USS MULLINNIX DD-944
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Sumatra, Indonesia 1969
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Excerpt from "The Last Gun Ship - History of USS Mullinnix DD-944"
A Historical Novel By Frank A. Wood
Two days of visits and general ships visiting by thousands of citizens of Belawan and Medan, Indonesia were completed successfully, with many new friends made. The official success of this protocol visit was attested to by the commendatory messages the MULLINNIX received from the American Consul, Medan, CINCPACFLT, COMSEVENTHFLT, CTG 70.8, and others.
RM2 Dennis Bergeron remembers a weekend trip was scheduled for this beautiful lake in Indonesia during the WestPac Cruise of 69. The crew rode a bus for about an hour or more out into the boonies and all of a sudden they were looking down at this huge beautiful lake. They had to drive down steep roads to get to it. The lake was completely surrounded by mountains. The guys had great cabins. It took a little while to get used to the lizards running around on the walls and ceilings, especially at night when you could hear them but not see them.
The food was forgettable but the beer was cold. A dance was held for them, but the ratio of people at the dance was something like 20:1 (Muxmen:Indonesian Woman). The crew even had motor boats at their disposal to drive around the lake or go water skiing. The water skis were very primitive - they were comprised of two old boards with ropes on them to tie your feet into. There wasn't enough beer there to get some in the mood for trying those skis. But it turned out to be a very good time.
Many of the guys eagerly awaited to dock at Belawan, Indonesia. Belawan was our first port after the long first gunline tour, and it was good to step ashore. The left photo is of: RM3 J L Nelson(Nellie), RM2 Bruce Mayhue, SN R L Hawkins, RM2 Johnny Wojcik, RMSN D F Bergeron, and on the sound powered phones, unknown. The right hand photo is of RM3 J L Fisher having his picture taken by RM3 R L Fisher and the unknown sound powered phone fella. The two Fishers are not related, other than being part of the Mullinnix Family. Note the Captain's own personal jeep carried by the Mux!!!
From: Alfred J Cammarata
3 Feb 2009
I was going through some old memorabilia and found a pamphlet on the
Mullinix from her 1969 good will visit to Belawan, (Medan) Sumatra.
googled the web page and found the photo of her in port and the write up.
I was the commo officer at the Consulate in Medan during her visit. And
the guy that sent that "well done" consulate telegram re her visit. The
Indonesians wouldn't allow Mullinnix radio transmissions while in port.
State dept agreed to re transmit all her traffic via our system. And at
least twice some of your comms people brought a box of your teletype
messages to the consulate for me to send. Since I was the lone
communicator I didn't get a chance to visit her but my wife and the rest
of the consulate people did. My wife brought back some pepperoni from
the ship. A real treat for us..I'm Italian and hadn't eaten pepperoni in
2 years!! you can believe it was a treat.
There was a hotel/bar across the street from the consulate. one afternoon
I went over. the place was full with sailors. Medan was not what I
would consider a good liberty port. I meet two sailors and invited them
to our house for dinner next day. We had traditional Indonesia satay.
grilled chicken and beef with a peanut sauce. I cant remember their
names. I believe one was married and from Illinois. They said they were
anxious to get home and really appreciated visiting with a family. They
enjoyed holding and talking with our 3 year old daughter. Mullinix had
just come off gun line.
They didn't say much and I didn't ask. But it was obvious that combat
changes people...
While I was in Medan I got permission to operate my ham radio the last 4
months there. One evening while listening on the exclusive Morse
portion of the 20 meter amateur band I heard a voice transmission in
English. I tuned it in and listened for about 5 minutes while I listened
to a voice repeating a series of numbers following each one by wia, kia. I knew it
was American but couldn't figure out what it was until the voice gave a
series of numbers with kia. After a pause the voice said say, you
remember this guy don't you?. The station he was talking with was on a
different frequency so I couldn't hear them. Then the voice replied. Sure
you do. and something like " you remember the guy that night in the bar?
well its him"...Thats when it dawned on me I was listening to casualty
report. Medan was so near yet so far away from civilization and the
world...
I never forgot that night. We used to get a classified state/dod
version of a Vietnam weekly summary which included ours and enemy
casualties.
The American casualties I stumbled on that night far exceeded what was
in those summaries. Thats when I began to think that there was some
political BS behind the numbers game. Anyway it brought back memories
of a time long ago....regards Al Cammarata, Fairfax, VA.
To be continued...
Mullinnix Welcome Aboard Pamplet (PDF)
Mux Welcome Aboard Pamplet from Belawan (Medan) Sumatra in 1969
Courtesty of Alfred "Al" Cammarata
Consulate Commo officer, Sumatra 1969
USS Mullinnix in Belawan Indonesia - 1969
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