Sunday, February 18, 1968

USS JOUETT (DLG29)

FPO SAN FRANCISCO 96601

18 FEBRUARY 1968

Dear family and friends of JOUETT,

Last evening we arrived on our station in Tonkin Gulf and have begun our patrols as a search and rescue unit of task force 77. So far we haven't much to say about our duties here, but we can tell you about our voyage from San Diego to Viet Nam.

Since that morning when we cast off all lines and slowly moved away from Pier Two in San Diego, we have cruised almost 8,000 miles. With the exception of three days in Pearl Harbor and a ten-hour fueling stop in Guam, it took 21 days before we arrived in Subic Bay, Philippine Islands. All of this time was spent in steaming steadily westward on a great circle route. We have been greatly impressed with the immensity of the Pacific Ocean. A jet transport can fly across this expanse of blue water in one day, but for even the fastest of ships it is a voyage of several weeks. On many of the days, our radarmen or lookouts did not pick up even one other ship, and when we did sight another ship, it was a special occasion to steer close enough to exchange signals by flashing light or flags. Of course with our modern communications we were constantly in touch with the outside world. Several of our men received messages from home announcing the birth of a son or daughter.

The Pacific transit, in company with the guided missile frigate PREBLE and destroyer HULL, was punctuated by two stops which not only rested the machinery of our ships, but also refreshed the crew. On January 21, the green mountains of the island of Oahu welcomed us into Pearl Harbor. A visit to this Naval Base is a visit into history. As our line of ships swung into the channel, there ahead was the pass between the mountains where one arm of Japanese planes emerged on a Sunday morning in December, 1941. We moved past the great, rust-stained concrete mooring quays of Battleship Row, deserted now. On the bank of the channel lay side by side the sixteen inch gun barrels of another war and another fleet, half covered with weeds. Directly across from our berth stood the impressive Arizona Memorial, built on the sunken battleship, that is still a tomb to a thousand men, and still bleeds oil occasionally into the placid harbor. Those are reminders of the past, but today Pearl Harbor is a bustling port and headquarters for the Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet. First thing Monday morning, huge piles of stores appeared beside the ship, and then disappeared into our holds; an oil barge arrived: and off went our crewmembers in all directions to gather parts and to attend special briefings.

We accomplished plenty of important work in Pearl, but we also had time to see why Hawaii is world-famous as a resort area. The Welfare and Recreation committee hired buses and treated the crew to a tour of the island. They came back chewing on sugar cane, bearing green coconuts and stories of how they climbed palm trees to pick them. The "Surf was Up,"and the more adventurous of our crewmembers tackled the waves around the island's beaches.

Three days out from Pearl Harbor, our formation rendezvoused with a Navy oiler, and took a deep drink of oil. The Navy's nuclear-powered ships do not have to worry about this business of refueling, but ships that run on "Fossile Fuel" have to find a place, every few days of steaming, where we can "top off" on black oil. The operation of refueling at sea from another ship is as great a proof as you will find of the U.S. Navy's expertise in seamanship. The oiler sets a course and speed and holds it throughout the evolution; it is up to the ship recieving the fuel--in this case the JOUETT-- to do the fancy maneuvering involved. We make an approach from astern of the oiler, and drop speed just as we come alongside her, so that two ships end up on the same course and speed, 60-120 feet apart, with no relative motion between them. The ships are so close that there is little time to react if any thing goes wrong. A slip by the conning officer or the helmsman could spell collision. The men in after steering must be ready to take control instantly if there is a steering failure on the bridge. The engineers down in the Firerooms and Enginerooms must tend their throttles carefully and constantly so that the ship makes the desired speed through the water. Meanwhile, the First Lieutenant and his Deck Force are passing the lines and fuel hoses between the two ships. Engineers with sounding rods monitor the flow of oil into JOUETT'S tank and signal the tanker when to "stop pumping."

At sea, the emphasis has been on training, training, and more training. Not because the ship is unready, but because it wants to be perfectly ready to handle any situation and meet any committment. Our Squadron Commodore, Captain Emerson, has devised some training games that make our preparations fun as well as effective. One game, called "Hot Potato" is designed to familiarize us with the volumes of publications we will be using in the coming months. One ship shoots a question at another ship by flashing light or radio and then measures the time it takes for the recipient to report back the correct answer. Competition is keen, and some of the questions are pretty obscure. In another "game", called Leap Frog, our ships make practice approaches on one another. The ships line up in a column, and the rearmost ship moves up the line, going alongside each of the two ships ahead of it. When it reaches the head of the column, the new rearmost ship moves up the line, and so on.

We stopped off at Guam on 3 February, just long enough for fuel and an hour on the beach. Again, we remember history and how this little island changed hands more than once in the battles of the Pacific. In many ways Navy bases are the same the world over, and it's nice to know that in this one, as in all of them, you will find a supply depot for needed parts or provisions, repair facilities for technical assistance, and even Navy exchanges and service clubs in which the visitor can shop or relax.

We made a 24 hour transit of San Bernardino Strait, right through the middle of the Philippine Islands, with volcanoes and jungle on either side of the narrow strait, and arrived in Subic Bay on 7 February. Here we received our long awaited mail from home and it was amazing to see morale soar after Mail Call. I can only say, "keep those letters coming."

The four days in Subic Bay flew by quickly as our crew was busily engaged in preparing the ship for the next lap of our voyage. Much touch-up maintenance was performed and provisions, stores, and oil were loaded aboard. The U.S. Naval Base at Subic Bay provides excellent support to those Seventh Fleet ships with facilities comparable to those naval stations in the United States. Our crew enjoyed shopping for foreign merchandise in the Navy Exchange, relaxing at the various clubs, or taking advantage of the athletic facilities.

Two days out of Subic Bay and we were in the highly publicized port of Da Nang, South Viet Nam. The stop here was only for one day while a few key officers went ashore to be briefed on our forthcoming assignment. Passing through Tonkin Gulf a day later, we passed by the famous Yankee Team Station where we saw our attack aircraft carriers launching aircraft and where we rendezvoused with an oiler for more fuel.

Now we are busy adjusting to our new routine as a Search and Rescue Unit of the Carrier Task Force. A lot of effort goes into keeping ourselves ready and alert. I believe it is evident that spirits are high and the crew of JOUETT are now working more harmoniously than ever. We think we are capable of anything, because our motto says,"JOUETT can DO-IT."

The letters you receive say how much you are missed by us. Our satisfaction is that what we are doing out here is necessary and important.

Sincerely,

ROBERT S. HAYES

Captain, U. S. Navy

Commanding Officer

[Hand-drawn map showing JOUETT's route from San Diego to the Western Pacific, with stops marked at Pearl Harbor, Guam, Philippines, and the final destination, connected by a dashed line across the Pacific Ocean.]