Don’t Give Up The Ship

 Don’t Give Up The Ship

 

   The Navy motto “Don’t Give Up The Ship” dates back to the War of 1812, and has ever since been associated with heroic captains fighting against the odds. However, in my case, I gave up the ship. But let me explain…..

   In 1976 I was finishing a two year tour of duty as a staff officer for Admiral Stansfield Turner, and a highlight of my job was the International Naval Review on the 4th of July in New York harbor. This was called the greatest gathering of navies in the world; 50 warships from 22 nations and 200 tall-masted sailing ships to celebrate the 200th birthday of the United States. We had been working towards this event for close to a year and a large part of my job was being a traffic cop (such as getting an Israeli gunship anchored as far away as possible from an Egyptian frigate). So after the big birthday bash with no noticeable problems, my orders were to report to the destroyer USS POWER(DD839) as Executive Officer (the second in command). The POWER was one of only 4 U.S. Navy ships homeported in New York. We (meaning Donna, me and the kids) had been living in Norfolk, Virginia so we moved as soon as possible to military housing on Long Island and settled in.

   The POWER was one of 98 destroyers which were built at the end of World War II. In the 1960s those which were in condition were modernized and were expected to stay in condition for another 20 years. When I reported aboard the POWER it was in good condition, 29 years old, and expected to last at least another 10 years. 

   In the early 1970s the POWER was designated as a Naval Reserve training ship. The complete wartime crew of a destroyer was about 300, so that all the guns, radars, torpedoes, boilers, etc could be operated at once; but the reserve training ships had a nucleus crew of about 100. The nucleus crew was enough to sail the ship for short distances but could not operate in wartime conditions. So the typical schedule could have at least 200 reservists (called Weekend Warriors) who came aboard for one weekend a month plus a couple of weeks each year. In some cases we might have more reservists to train so that the ship could be in port for a few days then out to sea for a few days and repeat. I had been used to deploying at sea for about 6 months at a time; I was looking forward to being away from home just a few days at a time.

   After a few months on the POWER I had passed all the requirements to be the ship’s Captain. This turned out well because my boss had an opportunity for promotion - since I was qualified he moved on and turned over the POWER to me. For a while this was great. Since we were concentrating on training we, as a ship, were getting the highest scores for gunnery, communications, anti-submarine detection, etc. But meanwhile things were happening way above my pay grade.

    In 1971 Communist China had been accepted into the United Nations. The prior government had retreated from Mao Tse-tung’s forces to Taiwan. It was still known as the Republic of China, but it was obvious to the world that the government in Taiwan had no control at all over the Chinese mainland. The U.S. and other allies were helping to fortify Taiwan and by 1977 the U.S. offered to the Republic of China Navy one of our older destroyers. Naturally they chose the POWER. 

   By the summer of 1977 Captain Liu Chin-te, Republic of China Navy came to New York with a hand-picked crew of sailors. They came aboard the POWER and merged with our nucleus crew just as our Weekend Warriors had done. The senior Chinese sailors could speak some English, which was surely a requirement, and they had studied the operation manuals. Captain Liu and I shared the Captain’s quarters and he had studied all our capabilities and limitations to the point that he could have taken over the ship immediately. All through August and September going out to sea and coming back to port practically every few days. One of the most interesting memories is the food. One of our US Navy cooks was an Italian from Brooklyn and he got together with the senior Chinese cook. They took turns trying to out-do each other, and some of our meals were excellent but indescribable.

   Finally, on October 1 1977 the POWER was moored at Fort Schuyler, New York. We had a formal ceremony with Ambassador Konsin Shah, the Consol General of the Republic of China and other dignitaries. I marched my crew off the ship, struck the colors and decommissioned the POWER. Ambassador Shah commissioned the ship as the Republic of China Ship RCS Shen Yang, Captain Liu marched aboard with his crew and they literally sailed away.

   I told you I gave up the ship.