by: Ted Kuhlmeier
Main character: LT Ted Kuhlmeier (USMC)
Approx date: Summer 1977
Scene: South China Sea
I recently watched “The Caine Mutiny” on TV, which caused me to pull out my copy of the book and re-read the storm/mutiny sections along with the court-martial chapters. Who among us, in our military careers, hasn’t met a CO as crazy as Queeg? Anyway, that started a train of memories of when the Oggie Doggie (USS Ogden LPD-5), with yours truly aboard, rode out a typhoon in the Philippine Sea..
We were in Subic Bay undergoing our mid-deployment extended maintenance upkeep, when a typhoon storm warning was issued and the SOPA *Senior Officer Present Afloat) issued orders for all ships to sortie. Since the Ogden was only a few days away from completion of her upkeep, she was ordered to terminate it and sail on to her next operation. With much belly-aching from the crew, we sailed away from Subic and Olongapo City.
Our sailing track was charted to take us around the outer fringes of the typhoon. Luckily we didn’t have any embarked Marines aboard or equipment tied down on the flight deck. Everything movable was secured, and the exposed lookouts on the fantail and signal bridge were withdrawn.
I had been foolish enough to admit that even as a Marine, at that time, I could still do maneuvering board problems. So when given the choice of standing underway watch on the bridge or in CIC, I took Combat. CIC was on the 0-2 level, about twenty feet above the main deck, The main deck was some forty or so feet above the water line. Remember those figures.
Shortly into our transit, the seas started to pick up and things got really interesting. The navigator predicted we would be closest to the storm center during the upcoming mid-watch (12 AM – 4AM). Guess who was scheduled to be CIC watch officer?
If the seas had been rough before, as midnight approached they went berserk. I had to pull myself up ladders to reach my watch station. Every member of the watch, including the radar operator, had a “puke” bag in hand and were holding on to stanchions against 20 plus degree rolls . I’m not ashamed to say that I lost what little dinner I had eaten.
At one point in the watch I had to go out to the bridge to ask the OOD a question. The Captain was on the bridge also, but he had wisely delegated control of the ship to our salty First Lt., an old mustanger. That guy was having the time of his life. His confidence was infectious. Even though Ogden was pitching and rolling, people were puking,, and you had to look up to see the tops of waves (remember we were 60 feet above the water line), there was no sense of panic.
We rode out the storm with no damage. Within 24 hours there were blue skies and gentle seas.
I found myself singing the Navy hymn. “Eternal Father, Strong to save, Whose arm has bound the restless wave, Who bids the mighty ocean deep, Its own appointed limits keep, O hear us when we cry to Thee, For those imperiled on the sea.”