Richard Swanton
[email protected]
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Date: Thu, 27 Mar 1997 14:41:21 +0900
Hi Richard,
Attachment Converted: c:\eudora\attach\717.txt
Best Regards,
I was very surprised to see your pages "Destroyers OnLine". I
had been searching for something about my old ship for a few months.
I was aboard the Chandler in late 1965 to mid 1966.
I will relate to you some of my "early navy years" and
how they touch the Chandler. I enlisted in the navy in
the Summer of '65 and went to boot camp in San Diego (why the navy?
My Dad and Uncle were in the Navy during WW2 in the Pacific) After
boot, I got an electronics school, but during that period, all
assignments were deferred about a year and _every_ body went to the fleet.
Anyway I was sent to the Phillipines to join the Chandler DD717. When
I got there she had already left!! This must have been about the
first week of October '65. Although scheduled to pick up about 5 of
us, she had very suddenly departed. After wasting about 10 days in
trying to make a baseball field out of a swamp (typical transient duty)
they shipped about 15 of us out on an oiler to catch our respective
ships. My typical luck, the Chandler wasn't to be found. The oiler was
going back to Subic so I got highlined (ship to ship transfer at sea)
to the USS Blue (an older 2100 class destroyer). Then highlined again
to the supply ship USS Sacramento (AOE-1) Finally highlined again to
the Chandler. As your history states we were in and out of Hong Kong
a couple of times and we did alot of plane guarding for the
Bon Homme Richard. And of course who could ever forget that boring
picket duty on "Dixie" station. The worst part of that picket duty
were the turns! The ship moves so slow that steerage is only barely
possible. At the end of a run, you would have to come about and then
the rolling would start. 30-40 degree rolls were common.
I was also there for the Jan '66 fire support and I definitely remember
the instance you mentioned in your text because my GQ station was
in the forward 5 inch gun mount.
I did return with the Chandler to Long Beach in early '66. As I remember
3 ships came back together, the Chandler, the Hollister or Mansfield(?)
and also the USS Blue. We came back via Guam, Hawaii to Long Beach.
Again as I remember, we ran into very heavy weather from Subic to Guam.
The Blue, a smaller destroyer had a very hard time of it. I wish I
could send you some pix, but they are long since lost. I had one
of the Blue standing on her tail! you could
actually see daylight under her bridge area! and another of the other
ship with blue water to the bridge! the bow was completely underwater..
(we prayed alot ... and thanked the builders).
When the Chandler was to be re-deployed in mid '66 I was transferred off
and went to the USS Long Beach for 4-5 months until my school started..
I later went to crypto school and had duty stations in Iceland and
Japan (I'm still in Japan) but no more ship duty. Spent a total of
6 active years in the Navy.
I really do have fond memories of that destroyer duty, I'm really
glad I was able to spend time on one of the older ships.
For info, my name is Richard Swanton, aboard the T. E. Chandler from
late 1965 until June of '66. I was a Seaman at the time assigned to
the deck force, stood my duty watches on the bridge, helmsmen etc.
GQ station in the forward 5inch gun and scrapped and painted a great deal
in my spare time!!!
I hope this is interest to you, sorry I really can't add to your history,
I wasn't in a position to "know" anything at the time!
Again sorry I have no pictures to send.
From Tokyo Japan on a rainy afternoon...
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