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__________________________________
The Dark Days of February 1966
Collision at Midnight - Yankee
Station
From:
William E.
Stover – USS Brinkley Bass DD 887 –
12/1964 to 2/1968 – FTG2
To:
Anyone who
may remember the darkest days in
February 1966.
My name is
Bill Stover. I served the USA for 8
years during the ‘Cold War’ in the
USAF and during the Viet Nam War
aboard the Destroyer, USS Brinkley
Bass DD 887. I served the last 15
months of my AF duty on a ‘Spy’ base
at Trabzon in eastern Turkey near
the Soviet Georgian border. I spent
the last 3 years of my USN duty
aboard Brinkley Bass of which 13
months were spent in the War Zone in
the South China Sea, near the coasts
of South and North Viet Nam and the
Southern border of Red China.
The 15
months in Turkey was Isolated and
Remote and the entire tour of duty
was served during the most dangerous
of times in the history of the world
community. I was ‘there’ during the
‘Cuban Missile Crisis’. I could
talk about the Nuclear Threat and
the real dangers we faced but that’s
another story.
Service on
any ‘Fighting Ship’ of the U.S.
Naval Fleet is given while living
aboard the worlds best ‘Prisons’.
We stood watch at ‘Port and
Starboard (6 hours on watch and six
hours on other duties)(24 x7) while
at sea and at ‘GQ’, at ‘Battle
Stations’. All personnel in the
Weapons Division were involved in
handling explosives and firing big
guns during all kinds of
confrontations and Incidents of
War. We can only speculate as to
how many other human beings we
killed with the ‘Big Guns’ of
Brinkley Bass. Most of our first
West Pac Cruise, my duty station was
Trainer and ‘Trigger Man’. For 12
hours a day, months at a time, I
pulled the Trigger which fired
salvos of our four, 5inch/38caliber
guns. Again, there is no way to
calculate the thousands of rounds of
explosives which were delivered to
the enemy from the squeeze of my
finger on the ‘Trigger’.
Although I
haven’t heard from or about him for
38 years, I remember Jerry. He was
about my age, mid 20s, during the
Viet Nam experience. Jerry was BM2
and Lead Petty Officer in the
Weapons Gang and Deck Crew while I
was FTG2 and Lead Petty Officer in
the Fire Control Gang. Because of
War, many young men were promoted
quickly. Those with intelligence
and ability were quickly elevated to
Lead Responsibilities. It was
unheard of for a Boatswains Mate to
make BM2 in just one enlistment.
Jerry was young and cocky, sharp and
responsible and he was promoted
quickly to BM2 (Petty Officer 2nd
Class). If I remember correctly,
Jerry spent many hours as Weapons
Lead in a Gun Mount Gunnery/Loader
Crew. As Deck Crew Lead, He also
spent many hours in Refueling and
Replenishment Operations where he
was responsible for dangerous and
tricky operations, all of which were
carried out under ‘Red Light’
usually between midnight and 2
o’clock in the morning. All ‘At Sea
Operations’ in the War Zone were
conducted under ‘Red Light’ and
darkness in order to cut down on the
vulnerability of attack during
daylight hours.
Toward the
end the first cruise the Bass was
assigned ‘SAR’ Duties off the coast
of North Viet Nam. SAR is an
acronym for ‘Search and Rescue’.
Congress had just enacted the Tonkin
Gulf Resolution in response to North
Viet Nam Swift Boat attacks on the
USS Maddox and USS Turner Joy of the
US Fleet in the South China Sea.
President Johnson had escalated the
War to a ‘Fever Pitch’. We were
engaged in heavy bombing of Hanoi
and Hiphong Harbor. Pilots from the
Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps
were flying hundreds of sorties each
day. They were flying low altitude
bombing runs from Carriers on
‘Yankee Station’, and Bases in
Thailand and South Viet Nam. They
flew A1s, A6s, and F4s and other
‘Fighter/Bombers’. B52s were flying
‘High Flight’, Saturation bombing
runs from Guam. Many years later it
was the B52 crews who paid the price
for coming up against the improving
Soviet SAM Missiles. These young
Pilots and Navigators of the
Fighter/Bombers of the mid 1960s who
were bombing Hanoi and Hiphong were
in harms way each time they were
catapulted from the Carrier’s Flight
Decks and every time they were
wheels up from air fields in
Thailand and South Viet Nam. Too
many of these aircraft were shot
down by SAM Missiles and
Anti-Aircraft Guns. Too many of
these aircraft fell from the skies
because of mechanical fatigue. Some
were lost to human error and
personnel fatigue. Others were lost
to malfunctions on Carriers and
miscalculations by support personnel
on the bases throughout the region.
The Brinkley Bass together with USS
Waddell DDG 24 spent the last few
months of their first Wes Pac Cruise
of 1965 and early 1966 in ‘SAR’,
Search and Rescue of these ‘Downed’
Pilots and Flight Crews.
I am
writing this narrative on the 40th
anniversary of the beginning of the
worst 6 days of my 8 year military
career. February 2nd is
my mothers birthday. It is also
Ground Hog’s Day. It is hard to
forget these days. I remember these
incidents as if they happened
yesterday because I have, as many
others who were ‘there’ have,
replayed and revisited this
experience many times over the last
40 years. The chronology of the six
days is entirely from my memory.
Although others may have seen it
from other vantage points or from
other perspectives, all who were
there will never forget those few
days in February 1966.
The USS
Brinkley Bass DD 887 was ordered
from R&R in the Port of Hong Kong
back to ‘SAR’ duties, arriving on
station February 2, 1966, and on
February 3, 1966, together with USS
Waddell DDG 24 was on duty off the
coast of North Viet Nam. As on
previous SAR duty we operated with a
number of Helicopters from carriers
and land bases. The choppers on
this day were from the carrier
Ranger. We had been warned
previously that big shore batteries
in North Viet Nam were very active,
that we should be ready to engage if
ever called upon to get close to the
shoreline. At about mid-day the two
destroyers received the call that a
pilot was down very close to the
borders of China and North Viet
Nam. We were south of this area
when the call came in. Choppers
were called and we proceeded at
‘Full Speed’ toward the downed
pilot. We pulled in close to the
harbor. This harbor was very close
to Red China. I was Trainer in the
Gun Fire Control Director. I had a
small radar monitor to my right.
The Train Control Wheels were
between my knees. My fingers were
tightly fixed to the left and right
triggers and my eyes were glued to
the eye pieces which provided the
best view of any target from the
range finder’s powerful binoculars
of the director system. We had
pointed and trained the director
system toward the harbor and the
downed pilot. Pilots normally
approached the Northern Targets at a
high altitude from the south. They
descended quickly from the east,
dropped their armament, quickly
ascended toward the South China Sea
and evasively maneuvered to avoid
SAM Missiles and Anti-Aircraft.
They were trained to ascend ASAP so
that in the event they were hit,
they could eject over water. Most
pilots who made it out over water
were successfully rescued by “SAR’
destroyers or Helicopters assigned
to ‘SAR’ duties. This downed pilot
had apparently been hit at a low
altitude because he had, of
necessity, bailed early and had come
down in the very center of the
harbor. I could see that the pilot
was alive and staying afloat. He
was only about 800 yards from the
shore, and he was in very dangerous
waters. The assigned helicopter was
delayed some minutes in arriving.
The Bass was pointing in from the
north and the Waddell was pointing
in from the south. The very big
guns from gun emplacements above and
behind the harbor and inland on the
mountain side, began to fire at Bass
and Waddell. Two large Chinese
Junks began to approach the pilot,
one from the north and one from the
south. Bass and Waddell began to
return fire and fire upon the junks
which were moving slowly toward the
downed pilot. The chopper arrived
and we thought we would recover the
pilot, but as the cable was lowered
toward the pilot, the chopper took a
direct hit in the middle of the
fuselage. The pilot of the chopper
reported that his technician was hit
and that he must retreat because his
ride was falling apart. He quickly
pulled back and headed to sea. We
heard that the chopper fell about 5
miles to the west and eventually
heard that the pilot and co-pilot
were rescued by our second ‘SAR’
chopper. We cut our gun mounts
loose to take different targets.
The forward gun mount was firing at
gun emplacements while the rear gun
mount was firing at the junk which
was approaching from the north. The
Waddell was firing at the second
junk which was approaching from the
south. The ‘Big Eyes’ of the Gun
Fire Director were trained on the
downed pilot. I watched the entire
operation, up close and personal. I
watched as a huge hole and ball off
flames appeared in the fuselage of
the chopper. Our rear gun mount
placed some very impressive rounds
upon the junk. That junk flamed out
and a few minutes later it sank.
The second chopper became involved
in the rescue of the crew of the
downed chopper and they could not
respond immediately to our
operation. As both ships were
dealing with shore batteries and
self defense from those big guns, we
witnessed the junk coming from the
south pull the downed pilot aboard.
He was captured, alive. After about
15 minutes of trading fire with
shore batteries, commanders decided
it was time to retreat to safer
waters. As we fell into column with
the Waddell, and commenced zig-zag
maneuvers, we could see that the big
guns were becoming more accurate as
we came into their best range. They
were most effective as we reached 11
miles at sea, and then we began to
move out of their effective range.
We called for air support and before
we lost sight of the harbor, I
counted 80 aircraft dropping bombs
on the gun emplacements and on the
back side of the harbor.
We spent
February 4th at sea on
‘SAR’ duty. It was a tense and
nervous time because commanders were
trying to decide whether or not we
would return to that harbor and go
in close for a recon run. We
operated with choppers in a number
of ‘SAR’ missions during the day of
February 4, 1966.
We started
a normal refueling and replenishment
operation about 10 o’clock on the
evening of February 4th.
These operations had become tricky
in the recent past. Many operations
were being disrupted by Russian
Trawlers (Spy Ships) who were
operating in the South China Sea.
On more than one occasion we had
called for Sea Going Tugs to engage
these Trawlers and physically bump
them out of the way of our sea
operations. Our Fleet had kept an
eye on two of these Russian vessels
for many days. We knew that they
were too far away to interfere so we
started our ‘Normal’ Operation. We
had accomplished these operations
about every 3 days for the passed
number of months. We expected
problems because each refueling and
replenishment operation presented
it’s own unique problems. All
operations at sea are dangerous,
especially in a War Zone. That is
the nature of Naval Service. This
particular operation was rather
uneventful. As in all operations,
the two destroyers pulled alongside
the replenishment ship. They each
refueled and took on stores. The
Bass finished first and as usual,
remained alongside until the Waddell
finished operations. The Flotilla
Commodore was resident on Waddell
and therefore the Bass always
traveled in column behind Waddell.
As in all previous operations, the
Bass and Waddell pulled away from
the replenishment ship at full speed
in anticipation of a command to
column up before heading for
assigned duty station. It was
midnight and all of the Brinkley
Bass Crew was in motion, moving
about the ship in relieving watch
and assuming the mid-watch. We
don’t really know why disaster
struck at this moment. We do know
that lives were lost because of a
series of events which were far from
normal.
I was on
watch in the gun fire director, just
to be relieved for the mid-watch by
another Fire Control Technician. I
had on a headset which allowed
communications with the bridge. I
heard the commands to cut speed to
2/3rd and to bring the
ship to the left to start a column
maneuver. Apparently the Officer of
the Deck thought he had heard the
column command. We were far too
close to Waddell and these commands
put the Bass on a Collision Course
with the Waddell. The captain was
apparently in his sea cabin just
behind the bridge. A lookout
(Seaman) yelled that we were on a
collision course. Others were
screaming. The Captain heard the
noise and came running onto the
bridge. He ran to the wing hatch
and immediately began to take
action. He screamed very loudly a
series of commands. He yelled,
’This is the Captain, I have the
Con, Right Full Rudder, All
Emergency Back, sound the Collision
Alarm, and brace for shock. At this
same time, my watch relief had just
climbed upon the top of the
director. The hatches on the top of
the director were open. He put his
head inside and calmly told us that
we were going to collide with the
Waddell. I stood and looked out of
my hatch and then braced for shock.
I watched in amazement as the Bass
collided with Waddell. We hit at
mid-ships. The Bass rode up and
down as the collision was in
progress. A rooster tail of sparks
100 feet high emanated from between
the Bass and Waddell. As the Bass
pulled away from Waddell, I could
see light coming from the holes just
ripped into the hull of Waddell.
The Bass drifted to a stop and then
began to sink in the bow area.
The ship’s
crew was quick to respond. Within a
few minutes we heard that there was
no loss of life. Everyone brought
mattresses, wood and tools including
pumps. Within a few minutes the
decision was made to ask for
assistance because we were loosing
the battle with inflow of water. We
had completely destroyed 40 feet of
the bow. The gash was about 20 feet
high. Although most of the damage
which provided holes and allowed
inflow of water was above the water
line, water was coming in from the
ship’s bobbing in a heavy sea
state. The USS Navasota responded
to our call. They put a big boat in
the water with timbers, pumps,
tools, other materials and a Damage
Control Team of 16 Seamen. The
helpers were Ship Fitters(Welders
and Pipe Fitters) and Damage
Controlmen who were Builders and
Welders. Together with our crew
this Damage Control Team fought
water inflow through the night. By
morning they had saved the ship.
The Bass was afloat.
It was
February 5, 1966. The sea state was
a 5 (very high waves) by morning.
It was decided that the Damage
Control Team should be returned to
Navasota by chopper. The chopper
arrived about 9 o’clock or so. The
Ship Fitters gathered on the deck of
the fantail because ammo and stores
were removed from the lower decks
and all decks except the fantail
were burdened with materials from
below. I believe that Jerry, the
BM2 was the Lead Petty Officer in
the Deck Handling part of that
airlift operation.
All of
those being taken aboard the chopper
were outfitted with kapok life
jackets and were lifted by cable to
the chopper. I was positioned on
the ECM Deck which was physically
located above the location of the
chopper. I was not involved in this
operation, so I had gone up to the
ECM Deck to get a good view of the
transfers. The last of the personnel
to be lifted onto the apron of the
chopper was the SFC, Chief Petty
Officer. It is military protocol
for the Ranking Person to Lead into
any Operation and to follow on the
way out to be sure that the path is
good going in and that all personnel
exit OK.
Disaster
struck again, just when the Chief
was being brought on board the
chopper. The chopper lost
stability, turned at least 180
degrees and flipped upside down. In
the process, I stood in amazement as
I helplessly watched while the Chief
fell from the chopper as it
flipped. The chopper hit the water,
exactly on the Chief, about 10 feet
from the fantail of the Bass. I
slide down the ladder to the deck
below and again fixed my sight on
the chopper. Personnel on the
fantail and the main deck and our
own dash flight deck were throwing
life jackets and life rings into the
water. I found life rings where I
was, and heaved them into the
water. The sea state was high and
the Bass was basically dead in the
water. As the chopper crew and
those of the Damage Control Team
began to surface, they looked like
corks or fishing bobs, popping up
from the water. The Bass and these
men began to drift apart. They were
grabbing life jackets and life rings
which would support then if they
remained in the water for a
prolonged period.
Three
Seamen were lost at sea that day.
The Chief and an SF1 and an SF2 were
lost. They went down with the
chopper. Another chopper came to
rescue the survivors. Other
tragedies which occurred that day
will be told about on another day.
The Bass
pulled into Da Nang, South Viet Nam
the next day. Navy UDT guys went
down and checked out damage below
the water line. They welded chain
in strategic places and advised the
Captain to proceed to the Philippine
Islands at 5 knots. We proceeded to
Subic Bay, Philippine Islands
arriving sometime on February 7,
1966.
What a
STORY – You think !!!! It happened
pretty much that way – February
2,3,4,5,6,7, 1966.
I tracked
those lost during those days. I
watched every POW return from
captivity in 1973. They came off
the planes in Manila and again in
Hawaii. They were repatriated in
order of capture. Those captured
first were repatriated first. I
remember at least 1 returning POW
who had been captured on that day.
When the Internet matured, I found
the names and home towns of those 3
Ship Fitters who went down with the
chopper. Their names are registered
in two different logs of the USS
Navasota.
Although
some of the second cruise was spent
on ‘SAR’ duties most of the Bass’s
involvement was in Night Shore
Bombardment which was usually
Harassment of the Viet Cong, we did
get out a few times for ‘Plane
Guard’ with various Carriers on
‘Yankee Station’, just off the
coast of Viet Nam. During this
cruise we encountered ‘North
Vietnamese Swift Boats’ and “North
Vietnamese Piloted Migs’. We
responded with deadly force in every
situation. We were at War and as a
Patriotic Crew, we took care of duty
as ‘Duty Called’. I will record
some of the incidents encountered by
the Bass on the second cruise at
another time and in another venue.
This is
the story from my point of view and
from my unique perspective,
William E.
Stover – USS Brinkley Bass DD 887 –
12/1964 to 2/1968 – FTG2
Photos
and Story
_______________________________________________________________________________________
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Click
on Photo Below:
On 4 February 1966
Waddell (DDG-24) and Brinkley Bass
(DD-887) collided while maneuvering
for position during a SAR mission
near Cap Falaise in North Vietnam.
Both ships suffered extensive damage
but were able to proceed toward
Subic at five knots. No personnel
were injured.
At NSRF Subic it was
estimated that Waddell would require
16 to 18 weeks of repair plus two
additional weeks for the ASROC
systems check. Brinkley Bass, it was
reported, would need a new bow.
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