I reported aboard Hess from a tug in Tokyo Bay and was told by the YN1 that I was on the books as UA. Actually, the Navy airline ticketing office (was their acronym FIASCO?) sent me to LAX for a non-existent flight to Tokyo. Three weeks later I met the ship when it did a humevac or something mid-patrol.

Fun, fun times on the Hess! Loved basketball and carrying a sleeping Jeff Bricker on a lounge chair up to the fantail from the movie theater.

I stayed in the Navy for a while and then Navy Reserve and eventually retired as a Commander in 1998.

Great memories of a fine ship and special shipmates. Picked up the ship in the Med. and left it in Norway. Made order of the Blue Nose aboard. Anyone remember Ogar Mung? I retired on 20 yrs as ICC. Later as a systems engineer, I worked with Don DeMelo (tech rep) who was aboard the Dutton a few years after I was. A nice guy who recently passed. Thanks to all who put this site together.

The photo of the USNS Bowditch in Trondheim, Norway was probably taken in January or February of 1961, I know that we had an inport period about that time. We were hosted by the Norwegian Navy while there. I went to the cross country ski meet. B O R I N G !!! I had a wonderful cup of coffee in the lodge that was purchased for me by an older Gentleman, I had slid on some ice and bumped him, I excused myself in the language, and he replied in English "It is not a Problem!" About 6 months late while serving in OC DET 2 I asked my girlfriend who the old gentleman in a poster was, and she replied, that is our king. So King Olav bought ME a cup of coffee.

Served on OCUNIT 4 onboard USNS CHAUVENET (TAGS-29)from Dec 1988-Dec 1989. How can we get OCUNIT 4 and 5 added to this site? Thank you for all of the great contributions!

Wonderful site. Let's all keep conributing.

In the 1960-1961 era the loran-c receivers were airborne but in SCC, they were powered by 400 hertz power. They were compact for airborne use and modified to work on the ships. Yet they required the power to simulate the aircraft. Ron Tyson worked on these beasts along with a Sperry tech rep. my first tour was split between the Bowditch and Dutton. I served 3 tours on the Bowditch.

Lotsa great sea time - from California to Yokohama, to Pearl (lotsa Pearl in that short year), to Adak, the Bering Straits. We found a new Island, lost a lot of maggi's. Bunch of Great People - CMDR Rowney (Rest in Peace Sir), Woody, CMDR McCallister, Gus, Rocky, Pat, Bruce, Mike, Nancy, Stephanie, Big Bill and a bunch more. A lot of fond memories - Fair Winds and Following Seas!

Far and away, the best time (1979-1980) I had, during my 9 plus years in the Nav.

I Was a PH2 on board Dutton. Met some great people, we did spend a lot of time at sea.

I spent 16 months on the Dutton. I picked it up in Rio De Janeiro in October of 1986. Rio was a fantastic place! We were in port with the Bowditch when it sank in the harbor. I was stuck in Rio harbor on tender go around in circles during the squall that hit the Bowditch that day. After Rio we hit Curacao for a paint job. That is the picture provided by Ed Alford after the paint job. I have a picture of the ship before the paint job as well. We also ran aground the night we pulled into Curacao but no significant damage!
After Curacao we pulled into Barbados where we picked up plenty of Cockspur rum. It was then onto New Orleans where the Bowditch was towed and we scavenge what we could in the way of gym equipment off the ship. We then took the Panama canal to San Diego and I believe Lt. Sampson has a videotape of the passage that was quite memorable. After working the Pacific between California and Hawaii for two months we pulled in to Pearl Harbor for a week (it was typically 28 days at sea and 7 days in port). We then found out that we were going back to the atlantic and stop in Guam which allowed for some nice diving. It was then a 3 day stop in Diego Garcia which surprisingly I enjoyed more than I thought I would. A wicked couple of days around the Cape of Good Hope where we were restricted from going out on deck due to the roughest seas I experienced during my time on the Dutton. We then pulled back into Bridgetown, Barbados to complete our circumnavigation of the world during 1987! After stopping in Barbados we went on to Jacksonville Florida where my tour and Navy career ended. My time on the Dutton was one of the best times of my life!