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A DICEY NIGHT UP
NORTH
By Chuck Packer
USS Rowan
(DD 782)
Copyright 1999
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Without a crew a ship is but soulless, cold steel. USS
Rowan
(DD 782) had a crew and that crew gave her her soul. But, Rowan
was also a warship and, as such, she needed a raison d'être. This
she found, for the second time, in the Vietnam War. Rowan
was complete, in her element; and, it was August 1972.
Rowan was a Gearing class destroyer commissioned
too late in World War II to see any combat. That changed just a
few years later when she was bloodied for the first time during the
"Forgotten War" when she
took a medium caliber shell hit in her starboard
quarter, damaging the after steering compartment and causing a number of
casualties. She had been providing counter-battery fire against North
Korean shore batteries when she was hit. And counter-battery would
prove to be her specialty in another twenty years. Between Korea and
Vietnam she was always on the move, experiencing the mundane and the
exceptional. That's another story for another time.
I reported aboard Rowan in October 1971 just hours before
she got underway for an extended WesPac deployment that was to last well
past the end of the war in January 1973. She was on her way with the
other four ships of DesRon 15 for forward basing in Yokosuka, Japan.
Through a convoluted set of circumstances, not atypical for the U.S. Navy,
she was my fifth ship and I had barely been in the Navy for two years.
I had just turned twenty.
Then, Rowan's crew was typical for a Gearing class
destroyer. A former shipmate of mine, Tarry Shirkey, from USS
Bainbridge (DLGN/CGN 25), a squared-away, nuclear, guided missile
cruiser, recently wrote that he was in a Gearing (USS Hawkins
[DD 873]) for a bit prior to Bainbridge and the crew was right
out of "McHale's Navy". Well, yes. I felt like Brer Rabbit
in my own briar patch. Rowan wasn't my first can. But,
she was my only true love. You never know a man's true character until
you observe him under extreme pressure. The same can be said of a
crew. Combat is the catalyst that brings out that character, or proves
it wanting. The character of Rowan's crew was never found
wanting. Combat jelled us. I came to know what Nelson meant by
his "Band of Brothers".
The first assignments given Rowan were the typical ones
for a can's WesPac deployment during 1971 and early 1972. While we
chased a few birdfarms, i.e., provided plane guard duties for aircraft
carriers operating on Yankee Station, most of our time was spent on the
gunline. We'd position Rowan on a fixed set of coordinates on a
watery grid in the South China Sea a mile or two off the coast of South
Vietnam: A floating, yet fixed, artillery battery in support of Marine and
Army ground troops. We'd take a three position radar fix every quarter
hour to be sure that the absent current and equally absent wind had not
moved us from our peg on the map, a verification just as easily performed by
noting the accumulation of lifeless, empty Pepsi-Cola cans littering the
glass-like sea that simultaneously pointed out our lack of movement and
insidiously marked the passage of time like the sands of some bizarre hour
glass counting out the hours, the days.
That all changed in the spring of 1972. The North
Vietnamese were continuing to stall at the Paris peace table and President
Nixon was running for re-election. Operation LINEBACKER II was borne
thereof and the four Gearings of DesRon 15 were called into action as
counter-battery ships for an intense, extended assault on the logistics and
infrastructure of North Vietnam. Rowanand her crew became
members of the Gulf of Tonkin Yacht Club.
For the first few months of LINEBACKER II, Rowan would
usually accompany three other ships in night attacks of the Ho Chi Minh
Trail or associated transshipment points where we would provide suppression
against shore based counter-battery while the other warships shot up the
target with their "superior" 5"/54's. We would steam in at twenty-five
knots, turn on a dogleg firing run at twenty knots, and
turn-around-and-get-the-hell-out at well over thirty knots. During this
time Rowan would put the director on any gunfire flashes from the
beach and walk the guns onto the flashes. With up to four raids a
night, Rowanbecame real proficient. We were the hunting guides
making the area safe for the less experienced "shooters". After a
while the Navy decided to mount Shrike anti-radiation missiles atop our
useless ASROC launcher giving us the capability to knock out the fire
control radars of the enemy guns. We were, to my knowledge, the only
ship so armed. The first night after our initial use of the Shrikes,
we received only brief fire from the beach as the North Vietnamese showed
marked reluctance to light off their fire control radars for any length of
time when Rowanaccompanied the strike group. This changed on 27
August 1972, the night we went all the way up North.
In mid-afternoon of that day the skipper, Commander Robert Comer
(rhymes with homer), came on the 1MC telling us that Rowan was
awaiting word from ComSeventhFlt, VAdm James Holloway III in USS
Newport News (CA 148), concerning a possible raid on the main North
Vietnamese harbor of Haiphong. That announcement lit a brushfire of
discussion, apprehension and, of course, scuttlebutt. Succinctly:
What did this mean for us? We had less than two hours to ponder this
thunder stroke when the skipper came on the 1MC again confirming that
Rowan
was, indeed, going to raid Haiphong harbor in a matter of hours along
with Newport News, USS Providence(CLG 6) and USS
Robison (DDG 12). While I'm sure he added words concerning his
confidence in our abilities and in his intention to bring us through safely,
they were drowned in the cacophony of fear and panic that were beginning to
evade my conciseness. However, I still vividly remember five more or less
instantaneous, distinct thoughts and occurrences.
I remember standing on the starboard weather deck just forward of
amidships when the announcement was made. Then Rowanchanged course
north and put on twenty-five knots while starting to light off the third and
fourth boilers and bring them on line. I thought of the confused night
surface battles of the Solomons campaign in 1942 where destroyers took
tremendous punishment resulting in much loss of life and the severely
injured s ailors
that were left fighting for life in the choking fuel oil fumes and flames,
having abandoned their sinking ships. Preston,
Monssen, Gwinn, Barton, and too many other cans went
down with their dead and trapped crews during these type of night battles
for which Rowan was now headed at her best speed. I remember
thinking that I had to get a grip on my emotions because the green boots
aboard would be looking to us "old salts" for cues and examples.
Perhaps leadership would be too strong a word. Lastly, I remember the
peace I experienced when I accepted that I could quite possibly die that
night.
We went into battle well prepared. Rowan was amongst the
sharpest shooters in the Navy having had more gunnery practice under combat
conditions with the same crew during the few months leading up to this night
than few ships have in a lifetime. Moreover, Rowan had just had her
guns relined in Yokosuka and the 80 plus rounds of 5" HE that we could put
into a precise area in under a minute was devastating. The Shrikes
were a plus; but, the plethora of fire control radars in and around Haiphong
overwhelmed the four missiles that we had at the ready. In the final
analysis, it was the experience and solidarity of her crew that gave
Rowan her edge.
Rowan 's battle that night is best told through the
experience of her crewmembers, some of which are related below.
Briefly, after the four ship task unit had fired on their assigned targets,
Providence
and Robison retired to the Southeast leaving Rowan and
Newport News on their own, as no doubt intended.
My perspective was limited. During the raid and ensuing
battle I was at my battle station in the forward emergency generator room
below the scullery and fire control/IC compartment, just forward of the
forward fireroom. I was the electrician's mate on the emergency boards
and I had an engineman to assist in the operation of the diesel that powered
the 100 kW emergency generator. While I manned the electrician's phone
circuit, it gave little detail of what was happening. Initially it
seemed like another LINEBACKER II raid. I felt the ship heal and slow as we
turned onto our twenty knot firing run. I heard the guns in action and
the Shrikes firing at varying intervals. While the action seemed
heavier than normal, it wasn't any more than what I had been expecting.
After the firing run I felt Rowan again heal in a tight turn. The
blowers in the fireroom just aft increase in pitch and the wave noise from
the ship's passage increase as we worked up to the thirty plus knots for our
getaway. The command over the 1MC to "Now set condition YOKE" was the
next thing we expected to hear. It came in due course and I had just
taken off my phones and was opening the scuttle in the hatch above preparing
for the "Secure from GQ" command when the captain's voice came over the 1MC.
"This is the Captain speaking. It's not over yet! We've two
high-speed surface contacts closing fast! Reset condition ZEBRA.
Re-man all General Quarters stations."
Then three things happened virtually at once: The whine
from the fireroom increased to a crescendo, the height of which I had never
before heard as Rowan worked up to over thirty-five knots; she
started to heal one way and then reverse her rudder and heal hard over in
the opposite direction; and the guns were firing at a frantic rate. I
thought, "[expletives deleted] here we are in a night surface battle after
all and the high-speed contacts were missile boats with ship killing Stix
missiles".
On the lower level of the forward engine room my mate, Bob "Bogie"
Bogenholm, was manning his battle station. Bogie relates, " 27
August was a night that this snipe (at 19 years old) co uld
not forget. My GQ station was on the lower level of the forward engine
room. Of course, being only a FN I missed a lot of (need to know basis)
information. I remember hearing the guns and holding on during a couple
of quick maneuvers so as not to slide across the deck. I was
thinking "this is some serious sh*t and at the same time, wishing I was
topside to see what was going on. Not knowing, I think, was the hardest
part. I could hear the turbines pick up some drastic R[evolutions]s and
feel the deck plates start to vibrate. I knew we needed to get
somewhere in a hurry and knew the old girl would get us out of there.
When I hear ex-grunts talk about being on patrol or setting an ambush,
this night gave me the feelings that help me relate to what they went
through."
One of the few snipes that did see what was going on was
Bryson "Fats" Riordan, MMC (Ret.) then a MM1 whose battle station was on
the bridge. "My GQ station was 1JV phone talker on the bridge and as
always it
was my job to let the CO know the condition of the engineering
department. Prior to the attack on Hiaphong Harbor, I had the
watch in Main Control [in the] #1 engine room making sure all 4 boilers
were on the line and superheat was up and the plant was up. I was
relieved prior to GQ by Chief Understall and the Chief Engineer [LT
Hubble] and went to the bridge to get into battle gear, for me weighing
230 lbs., I had the largest flak vest and had my own set of sound
powered phones. We [Rowan ] were to act as a shield for the
Newport News
and to make the second pass after the USS Robinsonand USS
Providence made their run. We were receiving counter battery
from the beach and could feel the concussions as they walked to as close
as 20 yards. The Skunk Alpha was approaching at 40 plus knots and
Mount 52 was engaging and making direct hits as far as what I could tell
the USS
Newport News' after guns could not depress low enough to engage
the target. The USS Newport News took the credit along with
us scoring hits on the Motor Torpedo Boat. All I know is Fire
Control telling the Captain that we had scored hits. Chief
Understall was yelling in my ears wanting to know what was going on.
It was the darkest night that I had seen on the bridge. All I
could see was the gun flashes from all the vessels and a couple of the
closest water bursts. As far as being able to see aft there was
nothing that I or anyone on the bridge could see, especially with all of
the doors closed. All I know was that I was laughing at Understall
and me knowing that he was scared as shit, I was afraid but there was
nothing that I could do"
ET2 Richard Spicer kept a contemporary log of his time in
Rowan
. An excerpt from his log of that night stirred many memories for
all that have read it. "27 Aug 72 2230 Hrs. I was at my GQ station in
the crypto room in radio central, when we went to general quarters at
the start of the operation. It was a good place to be to hear what
was going on, as we had tac-air and Navy-red frequencies up on rem otes
and listening in on the battle group! That was one night I had my life
vest on good and secure!" From the log, "Arrived at
Haiphong harbor with the USS Newport News, USS Providence,
and USS
Robison. At 2230 GQ is sounded, 2310 all ships came to
firing course. At 2325 all ships are ordered to go "hot" and
commenced firing at coastal gun sites, NVA barracks and other targets.
ECM in CIC now sees three cross slot gun site radars radiating, and we
now are receiving counter battery! All ships are continuing firing at
their targets, still receiving counter battery. Oh shit they are
hitting real close now! Providenceand Robison turn out to
sea as they have fired their rounds at targets, leaving the Newport
News and us in the harbor. The Newport News and we keep
firing, when ECM gets a bearing on a cross slot radar site and we launch
our first Shrike anti-radar missile at it. This is from our new
"SOB" system (Shrike on board). [Seven] min. later another cross
slot radar is radiating at us and the second Shrike bird is launched.
We are still receiving counter battery and lots of it! Newport News
is still providing cover for us, with her 8-inch guns. We see
another cross slot radar come up and fire our last two shrikes at it,
this time hitting the site! With our entire Shrike missiles fired
the Newport News and we turn out to sea at 26knts. As fast
as we can. We are still taking heavy counter battery, and sonar
reports closest hits at 20 yards off the port bow. We are hauling
ass out to sea when radar sees Skunk-A at 17,000 yards closing at
48knts. We request to go hot on Skunk-A and turn 180 degrees to go
back and provide cover for Newport News and shoot at Skunk-A.
We are shooting at Skunk-A, now at 9,000 yards and closing [on the]
stbd. beam. Newport News and we continue shooting at
Skunk-Alfa when CIC radar sees Skunk-Bravo closing in on us. But
we have tac-air cover and they take Skunk-Bravo. The Newport
News
and we connect on Skunk-Alfa, a torpedo boat with Russian [Stix]
missiles on it, and sink it while tac-air sinks Skunk-Bravo! This
was a very tense operation for me, I know I thanked God for making it
through it with just minor flak damage to the ship!
Spicer, also, provided a signal from ComDesRon 15, Captain
Kline, published in Rowan's POD (Plan of the Day). It
reads, "Received a debriefing today from CO, USS Newport News on
your actions up North on the 27th. Your gutsy maneuver to
help cover for the major ship against the PT boats was in the true
tradition of the destroyer navy! It was probably the first time
since WWII that the situation had presented itself and Rowan
responded without hesitation. That you were in on the kill
is further testimony to the accuracy of your shooting. Well
Done to all hands."
Yet, there was one among Rowan 's crew that night that
had possibly the best vantage point. Dana Perkins who was a SM3 at
the time was manning his GQ station on the exposed signal bridge.
Perkins relates, "I remember the night of the Haiphong Harbor pretty
well. I don't think they passed the word of our objective until
shortly before General Quarters, as I'm sure the mission was of utmost
importance and
 secret.
Also I think that they didn't want us to have much time to think about
what was about to unfold. As a signalman I was on the highest
point on the ship and had a clear view of all the action. Myself
and three other signalmen were manning the Redeye shoulder fired
missiles, loaded, armed and ready to squeeze the trigger in the event
the time should come. When we started to see the lit shoreline and
the lighted buoys of the harbor, make no mistake about it, the tension
was high. All of a sudden the whole shoreline lit up with counter
battery, spewing bright fireballs as each round was fired at us.
The North Vietnamese weren't using flashless powder like we had.
At one time I remember counting about 22 shore batteries rapid firing at
the squadron. The shells were dropping all around us like seagull
shit, leaving thunderous columns of white spray as they splashed into
the ocean. Some of the shells were proximity and burst in the air.
I remember one shell passed over the
Rowanand burst in the air, causing the shrapnel to hit the side
of the ship. I think it put some heavy-duty dents on the starboard
side of the ship along the upper outer passageway. Luckily no one
was hit! The whole time the ships in the squadron were firing on their
intended targets with gunmounts and Shrike missiles. It was like
the most intense 4th of July display I'd ever seen. The
Newport News was off our port side at about 270 relative position,
rapid firing her 8-inch guns and launching missiles as fast as they
could get them off the deck. All of a sudden the word came over
the sound powered phone that we had 2 torpedo boats, (Russian Osha class
I believe) about 80 feet long coming out to attack. The guys in
the magazine were jamming whatever shells they could get their hands on
into the hoist. The first round that we hit one of those boats
with was actually a practice starburst round and it tore right through
it. The second round did explode. I think an A-6 Intruder
came in and finished it off with an air to surface missile. The
Newport News I believe sank the other boat. All I could think
about the whole time was how un-watertight some of those hatches on the
old Rowan were. Luckily we got past them and then the word
came in that there were some inbound bogeys [MiGs] headed our way.
I white knuckled the pistol grip of that Redeye missile and prepared for
whatever was about to happen. At about 30 miles inbound we pushed
the power button and the gyro on the missile head whined as it spooled
up. Adrenaline was in overdrive by now. Then at about 20
miles out, we got word that they turned away and were outbound. I
guess they knew the deck was stacked against them! As we turned away (at
probably flank speed I might add), the shore batteries were trying their
damnedest to get in a few last shots at us. We were out of sight
of land and an occasional round was still reaching us and splashing into
the ocean. The whole event probably didn't take 15 minutes but
seemed like an eternity with all the action going on. The next day
I remember as a chill passed through me, they told us that we weren't
that far from the mines that were dropped at the harbor entrance.
Thanks for that comforting bit of info." Note: The air
support, whether it was an A-6 Intruder or an A-7 Corsair II, came from
an attack squadron flying from USS Coral Sea (CV 43).
That's how it was to the best of our fading memories. A
veteran destroyer with a veteran crew fighting the U.S. Navy's last
night surface gun battle. Perhaps, also, it was the last of a long
tradition of destroyers placing themselves between a heavier ship and
harms way
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