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Bob Shetron
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The Following Narrative By - Bob
Shetron
Korean War Era - Bass Veteran
TWO HEROES -- ONE SHIP 
Born in Chicago Illinois, on the 4th
of July 1916, LCDR Harry Brinkley
Bass USN, graduated from the U.S.
Naval Academy in 1938. He served
aboard the U.S.S. New
Orleans
and the U.S.S. Farragut
for two years before reporting to
the Naval Air Station, Pensacola,
Florida, for flight training. He
was designated a Naval Aviator on 7
February 1941.
On 17 February 1941
Brinkley Bass was assigned to
Bombing Squadron Two aboard the
U.S.S. Lexington
(CV-2). In the Pacific he
participated in missions against
enemy installations and shipping
while flying from the deck of the Lexington.
Most notable was the raid on Lae and
Salamaua on the northern coast of
New Guinea. He was credited with
sinking an enemy ship during the
attacks on 10 March 1942--an action
for which he received the Navy
Cross. Later, Lt (jg) Bass received
a gold star in lieu of a second Navy
Cross for his part in helping to
sink the Japanese light carrier
Shoho on 7 May 1942 in the
Battle of the Coral Sea. He flew
from the Lexington
until her loss at the Coral Sea.
His next duty was with
an escort fighter squadron attached
to the U.S.S. SANTEE
(cve-29). On 14 December
1942 he became commander of his
squadron which fought through the
North African landings and
successfully hunted German
submarines, surface raiders and
blockade runners in the Atlantic.
On 8 April 1944 Lt.
Commander Bass was transferred to
command of VF-74 aboard the U.S.S.
Kasaan Bay ( CVE-69). On 20
August 1944 LCDR Bass was killed
while leading a strafing mission
during the invasion of Southern
France.
LCDR Bass’ decorations
included the Navy Cross and Gold
Star in lieu of a second Navy Cross,
Silver Star, Distinguished Flying
Cross, Air Medal, Letter of
Commendation, Purple Heart and
various area campaign and service
medals.
In October 1996 the
people in a small French village
near where his plane went down,
dedicated a memorial to LCDR. Harry
Brinkley Bass.
Born in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, on 7 March 1835, Lieutenant
Antonio Carlos de Mariz e Barros,
Marinha do Brazil (Navy of Brazil)
was a descendant of daring seamen.
He completed his studies at the
Naval School in 1852 and was
commissioned to Corvette “Bahiana”.
From then on he spent his whole life
at sea until his death at the hands
of the enemy.
Although, Mariz e Barros
could have had the protection of his
father, Vice Admiral Joaquim Jose
Inacio, Viscount of Inhauma, he
never accepted it. It was at sea
that he conquered glory and it was
in the waters of a river that he
fell fighting.
Mariz e Barros’
decorations included the Order of
the Rose. In 1860, he was awarded
the title of Knight of the Honor
Legion from the French Empire and
the Empire Order of the Cross.
From 1852 to 1866, Mariz
e Barros served in twenty-one ships,
almost always in the position of
Commanding Officer.
Among the various
missions in which Mariz e Barros
participated, the most prominent
ones were the pursuing of ships
carrying African slaves,
hydrographic surveying and above
all, the Uruguay campaign in 1864
and the Paraguay campaign in 1866.
His last commission was
the command of Battleship “Tamandare”,
in 1865. In 1866 he sailed up the
Prata River. Engaging in combat,
his ship turned out to be enemy’s
favorite target. He responded with
heavy fire from the “TAMANDARE”.
There was heavy firing from both
sides. The “Tamandare”
casemate was hit. Mariz e Barros
fell seriously wounded.
Smoking a cigar and
turning down the chloroform, Mariz e
Barros watched lucidly, the
amputation of his left leg.
However, he did not resist the
serious injuries and died 28 March
1866. His last words were a request
to the doctor who operated on him:
“Tell My Father That I Have Always
Honored His Name”.
LCDR bass did not go by
his first name but went by Brinkley
or Brink. Hence the ship named in
his honor was named Brinkley Bass.
The U.S.S. Brinkley
Bass
(DD-887) was built in Orange Texas
by the Consolidated Steel and
Shipbuilding Corporation. She was
launched on 26 May 1945 and
commissioned on 01 October 1945.
Too late to participate in WWII
combat, she was assigned to the
Pacific Fleet where she participated
in many fleet activities from 1945
to 1950.
U.S.S. BRINKLEY BASS
made her mark in Naval History
during the Korean War. Operating
with the Seventh Fleet, fast carrier
task force 77, she was Flag Ship of
Des. Div. 52. Her call sign was
Doughboy. While attached to the
bombardment group at Wonsan she was
taken under fire by enemy shore
batteries numerous times. On two
occasions she suffered hits
resulting in the loss of one crewman
and a number of wounded. She raised
so much havoc and destruction and
brought such misery to the North
Koreans and Chinese, that she became
known as the “Boss of Wonsan”.
From June 1961 to May
1962 she was at the Puget Sound
Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, WA,
undergoing the Fleet Rehabilitation
and Modernization program known as
FRAM I.
From 1965 to 1971 she
operated with distinction with the
Seventh Fleet once again showing her
gunnery skills while on the gun line
during the Viet Nam War.
In 1965 she was involved
in a collision with the destroyer Waddell
which destroyed her bow back to
frame 20. The replacement bow came
from a Fletcher class destroyer that
was being scrapped. To match the
width properly, the Fletcher bow had
to be one frame longer. This made
the Brinkley
Bass
the longest of all of the
Gearing Class Destroyers.
On 3 December 1973 the
U.S. Ensign was lowered and the
Brazilian flag was raised. U.S.S. Brinkley
Bass
(DD-887) became CT
Mariz e Barros D-26 of the
Marinha do Brazil.
Mariz e Barros or the
“WIZARD” as she was affectionately
known throughout the fleet, joined
the Second Squadron of Destroyers
Force. Through the years, all of
the crew have served with dedication
and professionalism. They honored
her glorious past, turning her into
one of the most effective units of
Marinha do Brazil.
CT Mariz e Barros D-26
performed with distinction during
naval operations with modern ships
of the US Navy and Venezuelan Navy.
She maintained high speeds for many
days and was complimented by the
Commanding Officer of the American
Task Group, Rear Admiral W.R. Fladd,
who issued the following statement.
“I look at her with unbelievable
nostalgia. She is a genuine example
of American ship construction
ability during World War II, and,
more than this, the dedication and
maintenance capability of the
Brazilian Navy”. Still
today she is remembered for her long
and glorious history by the U.S.S.
Brinkley
Bass (DD-887) Association.
At the Marinha does
Brazil Base Naval do Rio de
Janeiro, Ilha de Mocangue Niteroi -
Rio de Janeiro, 1000 hrs 1 September
1997, officers and enlisted
personnel in dress whites manned the
rails of all the ships in the
harbor. CT
Mariz E Barros D-26 (The
“WIZARD”) in full dress and with a
fresh coat of paint and her brass
polished like gold was ready to
celebrate the end of her 52
continuous years of service to two
great seafaring nations.
Welcomed on the dock by
representatives of the Brazilian
Navy were six guests from the United
States, who had come to say their
final farewell. All were former
crew members of
Mariz E. Barros when she was
U.S.S.
Brinkley Bass DD-887.
Present were, Al Davis (Plankowner),
Bill Kuhn (1973) Charles Lewis (Viet
Nam), Bob Shetron (Korea), Richard
St.Clair (Plankowner) and Earl
Swanson (1947).
Two, Three and Four star
Admirals Including Admiral
Chagasteles, the Chief of Naval
Operations of The Marinha do Brazil
were piped aboard. Fifteen of the
past commanding officers joined the
assemblage on the fantail.
As the bugle calls
sounded and the shrill call of the
boatswain’s pipe filled the air, she
sat with her twin 5’’ mounts, no’s.
51 and 53 guns pointing skyward. It
seemed that Mariz E Barros was
straining at her moorings wanting to
once again feel the open sea and run
with the bone in her teeth. This
was not to be. Even though she was
one of the longest lived and most
efficient destroyer designs ever
built for any navy, (the 2250 ton
Gearing class) time had passed her
by. No longer can her oil fired
boilers compete with the efficiency
of new gas turbines. Her weapons
systems are no match for those being
produced today. Her hull plating is
wrinkled and worn thin from the
years of pounding seas, but she
still sat there proud and glistening
in the bright Brazilian sun,
awaiting her final moment as a
commissioned man of war.
When all of the admirals
and other dignitaries were aboard,
the ceremonies started with the
welcoming of the crew members of
U.S.S.
Brinkley Bass. After
speeches were made and salutes
exchanged, the first Commanding
Officer, Mauro Affonso Gomes Lages
and the last Commanding Officer,
Gilberto Malaquias stood by the
staff on the fantail. To the
strains of the Brazilian National
Anthem the two of them lowered the
national colors for the last time.
As the colors were folded,
Mariz E Barros sounded a long
blast on her horn and all of the
ships in the harbor joined together
with their horns and whistles to
honor her. As the sounds died
away, her siren shrieked three last
times as if she was crying.
After the ceremonies
were concluded, a reception was held
on the after deck of a near-by
ship. The U.S. shipmates had the
pleasure of meeting the Brazilian
Admirals and other officers
including the past Commanding
Officers of CT
Mariz E Barros. The
Brazilians commented that the U.S.S.
Brinkley Bass shipmates were
the only U.S. crew members to ever
have accepted the invitation and
attended one of their
decommissionings of an ex U.S. War
Ship.
The Brazilian Navy
presented the U.S.S.
Brinkley Bass Association
with a brass, mounted coat of arms
of CT
Mariz E Barros D-26. Each of
the U.S.S. Brinkley Bass shipmates
were presented gifts and a piece of
the ship. The U.S. shipmates in
turn presented the Brazilian Navy
with an engraved plaque in honor of
52 years of service upon the
retirement of the “WIZARD” and a
framed portrait of Lt Commander
Harry Brinkley Bass USN. U.S.S.
Brinkley Bass caps were
presented to each of the past
Commanding Officers.
The US shipmates were
given the opportunity to take one
last tour of “Their” ship. Thus
ending 52 years of history of one
ship that honored two naval heroes
from two different countries from
two different centuries. A history
that started in Orange Texas in
1945.
To the lofty wizard
always navigating.
The sailor’s heart
belongs to the sea.
Once a wizard
a wizard you’ll always be!
To the wizard
(The traditional toast carried out
by the crew of Mariz e Barros)
For
information about Brinkley
Bass, the man, the ship or the
reunion association, visit us at
http://www.ussbrinkleybassdd887.com
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