APRIL 4, 2014- VOL. 71 " NO. 13 - NAVY.MIL/LOCAL/GUANTANAMO * FACEBOOK.COM/NSGuantanamoBay NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA s PSC 1005 BOX 25 " FPO, AE 09593 " 011-5399-4090 Navy Chiefs Celebrate 121 Years Of Proud Heritage %lIIf, tJVUL% , VVL ,, . IVIULt . h L 4 , C,, ltD U . , DtU, IUw, L, Kerr conduct morning colors 7 in fonorI of the Chiefs 121st Birthday. MCC Keith Bryska / Gazette Editior On deployments you are charged with getting them home safely to their 121st Birthday April N avyI1and Chief those Petty stationed Officers atcelebrated Naval Station Guantanamo Bay their families. These obligations we cannot hide from. celebrated with several events throughout the week to include a cake "You have a direct impact on mission success because you are the cutting ceremony, 5k run, a movie night and serving meals to Junior lynch pin in the most important triad at your command, the one that Sailors at the galley. includes your leading petty officer and your division officer. If this triad "The first week of April is a celebration of our great brotherhood. succeeds, then your department will succeed and the overall mission of The Navy in itself is a huge fraternity, but to be a Chief in the Navy is your command will be a success," said Tidwell. "While the command an honor unlike any other," said Chief Navy Diver, Julius McManus. triad is extremely important, it is the execution at the departmental "To be able to celebrate our CPO birthday with all of our Sailors, triad that ultimately determines the outcome of the mission. This is the Soldiers, and Marines here in Guantanamo Bay makes this year even Chiefs domain." more special." Ask any Chief and they will tell you when you are accepted in Being welcomed in to the Mess is a special time for all Chiefs and to the mess you understand that it's something larger than yourself, that is a feeling that is traced back to 121 years of proud heritage. Unlike you belong to an extended family with many sisters and brothers. any other branch of service you are not just an E7, you are a CHIEF Mcmanus believes it is also your responsibility to ensure our heritage is and to become one requires going through an intense training process never forgotten. that last several weeks. "On our 121st year of the Chief Petty Officer community, one of According to NS Guantanamo Bay, Command Master Chief Jeff the Navy's most important repositories of heritage and tradition, it is Tidwell, a Navy Chief is an instrumental part of a command and as good of a time as any other to reflect on our rich heritage. George without him the command would not meet its mission. You are now Santayana once said, "Those who cannot remember the past are entrusted with the lives and careers of every Sailor wearing the uniform. condemned to repeat it." You can tell he was not a Chief because those You are responsible to lead, guide, and mentor them on a daily basis. who know their heritage strive to repeat it," said McManus. (continued on oape 5) PAGE 2* THE GUANTANAMO BAY GAZETTE SAILOR OF THE WEEK Chief Master-At-Arms Daniel Montague 1867-1912 22, 1867. When he was still an infant, his Danielfamily Montague moved to was Boodles, born England,in Wicklow, just Ireland outside on of October Liverpool. Daniel joined the Royal Navy, and married Margaret Corcoran in England. The couple soon had a daughter, the first of four. By this time it was the 1890's, a time of massive growth for the U.S. Navy. To obtain skilled crewmen for its rapidly increasing navy, the U.S. Navy made it attractive for members of the Royal Navy to transfer to the U.S. Navy at the end of their enlistments, or even to simply jump ship if they did not want to wait that long. With e his family, the second option was out of the question for Daniel Montague. Still, soon he was serving in the U.S. Navy, eventually making his way to the new and speedy cruiser, USS NEW YORK. This vessel was the flagship of Admiral William Sampson of the North Atlantic Squadron. With the outbreak of the war, the naval forces of Sampson's combined North Atlantic Squadron and the Flying Squadron (under Winfield Scott Schley) began a blockade of Cuba, especially Santiago where the Spanish Squadron under Spanish Admiral Cervera was found to be. Before he even arrived, Sampson was already making plans to "bottle up" Cervera and his squadron in Santiago harbor by sinking the collier MERRIMAC in the channel entrance. The vessel would be under the command of Naval Constructor Richmond Hobson. As plans went into their final phase, Hobson was looking for one more man to fill out his very small crew. This man would be charged with loosing the stern anchor at the precise moment. More importantly, however, Hobson wanted a man who could lead the remaining crewmen if he himself was unable to do so through injury or death. Hobson consulted with the executive officer of the NEW YORK. Daniel Montague, the vessel's 29 year old chief master-at-arms (basically the ship's chief of police), was recommended and gladly accepted the position. It was not a position to be taken lightly. The chances of survival of any of the MERRIMAC's crewmen was considered to be very low, as it was expected that all of the available guns at Morro Castle, the Socapa Battery, and aboard the Spanish ships in the area would be opened upon the MERRIMAC. On the MERRIMAC'S run into the harbor, Montague was at his position by the stern anchor when a large projectile pierced the air, wrecking the stern structure and cutting the anchor lashings. Through the tumult, he promptly reported this information to Hobson who apparently could not hear it. Montague could not have known at that moment, but this same shell may have destroyed the rudder control lines, dooming the mission. When Montague appeared at the rendezvous point aboard ship, Hobson later stated that he knew all attempts to place the ship athwart the channel had failed. If the faithful Montague was there, Hobson knew the stern anchor had been lost, otherwise Montague would still have been at his post. According to their prearranged plan, the crew abandoned ship, but were unable to escape the channel and regain the American squadron because of the strong current. The next morning the crew was taken aboard a steam launch with none other than Admiral Cervera himself helping to bring the men aboard. The MERRIMAC's crew was soon confined in Morro Castle. Later, they were transferred to the city of Santiago itself During the march from Morro Castle to Santiago, Hobson placed Daniel Montague in charge of the small contingent, with orders to have the men preserve their military bearing during the march. Santiago was not kind to the chief master-at-arms. On June 26, Hobson found that Montague was sick with fever. The Spanish surgeon removed him from his quarters for better care and reported Montague's fever to Hobson three times a day. As the remainder of the crew was also beginning to decline, Hobson and the British consul requested that the men be paroled. The request was denied, but the men were moved to a proper hospital where all of the crew, including Montague began to recover quicidy. Hobson knew that it would take months for the men to fully recover. In Montague's case, he never fully recovered. However, he found himself to be considered a national hero along with the rest of the MERRIMAC's crew. His action aboard the MERRIMAC resulted in his being rewarded by being awarded the Medal of Honor. According to his daughters, the last three of whom were born in the U.S. in 1898, 1904, and 1906, Montague served as a mentor to the younger men in the years after the war. Apparently he went into the open sea single handed to successfully rescue a sailor who had fallen overboard, although there appears to be no documentation of this event. His health, still affected by the imprisonment in Santiago, combined with his hero status, allowed him to be given light duty at the Naval Academy at Annapolis, where the last of his daughters was born in 1906. One of his responsibilities was overseeing the maintenance of Admiral Dewey's flagship at the Battle of Manila Bay, the OLYMPIA. The vessel was being used for midshipman training cruises. Continuing to suffer from ill health, Montague was hospitalized periodically and given blood transfusions. Unfortunately blood typing was yet discovered, and he was apparently given an incompatible transfusion which led to his demise in 1912. The Academy Hospital overlooked the cemetery (the building still stands today but has long had a different use) and Daniel Montague requested burial under a tree which he could see from his hospital room, in lieu of burial in the National Cemetery at Arlington, VA. VOL. 71 - NO.13 NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA COMMANDING OFFICER CAPT. JOHN NETTLETON PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER KELLY WIRFEL EXECUTIVE OFFICER CMDR. COLIN CASWELL GAZETTE EDITOR MCC(SW/AW) KEITH BRYSKA COMMAND MASTER CHIEF CMDCM (SW) JEFFERY TIDWELL The Guantanamo Bay Gazette is an authorized publication for members of the military services and their families stationed at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views of the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense.