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USS CONE DD-866
continued .....
Some REFLECTIONS
| "In 1956, we encountered one of the worst hurricanes off the Azores. The ship pitched
to a 40 degree roll and we crashed in our galley, lost the captains gig and lost 10 depth
charges due to the waves crashing in on us. I was on the bridge when we were hit and the wave
covered us all the way to the top of the mast."
"In 1958 the Cone left Norfolk, Va. to go to NY City with NATO. There were so many ships that
you lost count of them. Half way there we encountered one of the worst hurricanes there was.
We had the Secretary of the Navy on board, for we were the flagship. We lost our Post office,
split the bow open at the paint locker, put a crack in the 51 gun mount and did a lot more
damage."
"When the Cone was on her way to Savannah, Ga. to the St. Patricks Day celebration which became
an annual event for the Cone, she ran aground in Charleston Harbor. I think the date was 3/16/81.
I know it was a Saturday morning, bright clear warm day. Onboard were VIP'S including state
senators & congressmen with family members for the 4 hour trip to Savannah. The ship made its
way under the Cooper River bridges and was making the turn to the east to head toward the jetties
and into the bright morning sun. The folks in charge on the bridge took a bouy on the wrong side
and went too far north in the channel and put us in the shoals. Needless to say the intakes suck
up the bottom of the harbor and the ship dropped the load. WE WERE DEAD IN THE WATER, RUN AGROUND!
Just so happens we can see the office for channel 4 TV to our left and Ft.Sumter to our right so
all the Harbor tour boats went by us all day as we just sat there stuck in the mud. Well by noon
time we made the news in the area. We had to wait for tugs and high tide to get out & return to
pier "S" at the base where some happy big brass guys were waiting for us. Yes there were
changes made not too long after that incident."
Thought I would contribute to the GITMO or history sections with a good this aint no "fooling" tale.
I was an FTM on the USS Dahlgren DLG-12, tied up at GITMO around mid-'77. The USS Cone was there
too and one night our boys painted HEAD after CONE on your transom, which was discovered the next
moring to the disatisfaction of the Cone's Cmdr. (USS CONEHEAD) Of course this is when the
coneheads of SNL were around. The Dahlgren was moved to anchor for the rest of our trials without
liberty that day.
Jeff Nelson, FTM2 jeff@martasystems.com |
INFORMATION NEEDED
| If you have any information which would help supplement this history, please take the
time to pass it on. I would like this history to be as complete and accurate as possible. I
might mention that I'm openly looking for additonal "reflections" from former crew members. If
you have some noteworthy additions, please send them for inclusion.
I am also actively attempting to locate information about the Cone in her new identity as the PNS ALAMGIR D-160. Hopefully, I'll be able to round out the rest of her story one day. Thank you for any support you may be able to provide. |
CREDITS
| In concluding, I would like to thank those individuals who assisted in preparing my presentation of the Cone, both historically and in picture. Former Cone crew members John Fiola, Bob Obermann and Dave Melton; Robert J. Clark, former officer aboard the USS Eugene A Greene DD-711 and Scott Harmon of the US Naval Academy Museum all provided information and/or pictures in helping these pages to take form. Other information was received from the Cone Association. Thanks guys. |
CONE CLUB
| The Logo above is representative of the Cone Club and is an active link
to their web site. The Cone Club was founded by three former members of the
ships crew with two seeing service in the late 50's and the other in the late 70's. Through
their efforts, the club membership has blossomed to 113 members whose service spans almost
the entire history of the Cone. I applaud the founders for their accomplishments. Their
efforts have been put forth in order to keep the memories of the Cone alive as well as share
in the comradeship of former crewmembers. Please reward their endeavors. Visit the Cone Club!!
**I took the liberty to place a frame around the logo and hope that it meets with everyone's satisfaction.** |
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