Friends and A Tour of USS Howard

Chad Bibler is Bill and Trish (Ewing) Bibler's son and serves in USS Howard, a guided missile equipped destroyer home ported in San Diego. He is the Operations Officer which puts him third in the command chain behind the Skipper and the Executive Officer. In a combat situation, he sits next to the Captain in Combat Information Center and, under the Captain's guidance, makes all of the decisions of what gets shot and when. Sounds pretty awesome and it is but that just scratches the surface of all of his responsibilities.
When we came aboard, they rang four bells and announced "Commander, United States Navy, Retired, arriving!" Pretty soon the Command Duty Officer appeared on the quarterdeck to welcome us. When we left an hour later, they again rang four bells and announced "Commander, United States Navy, Retired, departing." I have to admit it was a thrill!
I love being part of an organization so steeped in tradition.


Chad met us Saturday morning and gave us a great tour of Howard. She is named after First Sergeant Jimmie E Howard, USMC - a highly decorated Marine already awarded the Silver Star in Korea, he was awarded the Medal of Honor in Viet Nam. Then SSGT Howard led an 18 man platoon of Recon marines acting as forward observers on Hill 488. When attacked by an estimated battalion of Viet Cong, SSGT Howard and his men held out overnight until relief could arrive. SSGT Howard moved among his men, directing fire and shouting instructions and encouragement. When he was severely wounded by shrapnel, losing use of his legs, he still shouted encouragement and distributed ammunition.
In 1967, then GYSGT Jimmie E. Howard stood proudly at attention next to his wife and six children while the story of the heroic stand at Hill 488 was read. President Lyndon B. Johnson then placed the Medal of Honor around the neck of an incredible leader and true American hero. The ship has a Medal of honor passageway Honoring First Sergeant Howard that is the heart of the ship.


We were limited to taking photos on the forecastle only (focsle to you tars), but I downloaded a couple of shots from the USS Howard web site. The first shows the kinds of rugged seas that destroyers frequently deal with. In the same seas, the carriers by comparison seem pretty steady.


The ship is equipped with the vertical missile launch system. The missiles are loaded into tubes whose top just peeks through the deck. When a launch is commanded, a the missile tube and vent tube doors open simultaneously. When the rocket motor from the missile fires, the hot gasses are directed through the vent tube (so as to not "cook" the missile). A launch is quite a sight! This is a Tomahawk cruise missile being launched.



Earlier in the week, we drove to nearby El Cajon to have dinner with Don Newhouse and his wife Iris.
Don was the pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Greensburg when Bob was a high school student. Don wasn't that much older (10 years) than the kids and he really clicked with the kids.
In a moment of weakness, Don even loaned his brand new Pontiac convertible to Bob to drive to prom! And Bob even brought it back in one piece!
Don and his wife Iris were great company - Iris and Theresa patiently sat and listened while Don and Bob rehashed the "good ole days" in Greensburg! Later we shared their table at a local restaurant. A wonderful evening with wonderful friends!

Iris immigrated to the US from Ireland when she was 19 and still has a delightful hint of an Irish "brogue." Later this month, Don and Iris will join us for an Irish Ceili at Balboa Park.