At
sea: 11 February 1961
U.S.S. GEARING (DD-710)
c/o Fleet Post Office
New York, New York
Dear Friends
of the GEARING:
This
is "Familygram” number five of our South Atlantic AMITY Cruise to South
America and Africa.
The
last familygram was mailed from Abidjan, Ivory Coast. As you will remember
GEARING was scheduled to be in Cotonou, Dahomey from 26 to 28 January. Our
ever flexible schedu1e and the fact that we did not receive diplomatic clearance
in time to enter Cotonou necessitated a change, so Abidjan was visited once
again on the evening of January 20. Our sister ship, the VOGELSANG (DD-862),
had preceded us by arriving early on the morning of the 20th. The approach
to Abidjan was unique since this was the first time this cruise we had entered
a port after sunset. No difficulties were encountered and the ship was moored
about 10 PM. On January 20, GEARING and VOLGELSANG were joined by the U. S.
Navy tanker NESPELIN.
The
stay in Abidjan was pleasant although. The temperature, as usual, was quite
high. Since this was the second ship in Abidjan, the visiting aboard ship
was at a minimum. The lack of visitors provided a welcome break for the crew
and permitted us to hold several ship’s parties on a nearby beach. The parties
were well attended by the crew and featured sun, beer, soft
drinks, various athletic activities and hamburgers. Unfortunately, swimming
was not permitted at this beach due to the dangerous surf, but you will recall
front an earlier “Familygram’ that swimming (at the outdoor pool) is one of
the highlights of Abidjan. This fact continued to be true as we populated
the beautiful, big Aquarium swimming pool at every opportunity.
On
the morning of the 25th we learned about the mutiny which had taken
place aboard the large Portuguese passenger liner SANTA MARIA. GEARING was
ordered to get underway and possibly intercept the SANTA MARIA in the vicinity
of the Cape Verde Islands. After lunch GEARING was underway and soon thereafter making high
speed in calm seas. About 9 PM on 26 January we arrived at Freetown, Sierra
Leone to refuel. Our intentions were to top-off our fuel immediately upon
arrival and depart about midnight when fueling was completed. However, we
had to wait until the next morning and were refueled and underway once more
at 11 AM on the 27th.
This
time our intentions were to rendezvous with the USS VOGELSANG and USS NESPELAN
just south of the equator and along the projected track of the SANTA MARIA,
which was proceeding to Angola. Subsequent messages from CINCLANFLT based
on SANTA MARIA’s movements changed these plans and GEARING was ordered to
proceed to a Recife, Brazil where we were to embark Rear Admiral Allen Smith
Jr., (Commander Caribbean Sea Frontier) and then proceed to a point 50 miles
east of Recife, where GEARING would rendezvous with the SANTA MARIA.
Arriving
in Recife at 4:30 PM on 30 January, we refueled and embarked Admiral smith,
LCDR Huffman (his aide) and CDR Rainey (Public Information Specialist), and
Mr. Harry Quinn (Political Advisor from the American Embassy in Rio, de Janeiro,
Brazil). We had averaged 4.6 knots since leaving Abijan on 25 January 1961.
GEARING also played host to 66 correspondents and photographers from all corners
of the world. They were warned that only the most austere conditions would
be encountered board the GEARING due to our lack of extra bunks, but these
hardy individuals had come a long way to get close to the SANTA MARIA and
they were not to be denied. The correspondents included representatives from
NBC, ABC, LIFE, N.Y. TIMES, AP, UPI, CBS, LONDON DAILY NEWS, PARIS MATCH and
many others.
We
completed refueling early in the morning and at 4 AM were underway once again
with intentions to sight SANTA MARIA at first light. Shortly after dawn GEARING
sighted the pirate ship and was the first Naval ship on the scene with SANTA
MARIA after the pirated took over. It was heartening to see her decks jammed
with the cheering and exuberant passengers. There was little doubt that they
were relieved and grateful for the GEARING’s appearance and presence. Shortly
after our arrival and into the next day other American ships also arrived.
The included the destroyers VOGELSAND, ROBET E. WILSON and DAMATO; the oilers
NESPELIN and CANISTRO and the nuclear submarine SEAWOLF ….. but GEARING was
first.
Admiral Smith, the
official representative of the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Government, boarded
the SANTA MARIA at about l0 AM on 31 January 1961 with his party and went into conference
with Captain Galvao, the pirate leader. Captain Galvao assured Admiral Smith of his intentions
to leave the passengers unharmed. We must keep in mind the fact that the
political situation in Brazil was an influential factor in determining the
eventual outcome of this incident as the new president of Brazil, Janio Quadros,
assumed office at noon on 31 January 1961.
After
the conference and RADM Smith’s return, GEARING returned to Recife and disembarked
the correspondents. Immediately upon their departure, GEARING returned to
sea and remained within visual range of SANTA MARIA during the night. At about
noon on the 1st of February, the SANTA MARIA proceeded into anchor about 5600
yards from Recife. This placed the SANTA MARIA in Brazilian territorial waters
and from this point all negotiations were necessarily handled by Brazil. GEARING
of course followed SANTA MARIA and anchored within 1000 yards. The part played
by GEARING and the U.S. Navy cannot be relegated to a minor position in this
episode. Had it not been for the presence of the Navy ships and aircraft,
the outcome of his incident could have been far different.
As
you have read in the newspapers and magazines, seen on TV and heard on the
radio, the SANTA MARIA entered the inner harbor of Recife and disembarked
the passengers and crew on 2 February. Later that evening Brazilian Marines
occupied SANTA MARIA and at 7PM on 3 February the incident was finally resolved
as Galvao and his 21 followers accepted Brazil’s offer of political asy1um. At 5PM
on 4 February, the SANTA MARIA was officially returned to the Portuguese government.
All the ships participating in the incident were highly commended by the highest U.S. Officials. The following are examples:
"Please
convey my respect and appreciation to Admirals Dennison and Smith and all
Navy personnel who have handled the SANTA MARIA problem so we1l. This is just
one of the many instances in which the Navy has shown that its fighting spirit
is matched by it diplomatic will. Congratulations!" Signed ..... DEAN
RUSK ..... Secretary of State.
"Your
forces involved in the Santa Maria operation have operated under difficult and trying conditions.
Their contribution to furthering effective U.S. policies and their successful
completion of our objective despite obstacles are appreciated. Please express
my appreciation to the hard working crews of your ships and aircraft."
Signed ..... Arleigh Burke ..... Chief of Naval Operations.
Before his
departure on 5 February, RADM Smith used the public address system and gave his
thanks and praise to the men in GEARING. He recognized our increased workload
and the many extra hours of toil performed by the crew in aiding the successful completion of
the operations. He extended particular congratulations to the Operations Department
for its consistently excellent performance in handling the communications.
"Above all things," he said, "GEARING is a CAN DO ship. It
has been a privilege to have GEARING for my flagship for this brief period."
We departed
Recife at 5 PM on 5 February and were scheduled to arrive off the coast of West Africa
on the 13th. We are returning to operation SOLANT AMITY and, we hope, a few quiet days
at sea before we arrive.
Oh yes, on crossing
the Equator during our cruise from Freetown to Recife, we discovered a “pollywog”
in our midst. He was properly initiated into the Royal Order of the Deep by
King Neptune and his court on the fantail on 28 January. Now the crew consists
entirely of trusty shellbacks.
For planning
purposes, our return to Charleston, S.C. in mid-April still looks good.
I sincerely
appreciate the Christmas cards and letters which some of you have sent. Please continue
to let me know if I can be of any assistance.
