Sound clip: USS Truxtun anti-nuclear protest
Listen to a broadcast about the protest against the September 1980 visit to Wellington by the USS Truxtun.
Transcript
The Truxtun steamed into Wellington Harbour with no problems whatsoever. At about 7, a helicopter dropped a pilot on board, and she began moving soon after that through the narrow harbour entrance. At that moment about three protest boats shot out from Breaker Bay, but the Truxtun was too fast for them, and she left them wallowing in her wake.
She’s now nearing her anchoring place off Kaiwharawhara; she seems to be just off the container wharf at the moment. The three or four protest boats are being flanked by police boats, which outnumber them by about three to one; they’re way behind the Truxtun now, and with the tide against them, and the weather, they’ve got no way of catching up.
On the harbour, this is Bronwyn Williams.
The USS Truxtun enters Wellington Harbour on 25 May 1982 surrounded by escort boats and a flotilla of protest vessels.
This was the third time the Truxtun had come to New Zealand; the previous visits were in 1976 and 1980.
Credit
Image courtesy Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: EP/1982/1640/27
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any reuse of this image.
Sound file from Radio New Zealand Sound Archives Ngā Taonga Kōrero. Any re-use of this audio is a breach of copyright. To request a copy of the recording, contact Sound Archives Ngā Taonga Kōrero. ('USS Truxton nuclear protest' (1980), 1980s compilation disk. Reference number COMP 2, 1980, tk5)
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TwitterI was ship's chaplain on Truxtun during the '82 visit. I met many very nice people, including one young lady who came to stay in Virginia, USA, with my wife and me a couple years later. We still keep in touch. Best memory: talking with a protestor who had no idea there was a Soviet intelligence-gathering ship in port at the same time. They only knew what their leaders wanted them to know.
I was a crew member in 1982. I recall waiting to cross the street to catch the liberty boat back to the ship and seeing the protesters doing their thing. An older gentleman came up to me and said, "Don't pay too much attention to them mate. If it wasn't for your fathers and grandfathers we would be speaking Japanese today." The Kiwis were teriffic to us. Love them.
I recall the visits of USS Truxtun into Wellington and the nucleur threat that over the world during the years of the cold war. USA was behind Russia with the delivery of nuclear devices at the time of the Kennedy/Kruchev Cuba confrontation and so had every reason to be scared. For the period of the cold war we in New Zealand were coerced by Governments to hate the Soviets, Chinese, Nth Korea, Nth Vietnem and everything communist while on the other hand, the protest movement were coercing everyone to hate the USA, etc. etc. To my mind, one lot is just as bad as the other. They all lie or twist the truth - look at Chris's last sentance "wanted to nuke the world" pah!
In later years I had reason to visit a few ex-Soviet States and, talking to people, I found them just like us. Can I say it again - JUST LIKE US - wanting to raise their children and get on with their family lives. They had their houses and lovely possessions and didn't hate us as imperialists and all that nonsense.
Our nucleur policy and Nucleur Free Cities is nothing more than the manipulation of people for political purposes and Chris's mob are very much part of it. A protesters career path is "politician".
As a protest participant I had many conversations with Truxtun sailors on the dock. They told us it was easy to know when the Truxton was carrying nukes by how big the Marine guard was during loading. Most said they were in the Navy because it was the only job they could get, they hated it and couldn't wait to get out. We even took some for a tour of the city - it wasn't their fault their government wanted to nuke the world.
All can say what they want, I am a born and breed kiwi gal, I married a TRUXTUN naval man, I could tell you many things, but one thing I can state for certain is the integrity of the USN Truxtun crew, amazing military men, of course they will neither confirm or deny !!! our own son has had 7 war deployments quit bitching about the little things and recognize true military honor, I love NZ but I also honor my husbands service R.I.P. Don.
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