50 Years Ago Today –Mullinnix Rings In The New Year 1961!

Excerpt from “The Last Gun Ship - History of USS Mullinnix DD-944” - A Historical Novel By Frank A. Wood

“I must go down to the sea again;
to the lonely sea and the sky;
and all I ask is a fast ship;
and a star to steer her by."

000-0400 Mid watch, Sunday, 1 January, 1961 (From Mux Deck Log entry)

As a brand new year comes once again,
The good ship Mullinnix rests in the U.S.A.
The time has come to pick up a pen
To write the log or New Year’s Day.
The weather is clear, the temperature mild
And the ship is moored starboard side to.
Though in the past the weather’s been mild,
Tonight we rest calmly with a weary crew.
Standard lines doubled are all that’s required,
With a wire fore and aft to be sure
We’ll stay safely put should the lines become tired.
Las year it was a Mediterranean Moor
Which held us in Naples, while in the Med.
We’ve since sailed far and wide
But in all our ports good relations led
To America’s good will still undenied.
To France, to Spain, and to Italy too,
Our proud ship sailed with the Sixth Fleet,
Till February when our cruise was through,
And we headed for home to once again meet
Our loved ones and friends whom we hadn’t seen
Since August of ’59 when we left on our cruise.
To drydock we went, our bottom to clean,
Our sides to point and old sonar to lose.
The shipyard installed a new sonar for us,
And soon we sailed to Guantanamo.
Down there we were training at sea plus
Working at night. And so
We were glad to come home for three weeks
Before sailing again on the sixth of September,
After shining our brass and patching some leaks.
This time came a cruise we long will remember,
For 29 days were spent out at sea
And we crossed the Artic Circle one day.
We visited Antwerp in Belgium where we
Stayed six days before we made our way
Down the Schelde River and to sea once more
To set our course toward home.
Again our families were waiting ashore
As we dressed the ship and polished the chrome.
And except for a short southern trip
We’ve been in local waters or here in port.
Tonight we’re in Norfolk, as the southeast tip
Of Virginia, at the U.S. Naval Station, a sort
Of home away from home. Cold
Iron watches are set in all
Main propulsion spaces. Se we’ve rolled
Out the shore power cable lest the voltage fall,
And the steam lines for auxiliary steam,
With fresh water and phone lines also provided.
Units of the Atlantic Fleet are on the port beam,
And the starboard as well. Some foreign vessels have decided
To spend New Year’s here, with a few
Yard and district craft nearby.
COMSECONDFLT is SOPA and a new
COMDESRON 32 has broken his pennant high
In this ship since last New Year’s Eve.
And so as we rest quietly at our pier,
And the time comes for the watch to relieve,
It’s appropriate to will all a “Happy New Year”.

Noel J. Fenton, LTJG, USNR
Examined: H.G. Dudley, LCDR
Approved: H.G. Dudley, LCDR, Acting Commanding


Following the rhyming midwatch report, the first entry in the new year’s log was courtesy of SK2 Panko. “R.C.” blessed the ship with his arrival after being UA since New Year’s Eve.


To be continued...
Cheers,
Woody