I found out that USS Kretchmer (DER-329) was to be Decommissioned for a final time on 01 OCT 1973 [this was in February 1973, via a story on front
page of Navy Times]. I wrote to the Commanding Officer of my ship,
at Homeport in Key West, FL, asking if a final ships Reunion could be held that weekend with the
Decommissioning Ceremony.
The CO sent me back a very nice letter stating that he would do all he could to help. He also said that if I would give him the address of any former
USS Kretchmer shipmate he would send an engraved invitation to the proceeding for that weekend. I went to work and contacted The Navy Times asking them to place a Reunion
notice in their newspaper as many times as possible. The Reunion notices started showing up in Navy Times in early March 1973 and continued throughout the summer.
I also wrote one of my "better" letters to the mayor of Chicago, Illinois [Richard J. Daley], asking if our ship USS Kretchmer (which was named
for a man that was born in Chicago, IL) could be bought by the city and be "tied-up" next to Navy Pier, as a Memorial. I got no reply from the city.
I also wrote to other newspapers asking if a Reunion notice could be placed in their paper with no results. From the Navy Times came one reply in mid
August from Joseph Edel, of Boynton Beach, FL. We were the only former crewmembers to go to the final Decommissioning on Monday 01 OCT 1973.
The CO, a LCDR, asked me to come down Saturday 29 SEP 73 and he would give me a personal tour of the DER-329. As it was, I visited my friend Joseph Edel on
Saturday and on Sunday afternoon rented a car and drove down to Key West, arriving at 2200-hrs. Went to NAS Key West
and showed the gate guard my pass to the Kretchmer.
The ship was tied alongside the
pier, went up the gangplank and asked permission to
come aboard to the lone Quarterdeck Watch, He
said I could go into the ship. I "opened up" one hatch
and looked inside - everything was "gutted". I
closed the "hatch" and returned to the Quarterdeck and
told the "watch," I'll keep "my memories of the inside
of the ship, when I sailed on it from 1964 to 1968,
alive in my head.
That night I slept at the Southern Most Hotel in the United
States [that was the name of the Hotel]. I awoke at 0600 on Monday, went into town to buy a tie and proceeded to the Navy Base Key West for the Decommissioning Ceremony at
0800. When I arrived Joseph Edel, RM2 (he was also our Postal Clerk) was their with his camera that he bought in Hong Kong. We were the only ex-crewmembers present.
Allan MacArthur Wilson
Des Plaines, IL
>>> Duty, Honor and Country <<<
Additional history -
26 June 2006
Allan Wilson responds to the following
question - "While you were on the 329, did they
make a "Dog Rocks picket?"
I came aboard on Friday
13 Nov 1964. One month later on 11 Dec we left Newport and
sailed to Key West to pick up some Sonormen. Next he headed for Dog
Rocks and relieved another DER.
We would circle the
Rocks which was about forty miles north of Cuba. We were part of
the southern DEW Line. Every DER would stay on Station for one full
month.
On 31 Dec 1964 our main
Radar unit went out about 1900 or 2000 hours. We radioed Key West
and went there for a new radar unit, arriving at 2200-hrs. Our
skipper gave us four hours of Liberty.
At 0230-hrs., the ship
(with all hands) set sail back on Station until 15 Jan 1965.
On Christmas Day 1964,
the ship had a "cookout" on the fantail. The shopfitters cut a oil
drum in two and made two grills for the ship. Supply Division
had steaks, baked potatoes and salads with hot rolls for everyone.
The Commanding Officer, Steven Ames Wise, gave each man a Christmas
card plus a ships' Zippo lighter.
When we were relived by
another DER on 15 Jan 1965, we headed for Key West to "off-load"
the Snowmen. As we approached Key West there was a strong wind and
the ship requested a Navy tug-boat for help to get to the pier.
While out on station
the Deck Force (1st Div.) painted both sides of the ship and the
decks. As the YTM (tug-boat) helped us, it left a twenty foot
rubber mark along the side of the ship.
That night while in Key
West, I was walking down a street to a bar and a voice shouted,
WILSON. I saw a man who came across the street and it was a
friend from Great Lakes Boot Camp. He worked on that YTM and was at
the helm, helping our ship to the pier.
We went into a bar and
had a few drinks. What a "small world". By the next day the 1st
Div. had repaint the side that was "marred". The ship left
Key West for Newport.
Going from eighty-plus weather to thirty degrees in Newport was a
big change.
