Back at the NROTC unit at Chapel Hill, we were all instructed to fill out “dream sheets,” with no assurance we would receive our requested assignments.  The scuttle butt was that no one should request Pacific coast duty, because that would simply mean assignment to Viet Nam.  In the NROTC hierarchy, I was among the lowest of the low, so I had no pull to get what I wanted.  Still, palm trees and beaches sounded nice, so I requested Pearl Harbor.  Well, I got it!  The rumor mill was working overtime: someone got assigned Hawaii duty – who does he know?  Answer: no one, just stumbling through life.

I reported to the destroyer USS Ernest G. Small, DD 838.  We knew for sure we would be deployed soon to Viet Nam, because the ship had the unusual distinction of having three large gun mounts, not just two.  This would come in handy on the gun line, off the coast of Viet Nam. 

Before we deployed, however, we were sent on a special assignment to Adak, Alaska, which is in the Aleutian Island chain.  We were sent there, because the U. S. government was doing underwater nuclear tests.  Our task was to ward off any fishing vessels which might show up in the area during the testing period. 

Adak, Alaska, is called the birthplace of the winds – with good reason.  The storms out at sea were horrendous.  Sometimes the ship was listing more than 30 degrees to either side. 

We finished the assignment and headed south to Pearl Harbor.  A serious problem immediately became apparent: the storm damage had badly damaged the ship’s hull, particularly in the engineering spaces below.  The engineering officers had grim looks on their faces.  The engineers mates were constantly finding more leaks, and shoving cone shaped devices in the leak area, with a thick grease called “Monkey S - - T” slathered around the cone.

The Commanding officer notified Pearl Harbor of how badly we were limping and might not even make it home.  The response was to do your best and try to get here, so the damage could be assessed in dry docks.

As soon as we returned to Pearl, orders came out for us to deploy immediately to Viet Nam.  Our Captain repeated his reports about the major damage to the hull.  The response was that we were to proceed to Subic Bay shipyards in the Philippines, to assess the damage. 

When we got to Subic Bay, we were told to go immediately to Viet Nam.  The rationale was that we were being sent there to support the war effort, not to languish in dry docks. 

So off we went, with all the leaks and huge rust spots everywhere. 

When we arrived at the gun line in Viet Nam, our assignment was to do four hours duty on the gun line, then eight hours off, along with other ships.  When we proceeded Northward, our guns would be directed inland, on the port side.  At the uppermost point of the gun line, we would reverse course, head South, swivel the gun mounts to the starboard side, and resume firing. The idea was to confine the land battle to certain narrow portions of Viet Nam, by using Naval weaponry to interdict other land areas. 

We fired about once every five minutes.  The boom of the guns is such a roar, with a ring of white gold fire coming out the barrel with each firing.  An old ship such as ours is coated with a thick layer of dust everywhere, including the overheads.  Each time the guns fired, we felt a jolt, followed by another layer of dust falling.  Amazingly, we got to the point where we could sleep soundly, when it was our turn to sleep, while others were above decks, doing the firing.  But, then, we had already gotten used to the idea that an old ship also is infested with cockroaches, really unavoidable.  The first time a cock roach walked across my face during the night, I was grossed out.  After that, it was just another thing to take in stride. 

We had some South Vietnamese Naval officers on board, to learn how to operate on board a ship.  These were two of the most unmotivated people I’ve ever seen.  The only thing they really showed an interest in, was when would we be going on liberty to Hong Kong?  Their values made me wonder if there was any way to help these people win. 

When we finally limped home, the ship was quickly put into dry docks and then sold to the Royal Thai Navy. 

The Viet Nam war was winding down.  Numerous people were being given early outs.  I went to law school at Georgetown, in Washington, DC.