 2, 1997

Yuma, Colorado 2-1-44 Mrs. Fred H. Peck, Constantia, NY Dear Madam, I served aboard the USS Georgia with Fred H. Peck, and on our first trip across conveying troops we lost 14 men with the flu. Fred had it, and was awfully bad. I took him water two or three times a day. The sick bay was so small they had hammocks on the deck. Some swung up about 2ft, some four ft. & some 6ft. The air was awfully foul and a well person couldn't hardly stand it in there. Fred had a high fever and was thankfull for what I did for him.

They left the men in the sick bay until they knew they wouldn't live, then put them in a wire basket and pull(ed) them up on the look out tower where they could get good air. This was in Aug. or Sept. 1918. Fred coughed alot after that.

Fred & I was transferred from the USS Georgia Nov 15th, 1918 to Norfolk, Va. Then about Dec 1, 1919, we were transfered to receiving ship, Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, NY. I left Fred June 28, 1918, and I was sent to St. Louis, MO. and discharged there July 1, 1919.

Yours Resp.,
Otis Paul McKinley