The U.S.S. Lewis K. Bausell DD-845 Built at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. Commissioned to active duty February 6, 1946. General Specifications after FRAM II  Displacement: 2,425 tons    Fully loaded: 3,520 tons Overall length: 390.5 feet              Beam: 40.9 feet                Draft: 19 feet            Boilers: Built by Babcock & Wilcox      Propulsion: Westinghouse steam turbines driving                         two propellers    Horsepower: 60,000    Max. Speed: 34.5 knots WEAPONS SYSTEMS   Guns: Twin 5"/38 mounts forward firing 55 pound projectle Range: Approximately 20,000 yards, 10 nautical miles Anti-Submarine:               ASROC: Anti-submarine rocket. One 8 tube launcher                 DASH: Drone anti-submarine helicopter. Two aboard                            carrying two torpedos each Torpedoe tubes: Two tripple tube mounts, one each side THE CREW              14 Officers                           260 enlisted men

I had the privilege to serve aboard the Bausell for but a short period in her 32 years of proud service in the fleet. There was a special feeling about this ship and its crew. One ex-Bausell sailor who served aboard when I was there wrote to me recently. He had continued on and made a career of the Navy. In his e-mail he commented that no other ship he served on had quite the same 'feel' as the U.S.S. Bausell. He would have traded any other future duty station to return to that fine old ship.

I did visit other ships of the fleet during my time in the service and invariably went away feeling the Bausell was special. The officers aboard were professionals but always made the enlisted men feel that the officers were 'just another part' of the team. The enlisted men in every division from Chief Petty Officers to the newest Seaman aboard worked extra hours to be sure our ship was ALWAYS ready for whatever we were called upon to do.

It is a sad thing that such fine ships must come to the end of their useful life. The armaments, propulsion system and electronics on any ship will eventually reach the point where newer vessels eclipse their functionality and it's uneconomical to refurbish them. Such a time came to the Lewis K. Bausell one Spring day. She was decommissioned and on May 30, 1978 she was used as a test target for a cruise missile firing, and sunk.

I for one hope that some day in a shipyard, the keel is layed for another vessel to carry on the name 'Lewis K. Bausell'.

In the mean time, continue on through the pages to see a few photographs and some discussion about the ship during a part of the Vietnam War years. I'm hoping that other former Bausell sailors (from all eras) will be contribute pictures and 'sea-stories' to be added to these pages over time.