Entry 258
Date: Sunday, February 24, 2002 Time: 6:57 PM EST
Email=     New June 26 2010
Name= K Roger Maveus ET2
Served= 1956 - 1959
Ship / Unit= USS Vance DER 387
Age= 65
City= Grand Rapids,
State= Minnesota
Zip= 55744
Country= United States
Phone= 000-000-0000
A URL to share= No
How did you find this site?= From a Search Engine
Reasons for reading about the Vance= Served aboard, To find shipmates
Comments= How could they sink the old girl, my home for three years?
After reading the burp on the Arnheiter Affair, which I had not previously heard about, I ordered the book from the local library. It also reminded me of something that was somewhat similiar. It seems that Arnheiter was not the only officer to have this type of character. As I recall, another officer of the Vance [who shall remain unnamed], not the C.O., lost the respect and support of his crew due to his naive, "gung-ho", and irresponsible actions. I believe he had been passed over with promotions, too. Rumor had it that he saved $ on the crews rations, recreational fund, etc. His remedy for "finding one more cigatette butt on the deck" was to extinquish the smoking lamp for an extended period. Being a non-smoker, it didn't bother me, but we all considered it illegal "mass punishment". There were other incidents as well.. Talk was to log a collective complaint with the chaplaincy, but there was concerned about mutinous questions. Our only response was to ignore him by avoiding him or being quite busy working when he was around. He soon noticed this and decreed in the Plan of the Day that all personel would show him respect by greeting him "good morning sir" and rendering him salutes and his due respect.??

His actions added to my decision to leave the navy ASAP. I wonder how many others like him there were? I don't remember all the other facts [if in truth they were facts] but I am sure others could confirm the situation. Again that was a long time ago, and maybe best forgotten. Just thought you would be interested.

Roger

From: K. Roger Maveus
To: Del Pfranger
Sent: Sunday, February 24, 2002 11:46 PM
Subject: USS Vance mate
Ahoy, Mr. Pfranger,
I am sure, after reading your USS Vance log-in information, that you remember me. You have a remarkable memory, however your age is showing slightly [HA], and I need to clarify some of the details. My name is Roger Maveus [not Mavis Travis], ET2, and I have the scar on my thumb to prove it. I always wondered who remotely turned on that SRT transmitter and zapped me! Was that you? Just kidding. What really happened way back then was that the "yard birds" mislabeled the 500 watt booster unit. After turning off all power, labeling, and discharging everything safely, I began my repairs. As you may recall, these units had a remote control in the radio room for power and 10 frequencys, buy dialing. Since the units were labeled wrongly, radio was able to turn on the units which I had just turned off and had my hands in. Thank God I just got the 1300 volts between my two fingers. Believe me, it was quite a "Shocking" experience and one that I will never forget! By the way, did I ever thank you for calling for help? THANKS!

And as far as that country/western music.....I must set the record straight on that, too. Granted, there were a lot of "red necks" on board, but there were three channels for different types of music, not just one type. Actually, I sort of liked country/western, but after 24/7 every day at sea, one can only stand so much! We ETs had to do something to save the crew from insanity or mutiny. You may have found one of our disabling devises, but did you realize we had also put a magnet to some of the C&W tapes? Would you believe that ever since then I still don"t care much for C&W music? That is about 45 years ago, but great nostalgia.

You must have enjoyed the Navy to have stuck it out for over 20 years. I couldn't wait to get out, but now look back with good memories. After I got discharged, I went on to get a first class FCC license with radar endorsement, hoping to work at a radio or TV station, but went on into computers instead; that's a long story, but the Navy did set the stage for my career in electronics. Who knows, maybe someday we can exchange more memories and histories.

There are about a dozen old mates logged on the Vance web site, some of the names I vaguely remember. but I do remember well Virgil [Ed] Terrell RD2. I just found this information today, and intend to contact him shortly. Do you remember him, or Henry Murray, ET? Sorry they sank the old ship, but glad you are still afloat.

Best wishes,
Roger, over and out
krmaveus@uslink.net
.
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