DECKLOG — Midwatch on New Year’s Day: Six ships, six eras, one truth
I really wanted to get this DECKLOG Blog out on 1 January, but life and family adventures got in the way. So please forgive my tardiness. I know - time, tide, and formation wait for no man, but the family was in town and well, you know where my priorities lie.
There are plenty of places in the Navy where personality belongs—on the mess decks, in the shop, on the smoke deck, the wardroom, ready room, basically in the sea stories that get repeated until they become legend.
The ship’s Deck Log isn’t one those places.
By design, a Deck Log exists to form a chronological account of notable events around a commissioned ship and—crucially—to serve as potential evidence in legal proceedings. National Archives That’s why the rules push it toward precision: standard phrasing, neat entries, no “creative interpretation.” Even training guidance frames it bluntly: because the log may be used as evidence, erasures are not permitted. GlobalSecurity
And yet, once a year, the Navy allows something almost sacredly human to slip through the cracks.
Both the Naval History and Heritage Command (via The Sextant) and the National Archives describe an “unofficially endorsed” tradition: during the midwatch (0000–0400) on the first night of the New Year, the first entry may be written in verse—but it still has to include the required “real” details (position, weather/sea state, engineering plant status, sources of power/steam/water, anchor chain or mooring lines, course and speed, etc.). US Navy History
That combination—poetry wrapped around mandatory reality—is why these entries hit so hard to me. I love connection across generations and the New Years day DECKLOG midwatch entry is one of those cool connections. Across generations, across wars, across platforms, the same pattern repeats: the world celebrates, the ship stays busy, and a handful of Sailors stand the watch and write down what matters. It doesn't matter the decade or century. I just find that fascinating. It's the connection to Sailors past and the Sailors of tomorrow.
The Midwatch stays the same, even when the Navy changes
The Deck Log’s job never changes, even as the Fleet does.
The National Archives explains that deck logs are arranged as chronological entries by time-of-day on a 24-hour clock, documenting daily activities. National Archives NHHC’s own write-up in The Sextant adds the operational mechanics: the log is kept by the Quartermaster of the Watch, prepared by the designated OOD, reviewed daily by the navigator, and preserved as a permanent record (eventually transferring to the National Archives). US Navy History
Then comes the New Year’s trick: you can rhyme—but you still have to do the job.
The National Archives’ “New Year’s poems” article puts the requirement list right on the table: the poem still needs to include things like sources of power/steam/water; sea and weather; ship’s position; engineering plant status; course and speed; and anchoring/mooring details. Pieces of History
1942 — USS Gilmer (DD-233): winter cold, anchor chain math, and “Joe” on demand
Ship / date: USS Gilmer (DD-233), 1 January 1942 (midwatch 0000–0400).
00 to 04
We’re anchored in Port Townsend,
With the anchor at short stay.
Ready for any emergency,
In a minute to get underway.
Point Wilson bears three sixteen true
From where the anchor lies;
The bearing of the light-on-dock
Is two seven nought, likewise.
The chain is thirty fathoms long
The water, seven deep;
The Skipper’s in his nice soft bunk
Deep in a New Year’s sleep.
He hasn’t had one like it
For this is the thirtieth day,
We’ve hunted Nippon submarines
From their base at Crescent Bay.
We haven’t found a single one,
Despite what fliers say;
Their logs and roots and trees and stumps
Have kept us underway.
Young Blatz is on the sound gear,
And Bowles is on the phones,
Sheller’s on a machine gun
But his thoughts are on his home.
‘Tis the night before New Years
And all through the ship
Not a creature is stirring –
Except Judkins – the drip.
He’s breaking in the galley
To rustle up some Joe,
‘Cause the wind is blowing briskly
And the temperature is low.
Morton’s in the engine room
Keeping his turbines hot.
The Boatswain’s Mate is Coxswain Rink –
Sleeping – like as not.
I’ve tried to rhyme my log today
But the Navigator’s sure to say,
“Write it up in the regular way.”
L.C. Brogger
Lieut. (jg) DE-V(G), USNR
The poem opens with the ship at anchor in Port Townsend, the anchor at short stay, ready to get underway “in a minute” if the situation demands it. The entry immediately does what a deck log must do: it fixes the ship’s situation in space with bearings—Point Wilson bearing, a light-on-dock bearing—and it records anchor chain out and depth of water. Finally, the poem also talks about the realities of the day. Gilmer's job was to hunt Japanese submarines during a time of war.
From there, the Gilmer entry reads like a midwatch snapshot you can smell and feel, because we you have been there yourself. You know this Sailor, because you have been this Sailor.
The environment: the wind is blowing briskly and the temperature is low. This is watchstanding weather—hands in pockets, collar up, breath visible, and no one pretending it’s romantic.
The ship’s readiness posture: the ship is at anchor but framed as ready for emergency and rapid underway. The entry’s opening lines aren’t abstract; they’re a statement of readiness.
The human reality: the CO is asleep; the watch is awake; and the ship runs on the watch team’s routine. The poem’s comedic hinge is that, while “not a creature is stirring,” Judkins is up in the galley rustling up coffee (“Joe”) because the watch needs it. Because the Navy runs on coffee. Period. You also see the names of these Sailors from topside into the enginerooms. You can readily imagine them standing these watches, because you, yourself have stood them as well.
- the ship’s status is fixed,
- the watch is identified by what they’re doing,
- the “non-negotiables” of being awake at midnight show up—cold, fatigue, caffeine.
And then the most perfect meta-moment: the writer admits he tried to rhyme the log… but expects the Navigator to demand it “in the regular way.”
That line is the tradition in miniature: one foot in regulation, one foot in personality, and both feet planted on the midwatch. Stand The Watch.
Another 1942 entry — USS Idaho (BB-42): “nation is at war,” written from dry dock
Ship / date: USS Idaho (BB-42), 1 January 1942 (midwatch 0000–0400).
0 to 4:
Resting on the keel blocks in Dry Dock Number Four,
In Portsmouth Yard, Virginia, and the nation is at war.
Receiving all our services, water, phone, and steam,
From the people of the Navy Yard, whose kindness we esteem.
Present in the yard with us, they look so very neat,
Are units large and various of our Atlantic Fleet.
Commander Battleship Division Five, the S.O.P. Afloat,
Is located in U.S.S. NEW YORK, a rugged battle-boat,
Also here to do the work, tug, crane, barge, and raft,
The unsung workers of the Navy, “Yard and district craft”.
With friendly aid we’ll fight the war, there is nothing we shall fear,
Perdition to our Axis foes, to all friends a Happy New Year.
E.B. Childs, Ensign, U.S. Navy
The Idaho entry is a reminder that “standing the watch” isn’t only about being underway.
Here, the ship is resting on keel blocks in Dry Dock Number Four at Portsmouth Yard, Virginia—physically immobilized, but operationally still part of the Navy’s living machine. The poem states the strategic reality with no decoration: the “nation is at war.”
It’s not just a poem about feeling patriotic. It’s a log entry that inventories the ship’s operational context—who’s present, what support is being provided, and what the larger fleet environment looks like.
And then it closes where so many of these entries do over every year: a direct best wish for the New Year, but in this case in 1942 paired with unmistakable wartime intent.
So even in dry dock—no motion, no sea state, no course and speed—the midwatch is still being kept, and the log is still doing its job. Stand The Watch.
1966 — USS Basilone (DD-824): “Downtown” envy, mooring lines doubled, Condition Yoke set
Ship / date: USS Basilone (DD-824), 1 January 1966 (midwatch 0000–0400).
[editor’s note: can be sung to the tune of “Downtown” by Petula Clark] - this is the actual entry in the DECKLOG not this editor working on the blog. I tried to play the song on YouTube and sing the verse below...alas it was kind of a kick.
00-04
Midnight has struck, and here on the BASILONE we’re all alone —
Alone.
The Duty Section here wants to wish everyone a very happy New Year —
New Year.
But the officers have made it, followed closely by the crew.
There’s no one left on board to wish a happy New Year to.
Sad are we.
They’ve packed up their troubles and woe and have found all the places
Where lights are aglow and gone…Downtown!
Gone where the action is… Downtown!
Drinking their beer or fizz…Downtown!
Where we would all like to be.
We’re moored starboard side to good DYESS with sturdy standard mooring lines —
Doubled Up.
Berth one five three at Naval Station, Newport, R.I. is the place we call —
Our home.
GRAND CANYON, MOALE and FISKE also share our nest this New Year.
Electric power and steam and phone are coming from the pier.
But these don’t help.
We made our rounds, we watched the whole show; but we’d like to be
Where the real swingers go… Downtown!
That’s where our buddies are… Downtown!
In some secluded bar… Downtown!
That’s where we’d all like to be.
COMCRUDESLANT is SOPA on YOSEMITE where flies his flag —
AD 19.
Units of the U.S. Fleet, Yard and District craft are also present here —
Atlantic Fleet.
Material condition Yoke and readiness five are set.
ASROC Sentry and cold iron watch are guarding us yet.
Plus sounding-security.
But though we are sad and want some good cheer, we’re wishing for all
A very happy New Year from …BASILONE!
DD Eight Two Four…BASILONE!
Wait ‘til you hear us roar… BASILONE!
We send best wishes to you.
G Munson
LT USN
If Gilmer gives you cold anchorage and Idaho gives you wartime dry dock, Basilone gives you the most relatable New Year’s theme of all:
Everyone else is out celebrating—and you’re on duty. I can so relate. Brings back duty days on Holidays is years past.
This entry is explicitly written to be sung to “Downtown” by Petula Clark and it leans hard into the contrast between the duty section onboard and everybody else chasing lights and music ashore.
But here’s the key: even while it complains in perfect rhythm, it never stops being a deck log.
A short line that captures the mood: “Gone where the action is… Downtown!”
Under the humor, it methodically captures the mandatory details:
Mooring status: Basilone is moored starboard side to DYESS, with “sturdy standard mooring lines”—explicitly noted as doubled up. This is the same type of “placement of lines while moored” requirement described by the National Archives.
Location: Berth 153, Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island.
Who else is present: GRAND CANYON, MOALE, and FISKE “share our nest.” The deck log captures the local operational neighborhood.
Services: electric power, steam, and phone coming from the pier.
Command context: COMCRUDESLANT is SOPA on YOSEMITE (AD-19), flag flown there.
Readiness and security posture: Material condition Yoke and readiness five are set; ASROC sentry (editors side note - what chucklehead ever thought it was a good idea to make a nuclear tipped torpedo?) and cold iron watch are posted; sounding/security is included.
So on Basilone in 1966 - you can sing, but you still have to stand the watch.
And the watch—sentries, security rounds, readiness posture—doesn’t care that it’s a holiday. Stand The Watch.
1969 — USS New Jersey (BB-62) - "The Big J": darken ship, readiness two, and then… seven salvos at 0041
Ship / date: USS New Jersey (BB-62), 1 January 1969 (midwatch 0000–0400). Off East Coast of Vietnam
00-04
INDEPENDENTLY ^STEAMING OFF VIET NAM
IN SEARCH OF VICTOR CHARLIE CONG
AND NOW JUST SOUTH OF THE DMZ
SHOOTING AT TARGETS TOO FAR TO SEE
WITH ORDERS FROM COMSEVENTHFLEET
TO FIRE OUR GUNS AND KEEP THINGS NEAT
AS A PART OF 70.8.9
WE WILL BE FIRING ALL THE TIME
EMPLOYMENT SCHEDULE 3-69
KEEPS US BUSY ON THE LINE
THE OTC AND SOPA TOO
IS CAPTAIN SYNDER OF “62”
COURSES VARY THROUGH THE NIGHT
BUT 090 AT 5 JUST NOW SEEMS RIGHT
YOKE IS SET, WE KNOW ITS TRUE
WE STEAM AT CONDITION OF READINESS TWO
WITH BOILERS 1, 3, 5, AND 8
GENERATORS 2, 4, 6, AND 8
WE’LL HAVE NO PROBLEMS MAKING STEAM
WITH THEM ON OUR NEW JERSEY TEAM
WE SHOW NO NAVIGATION LIGHT
FOR DARKEN SHIP THIS NEW YEARS NIGHT
LT THORNTON THE OOD
SAYS THINGS LOOK GOOD AND WE SHOULD SEE
A SUNRISE WITH THE PASS OF TIME
TO BRING US INTO “69”
THERE ARE SOME THINGS WE HOLD SO DEAR
AMONG THEM PEACE IN THIS NEW YEAR
GOOD CHEER, GOOD LUCK, A SAFE TRIP HOME
AND WITH THAT THOUGHT, I’LL END THIS POEM.
A MISTAKE HAS BEEN MADE IN THIS LOG I FEAR
FOR MORE ENTRIES NEED BE MADE ENTERED HERE T/T
AT TIME ZERO TO FORTY ONE
ORDER WAS RECEIVED TO FIRE OUR GUNS
COMMENCED FIRE MAIN BATTERY TURRET TWO
AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO VICTOR CHARLIE TOO TO YOU T/T
SEVEN SALVOS RESOUNDED WITH A MIGHTY CLAP
WITH SEVEN FULL CHARGES AND PROJECTILES HICAP
THE ENEMY IN HIS HOOTCHES AND BUNKERS WE DID ZAP
(CONT.)
(CONT.)
ROUNDS COMPLETE, CEASE FIRE CAME UP THROUGH THE PHONES
AND RELUCTANTLY WE RETURNED TO THE NIGHT STEAMING ZONE
T.J. THORNTON, LT, USN
This is the entry that proves the tradition can survive in the most kinetic environment imaginable.
The log places New Jersey off the east coast of Vietnam, “just south of the DMZ,” independently steaming in search of the enemy and under Seventh Fleet tasking.
Even in rhyme, the entry reads like a combat status report—because it is:
Tasking and command: it references COMSEVENTHFLEET orders and identifies the operational chain including the OTC and SOPA as Captain Synder of “62,” . Editor's note - Captain Snyder is how his name should have been spelled and he recently took command. But I left the typo in there.
Course/speed and shiphandling: it notes that courses vary through the night and records a specific course and speed at that moment (090 at 5). That’s directly aligned with the “courses and speed” requirement described by the National Archives. Pieces of History
Readiness posture: it states Condition of Readiness Two and Material Condition Yoke.
Plant status: it lists boilers and generators online.
Light discipline: it states no navigation lights shown—darken ship—for that New Year’s night.
And then the part that makes this entry uniquely Big J:
The poem ends with a wish for peace and safe return—then the writer adds a corrective note: “a mistake has been made,” because more entries must be recorded. At 0041, an order is received to fire the guns; main battery turret two commences fire; seven salvos are fired with full charges and HICAP projectiles, and then “cease fire” comes up through the phones and the ship returns to night steaming. Ahh...Battleships. Sure do miss them.
And this entry to me continues to show the connection thru the years. The Navy changes. The threats change. The weapons change. But the Deck Log doesn’t.
It records what happened, as it happened, even when the ink is still wet from wishing someone a Happy New Year. Stand The Watch.
2021 — USS Roosevelt (DDG-80): a pandemic year in rhyme, and the required details still land
Ship / date: USS Roosevelt (DDG-80), 1 January 2021 (entry begins at 0000 within a 2200–0300 watch continuation). The new five and dimes rotation no doubt.
0000
Another year passed, another year down
Time to take a final look around
Although 2020 was unlike any year before
Old DDG-80 had many places to explore
We bid farewell to the land of the free
And headed off to foreign regions to see
We made decent headway across the Atlantic
Until the pandemic had us turn back and be frantic
Our first stop was Yorktown, then we left the states for good
And crossed over to our new home, like we should
It would be a while, until we could really set foot on land
186 days due to COVID and a beer in hand
So we headed north, to new frontiers
And new to Sixth Fleet, were joined by our peers
The crew became tried and true blue noses
And was sprayed with icy water from fire hoses
After operating in the high north,
We headed south and welcomed the warmth
Passing through the Strait of Gibraltar
We knew we wouldn’t falter
Through the Turkish Straits and into the Black Sea
Through Istanbul seeing people sip coffee
And after more operations, we returned to ROTA
And enjoyed drinks harder than soda
From Tromsø, to Varna, to Souda Bay
From Iceland to Algiers, it was a long way
But through the grit and the grind
Our equipment works just fine
2200-0300 (CONT)
Fire and seawater pumps online are 1 and 2, 4
A/C 3, 8 mooring lines, and to the port side we moor,
CDO is LTJG [REDACTED], Section Leader is GMC [REDACTED]
And the entire triad is ashore
We experienced many ups and downs, many highs and lows
But endured through them all, and now we draw this to a close
2020 was a year for the books, we had a great run
Now watch as we go all ahead flank, into 2021
This entry is the modern proof that the tradition still does what it has always done: capture the year that was, through the eyes of the watch that bridged it. And I gotta say - 186 days straight at sea!!! That is impressive.
The poem looks back on 2020 as “unlike any year before” and narrates the ship’s movement and operational rhythm through the pandemic’s disruptions: crossing the Atlantic, turning back, then heading to a “new home,” long stretches without really setting foot on land, and a series of ports and operating areas listed by name. Roosevelt even became a entered the "Order of the Blue Nose" and sailed into the Artic Circle.
The poem snaps back into the deck log’s required structure, listing shipboard systems and watchstanding posture:
It identifies which fire and seawater pumps are online. It references A/C and mooring lines and notes that the ship is moored (to the port side). It identifies key watch leadership positions (with redactions for names) and notes the command triad is ashore. And then it closes the only way a ship ever truly starts a new year: with motion—“all ahead flank, into 2021.”
It's the same pattern Gilmer, Idaho, Basilone, and New Jersey. Doesn't matter the century. You can tell the story. But you still have to log the ship and what a great story Roosevelt has to tell. Stand The Watch.
2025 — USS Gettysburg (CG-64): Red Sea threats, crew morale, and “back to plant status production”
Ship / date: USS Gettysburg (CG-64), 1 January 2025 (New Year’s entry).
00-04
As 2024 draws to a close,
We end the year with profound prose.
While steaming the Red Sea creating new Navy lore,
We remember our namesake warriors who turned the tide of the war.
For three days they fought shedding blood for our nation,
So that President Lincoln could proclaim equality for creation.
To those same ideals we continue to aspire,
Protecting freedom of commerce as merchants take fire.
From Round Top to Cemetary [sic] Ridge, the Union won the day,
Their examples providing courage as we shout “birds away”.
UAVs, LACMs, ASCMs and more,
The Houthis make sure our CIC is never bored.
And while some crews of lesser grit might be scared,
Capt [redacted] and team came to the party prepared.
Though she may be old, mighty GET never falters,
Her 127 VLS cells spreading freedom from the Middle East to Gibraltar.
Sure the days may be long and the work never ends,
But we sailors stay cheerful with the help of our friends.
MWR karaoke, movie nights, and the steel beach picnics pass the time,
Keeping us sane as we listen to CMC’s daily lament about the ship’s grime.
As we count the days until we return homeport,
We are reminded to honor those whose journey was cut short.
Their service to our country will not be forgotten,
For they continued the tradition of protecting the downtrodden.
So as we enter the New Year feeling filled with opportunity, and of course, some nerves,
Always remember that we can’t go wrong living by the motto “deeds not words”.
And now after that brief poetic interruption,
Back to our regularly scheduled plant status production.
The ship is steaming the Red Sea, executing the modern mission of maritime security and freedom of commerce under fire. The poem explicitly lists contemporary airborne and missile threats and offensive weapons—UAVs, LACMs, and ASCMs—and names the Houthis as the enemy force keeping CIC from ever being bored.
And then it does something very deck-log-poem-esque: it balances warfighting with the human mechanics of endurance.
It anchors the ship’s identity in its namesake (the Battle of Gettysburg) and the language of “deeds not words,” using history as morale fuel.
It emphasizes readiness and confidence—crew prepared, ship doesn’t falter—even while acknowledging the grind.
It records the ship’s combat capability in a very “this is what we are” kind of line: 127 VLS cells “spreading freedom” across a wide geographic frame.
It documents the ways crews stay sane during long deployments: MWR karaoke, movie nights, steel beach picnics, the CMC’s daily lament about grime. If I could bring back XO's Messing and Berthing Inspection.
It memorializes those whose journeys were cut short—an explicit reminder that watchstanding is tied to sacrifice. Some sacrifice being of the ultimate kind.
And then it ends with what might be the most perfect closing line that goes across these nearly 80 years, because it says the quiet part out loud. After that “brief poetic interruption,” it’s back to “regularly scheduled plant status production.”
That is the midwatch across a century, summed up in one move: emotion acknowledged, mission continues. Stand The Watch.
Closing: Hoist a mug to the watch
Every one of these entries is a time capsule. Not because they rhyme—but because they prove the same thing, again and again:
No matter the year, no matter the war, no matter the platform—Sailors stood or are standing the watch.
That’s the thread that connects Port Townsend anchorage to a battleship firing south of the DMZ, to a destroyer tallying a pandemic year, to a cruiser in the Red Sea tracking drones and missiles. Different nouns. Same responsibility. Same quiet competence at midnight.
So on this New Year’s Day, hoist our mugs to the midwatch—then get back to work.
Sea Stories wanted: Share your story and upload a photo at:
oldsaltcoffee.com/pages/sea-story-submissions