USS Durham
(LKA-114)
Charleston Class
Amphibious Cargo Ship
Propulsion system: two
boilers, one geared turbine, one propeller shaft, 22,000 shaft
horsepower
Propellers: one
Length: 575.5 feet (175.4
meters)
Beam: 82 feet (25 meters)
Draft: 25.6 feet (7.8
meters)
Displacement: approx.
18,700 tons full load
Speed: 20+ knots
Aircraft: helicopter
platform only
Boats: 4 LCM-8, 4 LCM-6, 2
LCVP and 2 LCP
Armament: two 20mm Phalanx
CIWS
Crew: Ship: 22 officers
and 334 enlisted USMC: 15 officers
and 211 enlisted
Builder: Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport
News, Va.Awarded: June 11, 1965
Keel laid: July 10, 1967
Launched: March 29, 1968
Commissioned: May 24, 1969
Decommissioned: February
25, 1994
Mothball Fleet, Middle Lock, Pearl Harbor, HI
My Duties
with USS Durham
Aug
1982 - Apr 1984
Home ported out of San
Diego, CA, USS Durham was a Reserve ship with a regular crew
complimented by a Select Reserve Crew (SelRes). As a QM2
I was was both the Senior and Leading Petty Officer. (I
was filling the billet of a QMC (E-7)
I didn't like the Navy Mk 3 sextants and in Nov 1982 I
purchased my own Tamaya Spica Sextant. ($1300 in
1982 dollars. Thank you Navy Credit Union.) I
became known for my proficiency in celestial navigation.
In Mar 1983, Durham was transferred back
to the regular fleet and we received additional personnel,
including a QMC. (I was still the LPO)
Refresher
Training
(RefTra) - During battle stations everyone is required to
tuck their pants into their socks. (This cuts down
on loose clothing and protects against flash burns,
etc.) Since this was a training exercise the
instructors warned that those of us who were wearing
Wellington boots, the pants should be in the socks, not
just tucked into the top of the boots. The
instructors then noted that we had all done it correctly,
but the comment got the attention of the Master at Arms
and he noticed that I was the only enlisted (actually the
only one on the bridge) wearing Wellington Boots.
Somehow the MAA got it into his head that that Wellingtons
were for officers only and concluded that I was out of
uniform. I tried to explain to my Chief and to the
MAA that uniform regs authorized Wellington boots for both
officer and enlisted in all uniforms, except Dress
Inspections. I offered to show the regulation, but
no matter. The MAA (an E-6) refused to believe me
and my QMC (E-7) didn't have the balls to back me up, so I
had to remove and surrender my boots to the MAA. A
few days later (after researching the regulations) the MAA
called me into his office and in a very grudgingly manner
told me I could wear my boots. "But," he warned,
"keep your pants on the outside or everyone will want to
wear them." Hmm, other than at battle stations,
pants are always worn on the out side
of boots and since Wellingtons were specifically
authorized in the uniform regs, what is the big
deal? This was the oxymoron of "Military
Intelligence" at it's best.
June 1983 Durham
departed for WestPac.
Arrived at Pier Kilo in Pearl Harbor, HI
and rode out Hurricane
Iva.
My friend , Rick Burris,
from the USS
Hamner was on shore duty on Ford Island. After
ridding out Hurricane Iva, I spent the 4th of July '83
behind Rick's house, cracking open wind fall coconuts on
the bollards of Battleship Row as we watched the Pearl
City fireworks burst over the Arizona Memorial. It
was an incredible 4th of July!
During
WestPac
we made port visits in the Japan, Philippines, Australia
and participated
in Team Spirit, an amphibious exercise off Tok Sok Ri,
Korea.
In Sep 1983 I earned Enlisted
Surface
Warfare Specialist. Only about 15%-20% of sailors ever earn
ESWS. Most are 1st class (E-6) or above. I
earned it as a 2nd class! (E-5) At the time only two
2nd Class Petty Officers had ever earned ESWS on
USS Durham. I was the second. The first
was QM2 Westall, who earned his just one month before me.
Normally when
sailor earns ESWS they are pinned and honored within
a day or so after passing the board, however the
command knew that my father, a retired Major, USAR, was
going to be part of the Tiger cruse back from Pearl
Harbor and postponed the pinning ceremony. I
should have been pinned and given the honor right away
like everyone else, but the command
seemed more interested in kissing up
to a retired Army officer rather than that
honoring the accomplishments of one of their own
junior petty officers. I was not allowed to
wear the ESWS insignia until I was officially pined
and I was pissed.
Oct 1983 Durham was returning
from WESTPAC and pulling into Pearl Harbor. As the
Sr Master Helmsman, I was on the helm, as usual.
Just as Durham was passing the tightest part of the
channel the relief master helmsman demanded that I give
him the helm and said that I was to report to the
starboard bridge wing. This was not proper turn over
and it was the tightest & most dangerous part of the
channel - it was all wrong! I was about to protest,
but the Helm Safety
Officer and JOOD
just told me to go. When I reported to the bridge
wing the OOD pushed me
to the rail where I saw my father, my friend, Rick Burris and his wife
Margie, standing on Bishop Point, waving
and welcoming us to port. I almost cried.
Tiger Cruise 1983
My father was a retired US
Army Major. I made sure that I was on the quarterdeck when he
came aboard. I saluted, rendering proper honors, and
then said, "Welcome aboard USS Durham, Sir. I regret
to inform you, sir, that you are out of uniform." I
then presented him with a USS Durham ball cap with a
proper US Army Major insignia. (A Marine
officer had helped me find the correct Army insignia)
Dad hooked up with another Tiger (a
retired Gunnery
Sergeant) and the
two of them shook off the guided tours. They went
everywhere and did everything.
Dad said that they would open a door and if no one told
them to get out, they went in and started asking
questions. The two of them had
a ball! Dad told me
that the Tiger Cruise was one of the highlights of his
life and often thanked me.
(note: Dad died in Dec 2009 and at
his memorial his USS Durham ball
cap was laid out as one of his
prized possessions.)
When the command finally
decided
to
pin my ESWS they paged Dad for the
ceremony, but he was nowhere to be
found (Dad and the Gunny were in Enginering
spaces.) so I was pinned anyway. (a month late) I was never upset with Dad
for missing my pinning - he
was enjoying
his Tiger cruise, as I had
intended. Being
Army, Dad never really
understood the significance of ESWS,
but that was OK. He just knew
that it was important to me and he
was proud of my accomplishment.
That was all I needed. However, I never
forgave the Command for the snub.
Nov
1983, returned from WestPac
March
1984 - I made QM1
(E-6) on the first increment.
Advancement
results
were in and I knew that I had made rate and had put my new
stripes on half of my shirts. The ship had just
finished REFTRA. (again) and as usual I drove the
ship to anchorage off Harbor Island in San Diego. As
the observers disembarked, the CO addressed the crew to
tell them what a good job they had done and officially
announced the advancements. Although we were still
at Sea Detail, I dashed into the chart room, changed my
shirt and when the CO finished his announcement, the first
thing he saw was me standing at the helm sporting my new
first class stripes. My seniors immediately wanted
to "tack on" my
stripes but the CO called them off. "Don't hurt his
arm - he still has to drive us back to our berth!"
(Additionally, as a joke during refresher training I would
sometimes wear a green sock on my right foot and a red
sock on my left foot. The CO, who could have ordered me to
change to regulation black socks, just shook his head and
enjoyed the joke.)
Apr
1984 transferred to USS Excel (MSO-439).
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