Greetings from the Captain
Since assuming command in early June I have looked forward with great pleasure to greeting all the families and love ones of the men who serve on BOYD. Although it is my desire to meet and talk personally with as many of you as possible, this of course must wait until we return to San Diego. As our cruise approaches the home stretch and we prepare to sail for the "land down under" I am now free to discuss some of our tasks and, not without pride, some of accomplishments while in the Western Pacific. Regrettably it would be virtually impossible in this letter to single out each and every member of the BOYD’s crew for the special recognition they so richly deserve; everyone is doing his job, and more, in an admirable fashion. I am sure you will understand if I just mention a few individuals as being representative of the whole.
As you know, BOYD set her course for the Western Pacific on April 20th, 1966 and arrived in Yokosuka, Japan on May 8th, where she received the usual ‘upkeep’ time allotted Navy ships after a long voyage. Following this, BOYD served in Hong Kong as an administrative support ship for our naval forces visiting the colony, and later called at Kaohsiung, a port city in southern Taiwan. Thus far she has also visited Subic Bay in the Philippines and has paid a return call to Yokosuka. The majority of the time, however, has been spent in the South China Sea in direct support of our effort in Vietnam. BOYD’s duties in these waters have been varied and most demanding, including naval shore bombardment, gunnery support for the larger ships, routine screening and patrol duties, and above all, high speed operations with our carriers in the Tonkin Gulf. We are all proud of the fact that we have made all of our operational commitments and have done our job with true professionalism - the end result of all the training and preparation back in San Diego.
The men of the Operations Department have indeed maintained a high level of combat readiness: When not engaged in an actual mission they trained day and night in order to prepare for any situation that might arise. Their first big task was encountered when BOYD was assigned as administrative support ship in Hong Kong. While most of us were enjoying shore leave and shopping in the city, the ship’s Combat Information Center, Radio, Signal Bridge, Ship’s Office, Post Office and Medical personnel were working around the clock rendering services to all of the U.S. Navy ships in port. Close liaison was required with British navy personnel stationed in the crown colony and our men soon became well versed in the use of the "Queens English". I might add that these men did find some time to get ashore, and were able to contribute to the depletion of the household treasury, judging from the number of packages I now see wedged in every corner of the ship.
During our first lengthy at-sea period, BOYD ‘rode shotgun’ for the USS Chicago, a fine missile cruiser who appreciated the additional protection afforded by our more conventional guns. Extensive operational experience and training was accomplished during this period, particularly in the combat information center and on the signal bridge.
While on our second assignment in the South China Sea, Operations Department personnel were able to assist the Vietnamese cause in a more direct fashion, as BOYD shelled several Viet Cong strongholds. Radarmen Third Class HOLCOME and ABBOTT, specially trained in shore bombardment procedures, talked directly with the gunfire spotters ashore, and to men calling the shots from low flying aircraft. One shore based spotter came under heavy enemy fire during a mission, and the chatter of automatic weapons could be clearly heard over the radio. BOYD often communicated with ground troops using battery powered radios and when the batteries ran low Electronics Technicians Third Class STUTZMAN and KUESSEL manufactured a power supply using two number ten tin cans procured from the ships cook, and a few odds and ends, and a lot of thought. American ingenuity triumphs again! In the meantime a Navy ship cannot function without its paperwork and the ship’s office, under the supervision of Chief Petty Office SERVAS, has been steadily grinding it out. Believe it or not, they have consumed over 45,000 sheets of paper to date! Radio and signal personnel, not to be outdone, have received over 5,000 messages and have transmitted over 1,200. The radio teletype writers alone have used up 228 miles of teletype paper!
During the cruise two Operations men have raised their right hands and taken the oath of reenlistment, with Radarman Second Class PENNINGTON breaking records as he received a check for seven thousand dollars as reenlistment bonus.
News from home is always important, of course, but it held special significance for Radarman First Class BELL, Signalman Second Class REED, Postal Clerk Second Class WALLACE, Electronics Technician Third Class LLOYD and Electronics Technician Seaman CANNON, who all became proud fathers during the cruise. This is the fourth child for the BELL’s and the second for the WALLACE’s and the first for the REED’s, LLOYD’s and CANNON’s. Congratulations are also in order for nineteen men of the Operations Department who have earned promotions recently. I know you will forgive me if they aren’t all listed here - my congratulations are no less sincere.
The weapons department, too has distinguished itself during the cruise. The boatswains mates and deck seaman have consistently won high praise from the commanding officers of underway replenishment ships for their expertise during the more than fifty times we were alongside logistic support ships. The healthy competition between the forward refueling and re-provisioning station, led by Boatswain’s Mate First Class ELLIS, and the aft station, led by Boatswains Mate Second Class SKATES, was very keen and added to the excitement of this always interesting evolution. We have not announced a decision as to which station was best-primarily to keep the peace! Boatswain’s Mate Third Class ROBERTS has supervised the amidships high-line station with alacrity and has been largely responsible for he smooth ship to ship personnel transfers we have conducted at sea on several occasions. The following quote from a letter I received in September from the commanding officer of a large stores ship is typical of the praise received by the deck force: "My observation tells that you run a fine ship-certainly your deck force has no peers in handling cargo rigs and cargo".
Perhaps the most distinguished visitor to come to us by this means was the Honorable Paul H. Nitze, Secretary of the Navy, who visited us for a brief period while in the Tonkin Gulf. I might add that Mr. Nitze seemed most impressed by the high spirit and morale of the men in BOYD.
Although the pace of deck force operations was fast and furious, Boatswains Mate Third Class SINGLETON and Seamen KAWELO, MOTTA, BROCK and CRAWFORD all found time to earn advancements in a very difficult rating group.
The gunners mates and fire control technicians are justifiably proud of their performance during BOYD’s brief but intensive tour as shore bombardment ship in Vietnam. All request for gunnery were promptly answered and all projectiles landed where the spotters ashore wanted them. The spotters were unanimous in the praise of BOYD’s accuracy, using such words as "beautiful" and "smashing" in the descriptive efforts. "Beautiful" performance of course means teamwork and quick thinking, and the gunners, lead by Senior Chief Petty Officer DYER, Chief Petty Officer MARKEL, and Gunners Mate First Class BEASLEY teamed up with the fire control technicaians, headed by Chief Petty Officer GARDNER and Fire Control Technician First Class CRIST to do the job in an effective manner. The mount captains, Petty Officers MYER, FARMER, FAULKNER and BENNETT deserve special mention here for keeping their five inch guns firing steadily and with deadly accuracy.
Fire Control Technicians Second Class CARTER and KUGELMAN, and Fire Control Technician Third Class DAVENPORT have certainly earned kudos and a special "Well Done" for keeping a tremendous amount of the complex and aging equipment in top operating shape. Of the ordnance gang, Chief MARKEL, Gunners Mate First Class MYERS and Gunners Mate Third Class BARGERSTOCK were all advanced in rate during the cruise.
Master Chief Petty Officer CREAN, the senior enlisted man aboard and a proud father for the fifth time, supervises the efforts of the sonarmen and torpedomen of BOYD. These men had the opportunity to display their skill and knowledge during two periods of anti-submarine operations in the South China Sea. Long, unheralded hours of hard work and training were illuminated by the successful tracking of the submarine by Sonarmen SCHROEDER, HECKO, BAKER and TAYLOR. These men provided the opportunity, Torpedomen TWEEDY and RANEY grasped it and fired their exercise torpedoes with excellent results.
Probably the hardest working people in the ship are the engineers- the proverbial "black gang". A major contribution to the ship was made by A-Gang of the engineering department shortly before the ship deployed. In just three short weeks they installed, without any outside assistance, 35 tons of air conditioning throughout the ship, planning where to pace them, installing piping and running electrical leads. This has been a real boost in morale as the messing and berthing spaces are now much more comfortable and easier to live in, a very welcome relief. In addition to the installation of 9 units of air conditioners, A-Gang installed numerous other equipment, including two fire and flushing pumps, an aluminum overhead on the bridge, etc. A testimony to the ability of A-Gang was the large number of other ships that visited BOYD in order to find out our installation procedures.
Hard work and plenty of it has distinguished the cruise for the men of the engineering department and they in turn have distinguished themselves by keeping he ship in fine tune throughout. A typical example of the praise they received is the following received from Rear Admiral COUSINS, Commander Carrier Division Nine, "Your find performance in support of ROOSEVELT’s flying operations for the past 34 days was most impressive. Of particular note, was the OUTSTANDING manner in which your engineers were able to respond to the high speed bells which were required so much of the time because of the low wind conditions. Well Done". During this period of high speed carrier operations off Vietnam, most of the engineers spent a minimum of eight hours per day in spaces having temperatures in excess of 130 degrees. While these conditions are tiring for the men, machinery also suffers, and many of our engineers had to spend long hours of the liberty time in port performing vital repair and maintenance tasks. They were usually a tired group of men by the time they put on their dress uniforms and went ashore for some well earned relaxation. Their efforts have not been in vain. Our reputation for being where we are needed when we are needed is one of which we are all proud, but it is the engineers who deserve the large share of the praise for making it possible. Along this line the evaporator gang turned to with imagination, knowledge and labor to increase the output 3,500 gallons pre day above rated output of the distilling plant, affectionately known as "OLD FAITHFUL". Further, hundreds of thousands of man hours of course were devoted to just keeping everything operation properly.
One indication of how much steaming we have been doing in the Western Pacific is the amount of fuel we have consumed. BOYD has refueled forty five times at this writing, mostly while underway, and has consumed over 2,500,000 gallons of fuel, quite a fuel bill. To mention even a few of the engineers who have performed so well would be impossible-all have given unstintingly of themselves in their successful efforts to keep BOYD running. Their morale and spirit is of the highest order and is perhaps best demonstrated by their unanimous and spontaneous contribution to a needy mission in Kaohsiung, Taiwan and by an equally generous donation of whole blood to the troops in Vietnam. Even with all this they still found time to study and achieve a remarkable high promotion percentage during the cruise. The engineers are a group of which we can all be proud.
I think a few comments concerning the functions of the Supply Department might be of interest. The mission the Supply Department is, of course, service, and service has been provided in full measure. The services required to keep a destroyer operating are many and over a wide variety of operations. The storekeepers have ordered and received a total of $41,417.05 worth of repair parts and consumable, ranging from electrical generators to toothpicks. All of these items have been required to keep the ships equipment and machinery operating and to meet the everyday needs of the crew.
A hard working crew creates quite a laundry problem, and clean clothes on a steady basis are another service provided by the Supply Department. The ships laundry has been operating 24 hours a day and has overcome such problems as aging machinery and an ever present water shortage. The ships barber, too, is giving his all, thus far performing the trim and clip operations 3,314 times.
Of course the men must be fed three times a day, and the commissarymen, always flexible and prepared, have served hot, man-sized meals early, late and in between to meet the varied schedule of the ship. Off-hand, I don’t know of anyone who has lost weight, although some of certainly could stand to lose a few pounds. A glance at the following figures might give you an idea of what it takes to keep over 250 hungry sailors well fed and happy. Since leaving San Diego, the crew has done justice to some 15,683 pounds of potatoes, 8,504 pounds of beef, 3,417 loaves of bread, 1,526 pounds of butter and 1,965 dozens of eggs, to mention just a few items.
Probably the item dearest to any sailors heart is his pay. Our friendly disbursing crew has so far paid out over $300,000.00 in cash. Some of this money has remained in the ship, with our retail store providing such necessitates as soap, razor blades etc., along with a limited assortment of luxury items at greatly reduced prices. Receipts in this store have totaled $14,907.70 and the ship’s soft drink machine has taken in some $3,300. Most of the profits occurring form these sales are deposited to the recreation fund for the overall benefit of the crew.
I have attempted in the preceding paragraphs to give you a little more of an idea of our job in the Western Pacifier then you may have had. I sincerely regret being unable to write each of you personally to let you know what a fine job your husband or son is doing but, as you can see, there is an awful lot of territory to cover. We are all eagerly awaiting our return to San Diego, of course, and I hope I shall be able to meet each of you then.
Most sincerely,
G. G. ROBERTS
Commander, U.S. Navy
Commanding Officer