During our visit some of the crew took a "tour" of the San Miguel brewery, in fact there were several bus loads of sailors from the US, Australia, and other SEATO nations involved in an exercise. On the way back to the harbor one of the crew members of COCHRANE, his name shall remain secret but he lived up to his nick name as we passed through the heart of Manila. He was mooning the other busses from the doorway on our bus. Moon showed everyone that he should get more sun on his backside that day.

David Melges, LCDR (Retired)

I think I know that person and seems to me he lived up to the name of Moon all of the time. I remember the first time when I belive it was USS KNOX who had lost their water during the night so they woke us early on a Sunday morning to go alongside and transfer feedwater through a fire hose. It took for ever and if I recall correctly the CO was not to happy and was heard to remark that he wished there was a way to show his pleasure. Seems Moon overheard the conversation and thus was born the legend from that moment on.

Bruce Benton FTM1 (69-75)

I think anyone on that cruise knows full well the person in question, but you are a good man to leave his name out of it! My fav memory of him was his mooning of the Russian Bear that flew over us shortly after the EW gang tried out some magic button in thier shack. As I recall he fired that shot from the forecastle- but I would like to remember it as being from top of mount 51! I wondered for years how long it took Moscow to de-code that message? This shipmate still brings me many smiles after all these years. Last I checked, I dont think I saw his name amongst us. Any clues? Or did the moon finally set on him??

Marc Tuton STG3,Uss Cochrane jan 74-sept 76- "The pearl of the Pacific" STG2 USS Glover, nov 76-nov79,"The Cow Killer"

Marc, he is a member of the Cochrane group assembled here.

If anyone remembers this episode, hard to believe that, as there was no tour only sat and drank beer for several hours, in fact we drank every bit of cold beer in the brewery that day, there was a performance by some Aussie sailors, and it had something to do with burning newspaper and spraying beer.

HMMMMmmmmm... Well I'l be dipped & rolled- Id have bet for sure you were refering to someone else- as this one I had seen be quite a prolific mooner!. Still the cloak of secrecy for this certain Chief whom I will never forget... From what I hear such humor wouldnt be tolerated quite in the same humor now as it was then! So whatever did become of Smokey Joe Boland? I know Mr. Tucker went all the way up. and rode a battleship along the way! Man, what a destinction!I cannot imagine having an Iowa class beneath my shoes, and be sitting on the right end of the bridge. Mercy! Thanks for the clue, Dave!

The plot only thickens, one night while returning to the ship the Captain's gig pulled up and offered to take Cochrane sailors back to the ship, along the way a certain OS was making disparaging remarks about the command. He was quickly stifled by a rather large LTjg (think of a body part) who convinced him that further comments along that line were not appreciated. Needless to say it was a rather quiet ride from there on out