Turner Times

Turner TimesContinued from Page 1lic squares abound in the historic section of the city and the waterfrontarea is quite quaint and exceptionallypicturesque.This tour also included admissioninto one of Savannah’s most famousand historic mansions-- the home ofJuliette Gordon Low who later in lifebecame the founder of the GirlScouts.Again, the afternoon and eveningwas free time to do with as wewished.Thursday was the last day of thereunion. It started with the businessmeeting at nine a.m. and a brief welcome and some added remarks byoutgoing Associationpresident,Bernie Sciarpelletti.Next, Treasurer Joe Stepanek readthe treasurer’s report. The Association did have some money left fromlast year’s reunion, but Joe made aplea for more members, to please, ifat all possible, pay some dues. This isstrictly a voluntary thing and whetheryou pay or not, if your name is on theroster, you will receive the TURNERTIMES. Printing and mailing theTIMES is the Association’s biggestexpense.Normally, Dick Shanaberger wouldgive the Secretary’s Report. However, Dick was at home and ill, andfor the first time since he started theTURNER reunions eighteen yearsago, he could not be in attendance.He was sorely missed. Grant Wilcoxfilled in for him and is gradually replacing Dick in many of his duties-and doing a fine job.The next item on the businessagenda was the selection of the twosucceeding sites for the TURNERreunions. Subsequent to a few suggestions from the floor, and following a discussion on each offering,New Orleans, LA, was chosen for the2010 festivities with Buffalo, NY,becoming the city of choice for the2011 gathering. I have already seenthe itinerary for possible tours avail-able for both cities and will onlysay, start making your plans now toattend both reunions. You will havethe time of your life. And while weare on the subject of the city of Buffalo, you might consider the needfor a passport if you intend to seeNiagara Falls from the Canadianside, which is the most strikingview of the Falls.A brief discussion ensued concerning what days of the week weremost beneficial to have the reunions. It was determined unanimously that weekdays seemed thebest for travel as well as financially.Room rates were much more expensive on weekends. So, as of now,the reunions will start on Mondayand end on Thursday with farewellsand departing on Friday.Nominations and election of officers consisted of Roy Turcottemoving from 1st VP to president;Henry Turner was upgraded to 1stVP from 2nd VP and Ernie Looswas nominated and elected to theposition of 2nd VP which he graciously accepted. Now, all positionsare once again filled. Bernie Sciarpelletti was awarded a beautifulplaque for his dedication and service as president of the TURNERReunion Association Committee.Collection of dues was the lastitem on the business agenda followed by adjournment. The rest ofthe day was free time given over torelaxing, exploring the city, or justenjoying the fine camaraderie thatis always present in the HospitalityRoom.However, everyone began to assemble back at the hotel by 5:30 inorder to take pictures for theTURNER Memory Book. The cashbar was opened at six and a marvelous dinner was enjoyed by all atseven-thirty.The attendees at this year’s reunion were honored to have three special guests in their midst. One wasAlex McDonough, the grandson offormer Executive Officer, VinceMcDonough. Alex was a captain in3the Army Military Police and servedone tour of duty in Afghanistan andtwo in Iraq. He is married and hiswife Beth is a first lieutenant in theArmy and is serving our country inAfghanistan. We wish her and all ourtroops a safe and rapid return.Also honoring the TURNER congregation with their presence at thebanquet, were Joseph Southard andhis lovely wife, Evelyn. Joe is the sonof the late Captain PembertonSouthard who was the sixth commanding officer of the TURNER. Itwas an honor to have all three guestsjoin us for our eighteenth grand reunion.The Fifty-fifty prizes given to thelucky winners at the banquet drawingconsisted of peanuts, wine, cashmoney and three prizes of one night’sfree lodging at the hotel. Congratulations to ALL the winners during thereunion.The balance of this wonderful evening was spent dancing, mingling andenjoying the company of friends wewould more than likely not see foranother year.Friday morning was set aside forlast minute farewells and finally, saddepartures.AnotherfantasticTURNER reunion is in the wake.New Orleans will soon appear on thehorizon. I’m ready to go right now.How about you?NOTICEA CHANCE TO GIVE BACKHello, fellow Turner Reunion Association members and families. Asyou know, we will be meeting inNew Orleans, Louisiana next year,2010. Many families there are stilldisplaced from their homes sinceHurricanes Katrina and Rita hit theirarea in 2005. There is an opportunity for you to help some of thesepeople through the St. Bernard Project in New Orleans. St. BernardProject is a community-based nonContinued on Page 6

Turner TimesOur Turner TimesWhat we remember aboutCaptain PaulyRememberspart Four of Six partsWe completed our training andreturned to Mayport to get readyfor another six-month deploymentto the Mediterranean. TURNERcarried only one motorwhaleboat,but when originally built she hadtwo. Many of the crew thoughtthat a second boat was needed.Although gambling is not allowedon Navy ships, I had for a longtime permitted gambling nights onboard at sea. The Chiefs strictlycontrolled them, and the ship tooka cut from each pot. That moneywas usually used for charity contributions instead of having thoseonerous charity drives. Now weused some of it to buy a small jonboat with an outboard motor. Westowed it on deck and named itTIGER CUB and it came in handyduring the cruise.On the Atlantic transit, our Commodore decreed that the variabledepth sonar be lowered to its operating depth at all times. Thatwould let us detect any submarineoperating below a thermal layer a sharp change in water temperature, which bends the sonar pulseand hides the submarine frombow mounted sonars. I objectedto this when refueling, because ifyou backed engines in an emergency, you would cut the cableand lose the sonar. It was wellknown that backing was forbiddenwith that sonar at depth, and tohave that sonar transducer hitbottom was a court martial offense for the Captain the same asa ship grounding The Commo-dore overruled my objection. Iremembered Captain Justmanon my old ship DASH and hisdispute with his Commodore if you cross swords you lose,even when you are correct. SoI accepted his decision andlowered the sonar enroute asdirected. But when we refueled, I pulled it up to just belowthe surface. From a distancehe couldn't see I was doing it,and it made me feel better.We also had competitions allthe way across the Atlantic.One involved knowledge ofSIXTH FLEET publications.We divided the publicationsand had each man in our CICteam become an expert on onepublication. We gathered inCIC and when a question wasposed by radio to all ships, theproper expert responded - always first with the right answer.We won every time. Anothercompetition involved the flagship suddenly firing a 5" shell,which exploded in a black puffat an altitude of several thousand feet. The purpose was tosee which ship in formationcould be first to man and loadguns and fire a shell to thesame spot. TURNER alwayswon that too, because we keptone gun and the directormanned at all times.After we got to the Mediterranean, we were sent to a portwith some destroyers of another division. I was in a clubwith the Commodore and Captains of the other ships whenhe asked his Captains to conduct a charity drive the nextday for an orphanage he hadjust visited. He was hesitant toorder me to do the same since4I was not in his Division, but I volunteered and stated thatTURNER would equal or betterhis best ship. Next day I foundout what they had raised andgave a slightly higher amountfrom our gambling pot fund. TheCommodore wondered how I didso well on charity drives, but Inever explained.Rear Admiral John D. Bulkeley,the Medal of Honor holder fromPT boat exploits in World WarTwo, was now our Task ForceCommander riding in the cruiserCOLUMBUS. At one point therewas a possibility that we wouldhave to evacuate civilians because of hostilities in the easternMed. He sent a message askingeach ship to report how manythey could accommodate. Ithought about it, and decided mycrew would hot-bunk and wewould make half of the living compartments available to civilianswho could also hot-bunk, and reported a number. Other ships didsimilar calculations. When he gotthe reports, RADM Bulkeleychewed us all out saying that thecorrect answer was "all of them".Fortunately we did not have to doit. The Admiral apparently neverforgot his PT boat days. I recall anight replenishment when he wasbringing our formation to a rendezvous with an oiler and anammo ship. They were makingabout 16 knots toward us, and hewas bringing us to them at 25knots, but because of the size ofour formation, he inadvertentlyhad TURNER on a collisioncourse with the oiler. I told mycrew on the bridge that we werein a situation where, no matterwhat I do I'll get chewed out bythe Admiral - but I can't let us colContinued on Page 5

Turner TimesContinued from Page 4lide with the oiler. I reportedhaving a constant bearing onthe oiler - a sign of impendingcollision - but no action by theAdmiral. Finally, I maneuveredto avoid and reported leavingstation. And I got chewed outas I predicted. He just loved todrive the whole formation like apack of PT boats. But he wasactually a nice man. In the nextport he had TURNER tie upalongside COLUMBUS and invited me to go to a meetingashore with him in his Navy sedan. At the proper time I methim at the car and proceeded toget into the front passenger seatas is proper for the junior officer.He said "Pauly, get in back, Iride with the driver'. As wedrove off the pier, a nun wasbegging. He had the car stopand quickly gave her money before I knew what was happening- and then commented on myfailure to do so and that he wasn't even Catholic. He was different. He always had a copy ofthe movie "They Were Expendable" ready to show to guests.It was the wartime movie, Hollywood version, of his PT boatdays.We had a big fleet exercisewhere TURNER was assignedto act as a Soviet Destroyer andattempt to get in close enoughto "sink" the aircraft carrier withan anti-ship missile. Everyoneassumed that it was an impossible task, but we left our formation at night, went behind anearby island close enough tolet our radar image be lost fromthe formation. Then we riggedlights to make us look like amerchant ship at night and alsoput men over the side andpainted out part of the 4 in ourbow number so that from a distance it looked like 831, thenumber of our sister shipGOODRICH. We came out frombehind the island on a typicalmerchant ship course and speedand went over the horizon fromthe formation. Next morning wecame back in from the other side- away from the GOODRICH and penetrated the outer screenby sending a flashing light message to the nearest destroyerasking for a morning position which made them think we werethe GOODRICH way out of station trying to get back to the rightplace. We got in close enoughto the carrier and scored a "hit".But now the weather got bad,and we couldn't put men overthe side to correct the hull number.We were ordered into Suda BayCrete to refuel, and I had difficulty explaining the wrong hullnumber when we tried to enterthat port. We fixed it there.I heard from a staff officer, thatthe Vice Admiral who was COMSIXTH FLEET had told his staffthat if they needed a destroyerto do a job right the first time,send TURNER. We were gaining the reputation 1 wanted forthe ship. So sure enough, theygave us the job of going alone tothe coast of Syria to collect electronic intelligence. They outfitted us with a van of specialequipment for that purpose, andassigned us some technical experts with high security clearances to operate it. We had tosteam on one boiler to conservefuel and we were the only USNavy ship in the entire easternMed. While on this duty, we hadtwo equipment failures - onewas the surface search radarwhich needed a small gear notin our spare parts allowance,and the other was a broken5spring in a safety valve on a mainfeed booster pump which wouldlimit our top speed until fixed and again no spare part in ourallowance. You must report thesethings by what is called a CASREP message, both to let seniorsknow your status, and in order toget spare parts sent from the USA- and they come by mail. A day orso later, we reported CASCOR tolet our seniors know that everything was fixed. COM SIXTHFLEET became curious becausehe knew where we were and thatno parts could have come, so heasked by message how we hadfixed both items. I reported thatmy Chief Engineer, LT MikeDougherty, had found an identicalgear in the wardroom clock, andhe had used a spring from a fishing scale in his own tackle box.COM SIXTH FLEET then sent avery nice message congratulatingTURNER on "Yankee Ingenuity".Stay Tuned for the nextinstallment of Captain PaulyRemembers in the next TurnerTimes Newsletter!

Turner TimesA note from Grant WilcoxThis was my first year to do thereunion planning on my own. If youwere at this year’s Savannah reunionI hope you enjoyed yourself. I received a lot of great support from theDe Soto Hilton staff, the Turner executive board and the Armed ForcesReunion organization.I appreciate all of your patiencewith me as I now begin my journeyonward with the planning of our September, 2010 reunion which will beheld in the wonderful City of NewOrleans.The contract has been signed forthe Turner DD/DDR834 reunion thatis scheduled in New Orleans for2010. The reunion will be at theDouble Tree Hotel New Orleans.The scheduled dates will be Monday,September 27, 2010 thru Thursday,September 30, 2010. Monday will becheck-in day and the banquet will bescheduled for Thursday evening.Check out will be on Friday.Room rates are set at 102.57 (thisincludes the 13% tax and occupancytax)Parking will be valet at 20.00 perday.Tours, places to go see, and banquetand buffet menus will not be scheduled until after the first of the year.3.4.5.6.GrantFor you who miss being in theNavy!30 Ways to Simulate Being inthe Navy When You're at Home1. Lock all friends andfamily outside. Youronly means of communication should be withletters that yourneighbors have heldfor at least threeweeks, discarding twoof five.2. Surround yourself with7.8.9.200 people that youdon't really know orlike: people whosmoke, snore likeMack trucks goinguphill, mail and usefoul language like achild uses sugar oncereal.Unplug all radios andTVs to completelycut yourself off fromthe outside world.Have a neighborbring you a Time,Newsweek, or Proceedings from fiveyears ago to keep youabreast of currentevents.Monitor all home appliances hourly, recording all vital information (i.e.plugged in, lightscome on when doorsopen, etc).Do not flush the toiletfor five days to simulate the smell of 40people using thesame commode.Lock the bathroomtwice a day for a fourhour period.Wear only militaryuniforms. Eventhough nobody cares,clean and press onedress uniform andwear it for 20 minutes.Cut your hair weekly,making it shortereach time, until youlook bald or look likeyou lost a fight with ademented sheep.Work in 19 hour cycles, sleeping only6four hours at a time, toensure that your bodydoes not know or evencare if it is day ornight.10. Listen to your favoriteCD 6 times a day for twoweeks, then play musicthat causes acute nauseauntil you are glad to getback to your favorite CD.Stay tuned in the next two issues forthe remainder ways to simulate beingin the Navy when you're home!!Continued from Page 3profit organization headquartered inSt. Bernard Parish, Louisiana whichis adjacent to New Orleans LowerNinth Ward, and is a uniquely tightknit working-class community thatsuffered catastrophic damage inHurricanes Katrina and Rita. If youare interested in forming a group ofTurner volunteers for three daysprior to our reunion, please letBernie & Barbara Sciarpelletti knowas soon as possible. Many arrangements have to be made with the St.Bernard Project coordinator in advance. We do know that accomodations will be rustic as well as inexpensive. NOTE: Participants areresponsible for all their own expenses and are asked to bring theirown tools if possible. We have suggested clothing hints as well as acomplete volunteer informationpacket if you are interested.Please respond to Bernie & 2 Millbrook AvenueTarrytown NY 10591

Turner TimesSubmitted by Mel Edwards, LTJG ‘57-’59Final Roll CallSince our last issue we have learned that theseshipmates have answered the call of the SupremeCommander:Charles CordovaJames E. De LaforgueAllen G. EngferHerbert W. MeyerRoy C. MorganGeorge SteinerRichard D. ThomasLouis D. WalshWilliam H. nder Wright sent the following poem forpublication. I was on the ship with Wright andhe and his wife were at the same table with Bettyand I in Savannah (not Savannah 2009). He goesby a nickname and for the life of me I cannotthink of it. Anyway, I think this poem shows usthat Wright's men respected him a great deal. Italso shows that there is more than one view ofmaking the navy a career. By the way Wrightwas a Master Chief when he retired. So, you cancopy the following and use it when there isspace. Mel.F1FABT3RD1S2LTJGMM2F2EMSOSABMC Willie Lee King Shown in1965 while serving on the USSTurner DDR-834BMC Willie Lee King - wasborn in Meansville, Georgia. Heenlisted in the navy on 13 January 1956, at Macon, Georgia.After boot camp he went toBoatswain Mate “A” school. On16 November 1956, SA Kingreported for duty on board theUSS Windham Bay CVE 92.On 16 May 1957, he was promoted to SN. When the USSWindham Bay was decommissioned at the end of 1958, SN Kingreported on board the USS McDermut DD 677 where he remaineduntil his first re-enlistment ended. On 11 January 1960 SN WillieLee King re-enlisted at US Naval Station, Charleston, South Carolina. He received a re-enlistment bonus of 744. On 15 January1960 he reported on board the USS Massey DD 778 where he waspromoted to BM3. He remained until 2 January 1962 when hetransferred to the USS Turner DDR 834. While on board theTurner, he was promoted to BM2. On 13 September 1965, his second hitch ended. The next day BM2 King re-enlisted and receiveda bonus of 1904. On 12 October 1965 BM2 King became a student at Cargo Handling Battalion One, Williamsburg, Virginia andthen went on to the Naval Station at Mayport, Florida for dutywhere he remained until 15 December 1967. By now he had promoted to BM1. On 29 January 1968, BM1 Willie Lee King reported for duty on board the USS Frank E Evans DD 754 where hewas promoted to BMC. BMC Willie Lee King died 3 June 1969with 73 shipmates when the Evans was cut in half by HMAS Melbourne an Australian aircraft carrier.Ref: National Personnel Records Center; photo - USS Turner AssociationOUR NAVYI joined the Navy and got put on a can,And thought it was great till the work began.We work all day, stand watches all night,So what sleep we get is a real delight.We wake in the morning and it is time to turn to,So we work and we sweat the whole day through.The hours are long and the pay is small,But we got a raise so we're having a ball.Now we have a first class by the name of Wright,And he works us hard both day and night.For it's work, work, work you dogs,And by the end of the day we are as dirty ashogs.But we don't mind, we're true blue,We love the Navy, believe me we do.But when they come around and say "Ship Over,"I'll laugh in their face, "What? Is this all over?"Some ship for six, some for twenty,But for me my boy, there just isn't enoughmoney.Turn to, turn to, is all we hear,But I'll stick it out for another year.For when my times up -- it's home I go,To a civilian job and civilian clothes,No watches at night or geting up before light,No staying at sea for a week or three,For it's home I'll be. No Navy for me.Having passed the enlistment physical, Jon wasasked by the doctor, "Why do you want to jointhe Navy, son?" "My father said it'd be a goodidea, sir." "Oh? And what does your father do?""He's in the Army, sir."7

Turner TimesRoster UpdateAs of this mailing,the TurnerAssociation rostertotals 1,698located shipmatesand associatemembers.The U. S .S. Turner Reunion Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to locating andkeeping us in contact with our former shipmates. The Association Officers are:President Roy Turcotte (‘65-’67)SecretaryGrant Wilcox ('62-'63)1st Vice President Henry Turner (‘57-’60)MembershipDave Bodendorf ('57-'59)2nd Vice President Ernie Loos (‘55-’57)Webmaster Bill Schaepe ('58-'60)TreasurerJoe Stepanek ('57-'60)ChaplainCarl Ackerman ('51-'55)The Turner Times is published periodically, by the dedicated staff members shown below, tohelp communicate Association news and facilitate the sharing of memories. Suggestions anditems of interest can be submitted to either of us. Originals will be returned, if requested.Editor/PublisherStaff CoordinatorBill Schaepe ('59-'60)Mike Mania (53-54)9 Christopher St, #610401 N 108th AveNew York, NY 10014Sun City, AZ 85351Phone: (212) 242-2244Phone: (623) 977-0429E-mail: wschaepe@earthlink.netsmmania@msn.comEach mailing we have several pieces returned because shipmates do not let us know they have moved.For our last mailing, a number of shipmates did not inform us of their new addresses. The Postal Service charges us .70 for each "Moved Notification" we receive from them. Add to that the cost ofprinting and postage we lost sending it to a bad address. Then we have to begin the search again tofind our "lost" shipmate, which takes more time and money. Right now our roster lists 50 "Lost" shipmates who cannot be found!! Please do us a favor, especially you "snowbirds!" If you are moving orhave recently moved, PLEASE drop us a line, call or email us with your new information so we don'tlose you again!!Get Ready for our next Reunion at the Doubletree Hilton in New Orleans, LouisianaSeptember 27-30, 2010ASSOCIATION DUES — Although dues are voluntary, we could use your help. Look at your mailing label. If "DuesPaid" appears by your name, your dues are paid. If not, and you want to pay them, send a 20 check, payable to the USSTurner Reunion Association to our Treasurer, Joe Stepanek, 9372 Duff Ct, Ellicott City, MD 21042. Please remember thatannual dues cover the "year" between reunions and NOT a calendar year. (Dues paid after October 15, 2009 are not reflected on the label)MOVED ? — If you have moved, plan to do so, changed your telephone number, e-mail ad

Please make checks payable to Carl L. Ackerman. Up-to-date rosters — 5. Turner baseball caps embroidered with Turner logo — 18. Mesh polo shirts embroidered with Turner logo. Colors: Red, White or Navy Blue. Sizes M to XXL. All sizes come with a pocket — 45. Sizes 2XL to 3XL — 50. Sweat Shirts embroidered with Turner logo.