| SWEET REVENGE ...Aronis' coup USS Vreeland DE-1068 1972 With the help of hindsight I have come to the conclusion that security aboard U.S. Navy ships was pretty lax during the early years of my navy career. The only deterrent to intruders was the quarterdeck watch, a watch composed mostly of young sailors, some of them still in their teens. They were responsible for verifying the identity of everyone who came aboard, and turning away those that didn't have the proper credentials. But I suspect that they were more concerned about how much longer they had to remain on watch than with the security of the ship. That's the way it was in State-side ports and, when a ship was in a foreign port, the same procedures were followed. It wasn't unusual for destroyers to tie up to municipal piers when in overseas ports. And the local populace had free access to the piers, walking right up to the ships and talking to the sailors while they worked. That relaxed atmosphere could be attributed to the respect -- or fear -- that the U.S.A. enjoyed among the nations of the world. I would even go so far as to say that hardly anyone ever suspected that someone would attempt to do harm to a U.S. Navy ship or its crew. And that mind-set allowed for "general visiting" by the people of cities we visited. Sailors volunteered as guides, showing as much of a ship that could safely be shown. And some men may have sneaked visitors aboard for a more intimate version of the president's "people-to-people" program. But, by the time 1972 rolled around, the U.S.A. wasn't viewed in the same favorable light that it had enjoyed during the previous decades. So, when USS Vreeland DE-1068 arrived in her new homeport near Athens, Greece, security measures were heightened. In addition to the quarterdeck watch, a couple of armed sentries roamed the main deck guarding against intruders or saboteurs. The quarterdeck watch searched packages and scrutinized ID cards of everyone that came aboard, visitors and crewmen alike. And it didn't matter one iota if the petty officer of the watch worked side-by-side with a fellow who had just come aboard... he still had to check his ID. And that was especially true if the Officer of the Deck was standing nearby. A few POOWs had been chewed out by an OOD for letting a buddy pass without showing an ID because... "You don't know who he is... he might be impersonating seaman Jones!" Sailors from nearby ships attempted to penetrate Vreeland's security. And sailors from Vreeland were sent to penetrate other ships' security. Those attempts were intended to keep the quarterdeck watches on their toes. And, to that end, they were partly successful. The pressure to stand a tight watch had the petty officers of the watch running scared. They became paranoid. One POOW became so angry when he caught someone trying to get aboard with a fake ID card he went berserk. Scuttlebutt had it that he put a loaded gun to the intruder's head and screamed, "You wanna play games!? You wanna play games? I'll play your damn game! I'll blow your damn head off!" But, despite the vigilance of the watch, a few intruders managed to get past the quarterdeck and gain access to the ship. Small, brown packages that could have been easily concealed any place on a person were found hidden in sensitive areas of the ship... with the word BOMB written on them. Vreeland was riding the hook at Athens one night when someone in a boat slipped past her watchful eyes and left evidence that they had been there. But before the bos'n mates could put men over the side at daybreak to conceal the mischief, Vreeland's skipper came aboard. And I can only guess at the embarrassment he suffered when he came nearer to the ship and saw BOMB painted in huge black letters on the bow. It was suspected that sailors from USS Sampson DDG-10 were responsible for that incursion. And honor demanded that revenge be exacted. One of Vreeland's crewmen was a storekeeper by the name of Spiros Aronis. He had been born in Greece and had come to the U.S. with his parents as a youngster. He spoke Greek and English, both fluently and without an accent on either. I may be wrong in the details about how Aronis accomplished the restoration of Vreeland's honor. I don't remember discussing the event with him and all I know is what I learned through the grapevine. But, anyway, this is the way I remember Aronis restoring Vreeland's good name. Aronis had taken leave to visit family or friends. And, whether it was by chance or by design, he was visiting one of the Greek isles when USS Sampson steamed into the harbor and dropped her hook. Ships of the 6th fleet routinely contracted with local firms to provide garbage service while a ship was at anchor. The garbage scow would tie up alongside a ship and remain there for a couple of hours every day to receive trash and garbage. And usually no one aboard the ship kept a close eye on the boatmen. Aronis met with the scowmen and told them of his mission. They gave him a pair of dirty coveralls and welcomed him aboard as one of the scow's crew. So Aronis was aboard the scow when it made a garbage run to Sampson and tied up to the stern. He bantered with the sailors in heavily accented, broken English when they came to dump trash. And when they weren't keeping an eye on the boatmen he painted 68 in bold, black numbers behind Sampson's number 10. So, when the scow cast off, Sampson's stern identifier now read: 1068 SAMPSON I suppose there was no doubt among the Sampson sailors when that prank was discovered as to which ship was responsible. But I'll bet you that they're still trying to figure out how Vreeland managed to pull off that coup. Richard "Ozzie" Osburn BTCM 6-10-2004 My thanks go to Doc Douglas for providing me the name of the subject of this tale. (More "Ozzie Sea Tales" at this site.) http://www.irememberhamlet.com/ |