I will always remember the great times and great ports that we visited while onboard the Bowditch. It was sad to see her go away and be scraped. We had some great times from our numerous visits to Bermuda to our great yard period in Boston. Bowditch will always have a place in my heart since she was my first Navy ship.
Wish you all the best! Frank

Any of you who served in this era onboard, may remember John Richard (Jack) Randall IC2 then, he stayed in and retired with ICCS. He died recently and his Memorial service is today in Arizona. His death was due to Parkinsons from Agent Orange.

Rest in peace Captain Midnight.

Hey Phil and others in Oceanographic Unit 2...Now you have the Radioman that was with you guys! (Remember the two nice lady Ensigns!!) and the beautiful yard period in Marselles, fine food and expensive carpet.You always managed to keep the RM's out of the picture! Came aboard in Lisbon

Capt Kenneth Webb, 87 yrs old ,"went down to the sea" for the last time, headed for 'the golden shores',year before last.He was the last civilian Master of Bowditch,an old time sailor who came up thru the hawse pipe after WW II (on submarines) to become Captain;He had little time for fools(Naval or corporate),was a real gentlemen of the old school and made many a slacker rue the day they signed on any of the ships he commanded.A hard but fair taskmaster and a raconteur of the first order,he will be missed by his friends and shipmates. He loved sailing and we hope that where ever he ended up,there's a good sized fully rigged bark to keep him busy and out of the Boss' way!

Today, 24 Jan 2013, I reached a milestone I am sure many of you have already reached. Fifty years ago today I was sworn into the US Navy. It was a cold -25f in Munroe Falls, Ohio (Akron), and colder still when I arrived in Cleveland to be sworn in.

When I arrived at Great Lakes it was a balmy -30f. I was frozen to the bone; the train from Cleveland to Chicago lacked heat, the pipes were frozen.

What I never could have envisioned at that time was where my Naval Service would send me and what it would do for me afterwards.

I owe the US Navy a deep debt of gratitude for the training it provided me, my assignment to the T-AGS ships and all the fine folks I served with.

God Bless you all and thanks for your service to our country.

Chet

My Naval history:
Boot camp Great Lakes July 1963. Class A and Class C Sonar School Key West, FLA. Onboard early 1964 in Yokasuka, Japan. Stewart "Chester" Veltman and I were together from Boot Camp, training and two years aboard the Bowditch. Stewart broke his leg on the beach while waiting for the ship and reported aboard with leg in cast...thus the nick name."Chester". I came from Texas..thus my nickname.."Tex". Best duty I ever had in the Navy..wish I could have stayed longer.

Best tour was by far the 18 months spent on the Dutton. Submarine duty followed...another story altogether. Rockie, you posted great pics of the crew (PS. thanks for letting me read your Star Trek series those first couple of cruises). Showed my wife (Geri) this site and pics...she remembered Ron, Horse, Wild Bill, Steve, Dave, Crunch. Hoppy, and a bunch of the others. She just looked at me an said I have certainly changed...the mind still works though... great memories of Southampton, Naples, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Bergen, and even Brooklyn.

Very pleased and surprised to find that picture of ocunit 2 in 1983. Must've been during my 2nd or 3rd survop. Remember the "hump day" practical jokes. One addition to the roster: RM3 Phil Botsford served with Ocunit 2 from 1983 to 1984

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.