Here the band plays at one of the clubs on the beach, quite
possibly the Club Oro in Olongapo. Picture l to r are Spratt on the drums,
Gillespie, Kovacs and Stone on guitars.
The Band 1966-1968
Don Kovacs RD3
Sea Dragon missions, shore bombardment assignments, carrier operations, SAR station positions, radar picket duties and whatever else Desron 9 deemed a necessity was our daily sea routine on board the De Haven. However, the most dreaded assignments were refueling, rearming and taking on stores. Port and starboard duty was painful enough but add in replenishing and it was a killer. And it always seemed this happened when you were supposed to be off duty. This simply meant that by the time the replenishment was terminated it was just in time for you to go back on duty. No one was ever able to escape this assignment, well almost no one.
When I was in high school I belonged to a band. It was an experience that allowed me to explore the "Elvis" in me. I played the guitar a little but primarily I was the lead singer mostly trying to hammer out the tunes of the sixties. I wasn't very good but nobody really listened anyway. We just wanted to have a good time. I never dreamed that I would quickly return to music much sooner than I thought.
One day as we were taking on ammo after a mission it dawned on me that nobody was having much fun. We were all tired and I thought to myself we need something to take our minds off this detail. It was like a vision from the "Blues Brothers" with Jake and Elwood. I was on a mission from God. I'm putting the band back together! And where would we play? On the flight deck. And when would we play? During replenishment! And what would we play? Anything! Anything that would get us off this detail from hell!
Actually the band was already in place. We were called "Swing West." I know it's kind of corny but that's the best name we could come up with. There were five of us. Ron Gillespie played the lead guitar. Makaala Stone and I played rhythm guitar. David Spratt (now David Lucci) was on the drums and Tony Scaltreto was on the bass. We played many of the clubs from Yokosuka to Subic! Were we any good? After three or four drinks we sounded fantastic!
All we had to do was convince someone with authority to authorize our caper during our at sea replenishments and we were home free! " Que” the magician. In steps Mr. Smuda( aka) "Sluggo." I think it was Bob Yapp that gave him that tag. No, I know it was Bob Yapp that gave him that call sign. At least that's the story I'm sticking with for now and forever. " Sluggo" was a great officer...a true leader...an officer who truly inspired his men. At least that's what I told him when I broached him on the idea. He loved attention...so we gave it to him! Surprising enough he bought it! Did I tell you he was also easy? He just needed to run it by Mr. Auer and then to the captain.
Replenishments were never the same. We cranked up those amps so high "Davy Jones" could have heard us! The only thing we were missing was the alcohol. How would we sound if the crew had no refreshments...no alcohol? I mean they could probably actually hear us. That's when I started to have some doubt as to our shipboard success. Fortunately most of the crew seemed to be happy with the at sea entertainment. The rest simply wanted to kill us! Here we are strumming away with the guitars, banging away on the drums and humming our favorite tunes. No need to sing because the amps were set at a thousand decibels and they were all wired to the instruments.
We just didn't get the respect we truly deserved. I mean we're out there sweating just like they were...weren't we? Did I tell you about the hate mail we received after these missions? What was so funny was not a single letter ever had a stamp on it! I often wondered why. What did a 5 inch 38 shell look like anyway? I heard they were quite heavy. And refueling? I mean you could get dirty doing that. I think that's why "Sluggo" didn't want us to wear our dress whites! And taking on stores? I actually participated once. I was very good at multi-tasking. I carried a head of lettuce in one hand and a cantaloupe in the other. It was both difficult and excruciating pain. They were five pounders back then.
We had truly started our international tour and we were having fun doing it. In port we played a lot of the clubs. We never got paid for our services but the dividends came in other ways. I don't believe we ever had to buy a drink or anything else for that matter. The only thing missing was a cage to protect us like the "Blues Brothers" had in Detroit. It could get dangerous in those clubs. I had actually taken out an insurance policy from Lloyd’s of London to cover my fingers should they be destroyed while performing our major productions.
We did have some help. Bob Yapp was in charge of maintenance for the entire set up. I had reservations at first. I mean if this guy had a tough time with radios and stuff what would he do with our hundred dollar amps? I had nightmares for the first few weeks. We got all that stuff insured also...just in case. Many other people should be thanked but the list would go on and on. Ah, yes those were the good old days.
Some of the guys continued playing together after they left the Navy. It's to my understanding they were very good. My years on board the De Haven are filled with hundreds of great memories. Friendships that remain very much intact today. Unfortunately I didn't continue my career path in music.
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