SEA STORIES

    I added this section hopefully to get the good old sea stories told.  Everybody has some.  It may just take a jar in the memory or something.  I have a lot of memories when I served aboard the PRIME. 

It was my first ship, my first time out at sea, my first ever underway watches, not knowing anything at all, I was four months fresh out of boot camp when I reported aboard.  But after awhile you became... a little more salty.  But the story I would like to share with everyone is when we received the Meritorious Unit Commendation.  

 We went along side of the merchant ship RUTGERS VICTORY to assist the USS CHANDLER (DD 717), extinguish this fire that they had in one of there holds.  When the fire was out and no longer a danger to anyone, they let us have some of the cargo that was in that hold...Well it was full of soda pop and "BEER" much to our delight.  We started loading trash cans almost full of beer, topped off with soda's.  Started bringing them aboard, got away with a few trash cans, then making another run, who do you think was waiting at the Quarterdeck?  Chief Master-at-arms, and his assistant.  They stopped us cold, started checking inside the trash cans, and found our bounty...Well, we got busted right there, had to round up all the beer aboard, and deliver it to the MAA's for there safekeeping.  Lost it all.  Later during the cruise, the Captain decided to have a steak BBQ, allowed us three beers apiece.  Boy was it GREAT!

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Another account of the fire aboard the RUTGERS VICTORY, was found from a former USS CHANDLER sailor below;

        On 13 November 1966, the CHANDLER was the first navy ship to answer the call of the Victory ship SS RUTGERS VICTORY, which was burning furiously in Nha Trang Harbor north of Saigon. While two army tugs concentrated on cooling the ship’s hull, the Chandler's damage control party led the struggle against the fire burning deep in the stricken ship. The combined efforts of the CHANDLER, USS PRIME (MSO-466), army tugs, a U.S. Air Force firefighting team, and the RUTGERS’ own crew eventually conquered the blaze.

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