Destroyermen - My Navy

Peeps, this is MY Navy...the ships of the 60's.  The ship with the 710 on the bow is the USS Gearing DD710 - a Sumner Class Destroyer like the one I was on.  The other two, USS Brownson DD868 and USS Bordeon DD881 are both Gearing Class Tin Cans very similar to my ship.  The both have the helo decks on the stern that housed the unmanned torpedo carrying drones (the orange airplane looking thing that never worked.)

The refueling teams made up of Bowsanmates and Snipes (sailors whose duty stations were below the main deck) worked the refueling process, and the men on the main deck pulled the lines over hand over hand and in a tank tread like fashion.  That was what I did during refueling.  I was always wet – which is a good thing because those who got wet got a shot of rum from sickbay.

Also, on my first sea tour my General Quarters station was in the gun mount on the main deck and the man you see standing between the guns watching the powder canister fly out the back after firing was my job.  To make sure they went out the escape hatch.

And I miss the dungarees, t-shirts and denim shirts and wearing the white pillbox hats.  Today’s Navy wears a tri-blue colored camo concoction with boots.  I don’t know who they are trying to hid from out on the open sea.  And if they go overboard, how will they be able to find them.   I miss the traditional outfits.

Anyways, if this does not post as it should, go to YouTube and key in Destroyermen or copy and paste this into your browser.

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or

http://youtu.be/ih7ygOUz_Wg
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