I was a firecontrolman on Cochrane from 1987 to 1989. I arrived in Yokosuka Japan a wide-eyed small town Kansas kid of 20 years, only to find that the only DDG in port was DDG-9 the Towers. What a bummer! We drove around the base looking for the ship, and finally they hauled us to the BEQ. I'll never forget seeing the Towers the first time. I'd never seen a warship before. I travelled with a couple FC classmates, and we were so excited about finally seeing the DDG-2 class ship we'd studied so much about in Great Lakes.

My first time seeing the ocean was on the flight over. After a couple weeks in Japan, they decided we could catch the Cochrane in Subic Bay, so I rode my first MAC aircraft to Clark AFB.

Imagine this young kid with his nose pressed to the window as the ladies flashed the bus driving by. What in the heck had I gotten into?

Finally, we made it to Subic, and the fleet was in. Cochrane was tied up outboard of the Knox, and I couldn't remember from bootcamp how we were supposed to ask the OOD for permission to cross. What a trip!

My division berthing was full when I arrived and they put me in 1st division up in the bow of the ship. What a ride! I was glad to get off that rollercoaster when a rack opened up in F & G berthing.

It was a strange new world that I eventually made my home and will always be a part of me.

Bill Genereux

Bill,
I'm really glad you found this website. It's funny, but I have a very similar story about looking for the Cochrane. It was much the same. It's here, no it isn't. I flew from Tavis to Hawaii to catch the Cochrane. She had left three days before for Westpac. I stayed at Pearl for two weeks, and caught MAC to Clark. Went on the fun bus ride through the jungle of PI. Got to Subic to find out the Cochrane left a week before. Stayed at Subic for a couple of weeks and got onto the USS Ranger to rendezvous with Cochrane. Spent a week on Ranger and was flown by helo to the WRONG SHIP. Spent about a week on USS Pyro and finally high lined to Cochrane. Took me months to get to her, but now I only see it as less time to have been on her. It was a great experience to have gone through, but knowing my shipmates for a month or so longer would have been better. I find that I was on the ship before some of you guys were born, but I still feel that we are all shipmates, and that we all have that great ship in our blood.

Bill, thanks for sharing that experience with me, because it made me remember my own.

Richard Cooper HM3 1965-67



Edited by - richard Cooper on 03/07/2001 18:03:39

Welcome aboard there youmg pup,
my first trip to try and find #21 was weird too. Flew from Great lakes to Hawaii, no luck, then to Guam, Midway, Phillipines, Yokuska, back to phillipines for two weeks, back to Pearl. Lo and behold the Cochrane had been there all the time...28 days searching with no pay. no one knew where I as either. Here I was in the Navy and have flown 1/2 way around the world twice and still haven't seen or been on anything bigger than a 10 horse fishing boat. Hope you can make the trip Bill.

Dave Doty ETR3 65-67

A.K.A. "Minnow"
(941) 693-3689

I thought I was the only one who "lost his ship" I went on emergency leave during the 66 deployment, and ended it in transient. I finally found the Cochrane in Yokosuka at the end of the deployment, just in time to get a ride home. I helo'ed, highlined, COD'ed all over the Pacific. Stayed in Subic for three weeks.....awful!! I drew advance pay on my orders, so wasn't without funds, but took two months to pay it back. Strange how many navy experiences are so similar.
Charlie Snyder
RMCM(ret)

I had a similar experience when I was assigned to the Cochrane. Arrived in Subic Bay during the rainy season & our seabags were left out in the rain, do you have any idea how heavy that sucker was with all of your gear wet & no one knows where to trade it in for dry... From there I was put on an oiler for 5 days then to the Kearsarge for another 5 days. Was really thrilling to get hi-lined during a refueling, nothing but green foamy water underneath you & Mr. Shapiro waiting at the other end of the line!!!This was in October of '66 & stayed aboard till November of '69 so I remember alot of you guys...

Allan R. Harris

Hello YPup..!

Life's sure a crapshoot.

Reading the memories of locating the ship and trying to report on board makes me realize mine was pretty easy. Presumably, like everyone else, it was memorable.

Flew out of Travis in August very shortly after the Watts riots, thinking about what that meant, with a bunch of young civilians going over as teachers at the military bases in Japan. Landed near Tokyo at Yakota AFB in the dark and drove and drove and drove by bus to Yokosuka. Reporting on board just before midnite, the quarterdeck was a scene of confusion. The Chief Corpsman (was it Estabrook Richard?) was being physically restrained from jumping over the side by the PO of the Watch and messenger. He was mucho inebriated and kept saying he wanted to swim home to his wife. "What am I getting into?," thought I.

Next day, in the August humidity of Japan, which always took me some getting used to, I was up on the mast in full sun sweating out painting the cigar box-like air search radar antenna (SPS-what? I forget) with a black, viscous coating about like tar. Needless to say the beer that evening tasted remarkably right, and the plankholder ET's, many of whom left shortly thereafter, were mostly pretty decent about showing the New Reportee the ropes.

Anybody heard from/of Walter Wayne Ware (WWW), ET1???.