USS MULLINNIX DD-944
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Trinidad 1958
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Pictures courtesy of Jim Young
Trinidad 1958
Trinidad 1958
The Red House (Government Building)
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Mullinnix steamed through indigo-blue Caribbean water that was clear as glass, headed to her first foreign port of Port of Spain, Trinidad. Diamond Rock Light passed abeam to port, signaling the arrival at US Naval Station, Port of Spain, Trinidad, British West Indies the morning of 26 June. Trinidad was lush, green, and knock-down beautiful. Palm-dotted streets, red-tiled roofs, biscuit-colored stucco buildings and shotgun houses fronted by ceiling-high windows and ventilated green shutters, with palm fronds fraying overhead.
The shear spectacle of the U.S. Navies newest man-of-war tied up portside to the antiquated pier, not even leaving room enough to dock a dingy, was inspiring. With the sun boiling overhead the crew could see heat-lighting in the distant clouds and smell rain. Ignoring the potential weather, three-thousand visitors came on board Mullinnix in three days to explore the ship and meet the crew.
Calypso, a form of topical song that originated in Trinidad, was one of the first popular music traditions from outside North America and Europe to be commercially recorded. For those short periods of time when the crew wasn't coughing dust at the local watering holes or dancing at these Calypso clubs, they were able to take in the famous "Red House of Parliament" and other historical landmarks.
1 July 1958 found the Mullinnix and Ranger departing Trinidad, steaming towards Rio de Janeiro, Brazil per USS Ranger Op-Order 4-58. After clearing the Gulf of Paria and securing the Special Sea Detail, Mullinnix began plane guard detail (again) as the Ranger continued flight operations.
An Officer of the Deck (OOD) is always on the bridge when a ship is underway. Each OOD stands a four-hour watch and is the officer designated by the Commanding Officer to be in charge of the ship. The OOD is responsible for the safety and operation of the ship, including navigation, ship handling, communications, routine tests and inspections, reports, supervision of the watch team, and carrying out the Plan of the Day (POD).
When a ship suffers damage, even minor damage, the OOD is responsible and the shit hits the fan. Steaming 4000 yards astern of Ranger, ENS Edward Brewton was on top of the world. He was well on his way to a successful career in the Navy and at the moment was in command of the Navy's newest destroyer. Standing tall underneath his newly minted blue ball cap and dressed in starched Ensign-attire with gleaming unscratched Ensign bars mounted on his shoulders, he was king.
Brewton surveyed the Mullinnix bridge in the radiance of the day. She looked like home to him. He approved of her, she suggested sanctuary, respectability and endurance, and she had dignity. Whether arrogance or ignorance, whether lack of training or common sense, Brewton made a series of decisions that resulted in Mullinnix dead in the water and the Captain's gig in the water. The deck log entry simply stated, "minor damage to the gig resulted from improper seamanship".
QM3 Richard "Buss" Bussey, the Quartermaster of the Watch, leered at Brewton out of the corner of his eye with a look the said, "How bad does it suck to be you?"
Although shipmate Warren Downs was the guy responsible for the damage, and told the CO as much, the Captain was having none of it - Brewton was the Officer in charge.
Brewton's world imploded on him. His crumpled face resembled a tennis ball that had been left several days in the rain. Punishment was swift and severe - restricted to quarters and suspended from duty for ten days. What wasn't recorded in the deck log - the probable end of a Naval career. Most of the crew felt Brewton was punished unjustly but was done was done.
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