Recollections by Steve Fisher (RD2)

From February through the end of August, 1962, the USS Charles P. Cecil operated in the Mediterranean with the Sixth Fleet's Destroyer Squadron 26. During that period, we conducted numerous anti-air warfare and anti-submarine warfare exercises throughout the Mediterranean Sea, the Aegean Sea, the Adriatic Sea, the Ligurian Sea, the Ionian Sea, the Sea of Crete and the Tyrrhenian Sea.

The Cecil opposed elements of the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Air Force and elements of the Spanish, Greek, French and other various NATO forces.

We departed Norfolk rated last in a squadron of eight ships and when the fiscal year ended in June, Cecil was rated third for the whole year, only a few points out of first place. Our AAW record with the 6th Fleet was second to none.

Our skipper was Commander Charles P. Rozier. Our XO was Lt. Commander Arthur Hasler.

We visited twelve ports in four countries: Theoule, Cannes and Golfe Juan in France; San Remo, Liverno (twice), Messina, Naples (twice), Plaremo and Tarominia in Italy, Rhodes and Athens in Greece; and finally, Gibralter.

One of the highlights of our '62 cruise occurred on June 7 as we anchored in Cannes, France for a four-day visit. The weather in this area is quite unpredictable and during our first evening in port, calm seas were suddenly hit by fifty mile an hour winds. Nights like this are dreaded by every Commanding Officer, particularly when he is off the ship and unable to return by boat. That was the case on the night of June 7 at anchor in Cannes with every Commanding Officer of our Destroyer Squadron (USS Cecil, USS Stickell, USS Corry and USS O'Hare) ashore. Some of the other ships in our squadron dragged anchor for several hundred yards and one ship was blown aground in nearby Golfe Juan. Fortunately, our alert watch personnel on Cecil responded quickly and the ship was never seriously in danger.

When sailors from the Cecil who were on liberty returned to fleet landing in Cannes, we found that we, too, were unable to get back to the Cecil because she had moved. We caught a whaleboat from one of the carriers (I think it was the USS Independence CVA 62) anchored nearby and spent the night on the carrier's mess deck. The following day, the liberty party stranded on the carrier was transported back to the Cecil and we were called in to assist in salvage operations in Golfe Juan where one of our tin cans remained aground. Fortunately, that destroyer had not been damaged extensively and returned shortly to full operational status following minor repairs.

When we arrived in Livorno, Italy with other ships of the Task Group, we experienced an extremely busy in-port period. Rear Admiral Speck, Commander Cruiser-Destroyer Force Atlantic Fleet, visited the Cecil and held conferences with all officers and leading petty officers.

In the meantime, everyone aboard the Cecil had been working extra hours to prepare for our annual Administrative Inspection by Commander Destroyer Division 262. During this inspection, the inspecting party did not leave a single stone unturned. All spaces on the ship were inspected, all records of every department were scrutinized and compared to a standard check list, and a full dress inspection of all hands was held. As you may recall, ships' reputations rise and fall on these annual Administrative Inspections, and everyone aboard the Cecil was well aware of that fact. We also knew that we had a good ship and we proved it to the Commodore, who had nothing but praise after he had completed the inspection. Our final grade was high excellent and the Commodore remarked that the appearance of our personnel was "the best in the division."

With the above mentioned inspection behind us, we enjoyed the attractions of nearby Pisa and Florence.

During our cruise, the Cecil received many messages which reflect the high standards of performance that our officers and enlisted personnel achieved.

In addition to the USS Charles P. Cecil's record in Fleet Operations, the conduct of our crew's conduct ashore was unmatched by any ship. During the entire cruise, we only had one Shore Patrol report.

At the end of our cruise, Captain Rozier said, "I am proud to be the Captain of the Cecil and to be associated with such excellent officers and men. We have established a record of continuing progress to the point where we are the best ship, in performing our primary mission, of a fleet of expert performers."

On August 19, 1962, we anchored with 18 other ships of the Sixth Fleet, where the USS Myles C. Fox (DDR 829) from Charleston, South Carolina relieved the Cecil of her Sixth Fleet duties. That same afternoon, we departed for Gibralter where we remained overnight with the USS Independence (CVA 62) and other ships of Destroyer Squadron 26 who then returned to Norfolk, Virginia with us. It was 3,400 miles from "The Rock" to our home port in Norfolk and we arrived on August 30.

During this, the Cecil's tenth deployment with the Sixth Fleet, we were away for 175 days, 94 of which were spent at sea. We steamed more than 40,000 miles and consumed approximately 2,600,000 gallons of fuel oil. We refueled underway 53 times. The average total hours on watch while underway was 564 per man. Chambers, SH3, our barber, gave over 3,300 haircuts, The Hospital Corpsman, Chief McKee, gave 1,019 inoculations. During deployment, $205,551 was paid to officers and crew. The crew consumed a total of 85 tons of provisions and 290,400 cups of coffee. We purchased more than $41,000 worth of merchandise from the ship's store.

To put the $205,551 cruise pay figure into proper perspective, consider that a Seaman Recruit in 1960 was only paid $72.50 a month. If my memory serves me correctly, I was only being paid $151.00 a month as a Third Class Petty Officer (and that included sea pay).

When we arrived in Norfolk, I was among 21 members of the crew who left the ship as a result of either separations, discharges or transfers.

I came aboard as an eighteen year old Radarman striker, having completed Radar "A" School and having originally been assigned to the pre-commissioning detail of the USS Constellation (CVA 64). Many of you may remember that the Constellation was the carrier that caught on fire in a shipyard in Brooklyn, New York on a cold night in December, 1960. That's how I and many friends of mine from the Constellation pre-com detail wound up being assigned to tin cans in Destroyer Squadron 26.

While serving on the Cecil, I made Radarman Third and then Radarman Second. The memories of my time aboard the USS Charles P. Cecil, especially our Mediterranean Cruise in 1962, are among the fondest that I have today. I learned a lot about life, a lot about responsibility and even more about what makes people tick. I frequently tell family members, friends and business associates that with the exception of finding and marrying Susan, the love of my life and my wife of 36 years, and my two beautiful daughters, that the experience I had aboard the Cecil was probably the best thing that ever happened to me.

Sincerely,

Steve Fisher