As we entered autumn of 1969, the end of my Naval career, i thought, was set even though it would be nothing like i thought it would be. There were two more operations for the Hawkins with me on board.

First, we headed to the North Atlantic operating areas to serve as a ship to be tracked on what i believe was a submarine towed sonar array. The second ship was an oiler taking the place of another destroyer which had experienced engineering problems.

En route, we hit a rogue storm. The after engine room had not set x-ray properly. It was standard practice to leave the starboard side hatch open as it was set forward behind the main deck bulkhead, designed to keep sea water from hitting the hatch. The fresh air contributed just a bit in providing fresh, cooling air into the tropical conditions of the engine room. It also, occasionally, would allow a watch stander to emerge and get some relief from the heat and the humidity in the space. As the ship rolled about on the evening watch, a wave of sea water caught the starboard side main deck, flowed aft and flipped into the bulkhead opening and down the hatch. It splashed down the hatch ladder and hit the secondary ship’s switchboard (the main switchboard was in the forward engine room, main control. A machinist mate on watch reported an electrical arc light a bolt of lightning jumped between the switchboard and the ladder, a distance of about four feet. The ship went dark immediately. Tin cans were built to survive and almost every piece of electrical gear had a steam backup. The Hawkins kept on steaming.

This happened 55 years ago, so forgive me if my recollection is a bit shaky. If anyone who was on the Hawk during that operation, please send me corrections.

Damage Control entered the problem quickly and efficiently (Thank you, Andrew Nemethy). Emergency electrical cables about six to eight inches in diameter ran down the main passageways and up and down ladders.

The seas were rough and it was cold. We weren’t sure if we could continue on for our rendezvous with the sub and the oiler. But our electricians and damage control got us back on close to normal operations.

It was a scary time. But what happened next was even scarier.