Brown (DD 546) - Naval Cruise Book

 - Class of 1951

Page 11 of 40

 

Brown (DD 546) - Naval Cruise Book online collection, 1951 Edition, Page 11 of 40
Page 11 of 40



Brown (DD 546) - Naval Cruise Book online collection, 1951 Edition, Page 10
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Page 11 text:

trials and re-activation, the day of commissioning arrived - 27 October 1950. It was a gray misty day when, at ten o ' clock the colors were hoisted at the gaff and the command of the USS BROWN was turned over to Commander Emerson H. Dimpfel, with Lieutenant Commander Roland G. Mayer, Jr. as Executive Officer. The commissioning ceremonies were performed by Admiral Wilder D. Baker as the crew, and tfieir wives and guests looked on. That evening a ship ' s party was held in commemoration of the event at the Armed Forces Y.M.C.A. in Long Beach, California. Each man looked forward to the months ahead, wondering what assignments the future would hold for the BROWN. Work went on as usual, for there were many things to be accomplished to make the ship ready for sea, and ready for whatever task would fail to her. More men reported aboard, provisions were stowed and a few days later the BROWN went to San Diego, The shakedown cruise for the ship, underway training for the crew, and the ever-present ship ' s work absorbed all our days and some of our nights in San Diego. Many days were spent at sea, with Naval observers and advisers aboard. That meant drill and more drills - general quarters drills, fire drills, collision drills, abandon ship drills, steering casualty drills, - seemingly endless. To many of the men new to the Navy, much of this seemed pointless and a waste of time, but the months ahead were to show the profits of all this refresher training. Then one day a special group of Naval observers came aboard to go to sea with us. These men had the authority to determine if the BROWN and her crew were ready to rejoin the great fleets of the Navy - and they found us ready. Near the end of January the USS BROWN steamed out of San Diego harbor, passed familiar Point Loma, and nosed her way into the blue Pacific toward Pearl Harbor. The questions in every mind were the same: Where are we going now? When will we return to the States? One question could be answered - we were heading for Japan for assignment. The other question was to remain unanswered for several months. Pearl Harbor in February was pleasant for everyone. We continued the work on the ship, completing last minute details for what lay ahead. The time in Pearl Harbor was spent, in part, in anti-submarine warfare and anti-aircraft drills to give us the polishing we needed, for every man aboard must know his job thor- oughly for anything that might arise. Liberty in Honolulu and at Waikiki gave all hands a chance at swimming and recreation. Enroute to Japan, we stopped at Midway Island long enough to refuel and for some of the crew to wander about the island. Everyone soon discovered there was nothing to see but Gooney birds and sand! Early in March, the BROWN finished the final leg of her journey to the Far East when we entered the port of Sasebo, Japan. We were met on aJI sides by ships of the United Nations - all united against the aggressor on Korea, across the Sea of Japan. The very next day, after refueling, the USS BROWN left Sasebo to join Task Force 77 off the east coast of Korea. We were in mighty powerful company, too. This was a fast carrier task force which included, at times, the carriers VALLEY FORGE, PRINCETON, BOXER, PHILIPPINE SEA, the battleship MISSOURI and occasionally the cruisers MANCHESTER or SAINT PAUL. Along with our own division of destroyers, there were the ZELLARS, PARKS, FISKE, BLUE, KENNEDY and many others. Our next assignment, a few weeks later, was with the bombardment group in

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engogemenfs with ttie enemy in the Pacific: Marcus Island - 19 May 1944 Wake Island - 23 May 1944 First battle of the Philippine Sea - 19 June 1944 Assault and capture of Guon, Saipan and Tinian - 3 July to 6 August 1944 Iwo Jima - 4 July 1944 Yap Island - 26 July 1944 Participated in raiding operations against enemy naval and merchant ships in the area northwest of Chichi Jima - August 1944 The following general information was noted on 10 July 1944, tfie first anniversary of the commissioning of the U.S.S. BROWN; Total miles steamed: 95,375 Total fuel oil consumed: 5,571 ,804 gallons Time spent at sea was 245 days Crossed the equator on twelve occasions Rescued eleven U.S. aviators from crashed planes Rescued one man overboard from another ship Captured seventeen Japanese survivors Expended 1,640 rounds of ammunition In the latter stages of World War Two, the BROWN took port in the Philippine Liberation from 6 to 24 September 1944, second battle of the Philippine Seo on the 25 and 26th of September, Luzon 5 November to 25 November 1944, picking up survivors of the destroyers HULL and MONAHAN which capsized during a typhoon in December 1944, Okinawa Gunto 1 April 1945, radar picket stations off Okinawa, and was credited with downing twelve enemy aircraft end missing seven torpedoes fired at the ship. On 17 May 1945, the BROWN was officiolly credited with a total of seventeen enemy aircraft, one enemy tanker and one enemy destroyer. She was owarded the Navy Unit Citation for picket duty off Okinawa, Some time later, in the month of August 1946, the ship was decommissioned. KOREy umm This, then, is the story of the USS BROWN - brought out of retirement for Operation Pacific. Little did anyone foresee, in the foil of 1946, that she would be called upon again so soon to answer the threat of another aggressor. September and October of 1950 saw the BROWN shifted from her berth among the silent ships ot Long Beoch, California, to another dock for the tedious pro- cess of re-activation. The cobwebs of four years had to be brushed away which meant hard work ond plenty of it. Back in 1943, production of ships was what counted. This time the problem was re-fitting those some fighting ships, almost forgotten in the ghost-like yards of the mothball fleet. As more and more men reported aboard, with their Novy blues fresh from mothballs, too, the work of getting tfie ship ready for commissioning progressed more ropidly. There were many questions to be answered and many problems to be squared away as the ship and the crew became adusted to new routines. Finolly, in the midst of dock



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the Naval siege at Wonsan, Korea. Here tfie endless drills and underway training paid off during duels with ttie shore batteries. The BROWN answered the chol- lenge of the big guns on the beoch with coocentrofed salvos of the moin battery to silence the enemy gun enplacements. In the doys of Wonsan, a splash in the water from o near miss turned the BROWN into a blazing bottery of 5 inch gun mounts. At Wonsan the Navy supplied their share of firepower by pouring hundreds of rounds of ammunition into the North Korean coastal installations. If there is such o thing as history repeating itself it was certainly proven when the BROWN, for the second time in her history, failed to be daunted by the enemy as she dished out more than ever. A fighting ship had come back to life after more thon four years of retirement. The agility ond perseverance of the officers and men at their battle stations surely deserved a well done! In these duels we suffered only two casuahies. A hot shellman in one gun mount was struck on the chin as a shell casing took a freak course out of the breech. The other hoppened when a five-inch projectile fell on the toes of an ammunition passer. The accuracy of the ship ' s guns was unexcelled as the BROWN blasted main shore batteries, silencing them. Carrying on shore-ond-ship duels the first two nights, the BROWN, along with the other ships, remained unhit and more than capable of answering the enemy by showing her full firepower, superior to ony- thing the shore batteries could offer. Some excitement was created late one night in the Operotions Division sleeping quarters when suddenly someone shouted, Hey! Quick! Get a fire hose, the magazine is on fire! All hands immediately rolled out of their racks to discover that gun mount five, which had been firing all night, hod caused a thick haze of smoke to settle in the compartment. Relieved by this discovery, everyone turned to in passing ammunition to overcome the momentary confusion, restoring the normal order of rapid-firing. The next day on the firing line was a fairly peaceful one until it was suddenly shattered by the enemy throwing heavy fire into the task force from the shore batteries. Splashes made by the shells could be seen hitting the water around the BROWN and the other ships as the enemy batteries were foiling short of their targets. Immediately all hands were piped to their battle stations and the BROWN again became a roaring fury as she answered the challenge of the foe. From Wonson, Korea, the BROWN went to Yokosuka, Jopan, for repoirs and maintenance, and liberty and recreation for the crew. Chipping hammers resound- ed from all parts of the ship as rust was removed and paint added. The rough seas and strong winds during the Korean Campaign had taken their foil on the paintwork. Yokosuka meant sight-seeing in Yokohama and Tokyo and other points of interest - if meant shopping for souvenirs and gifts to send home - it meont eating in restaurants ashore - and it meant getting some rest from the rigors of the forward area. Our stay in Yokosuka included some days spent at sea in more anti-submarine worfare exercises and anti-aircraft drills. Over 40 new men reported aboard for duty who helped in making the necessary preparations for returning to Tosk Force 77. We were constantly busy during the last day in Yokosuka bringing aboard ammunition and provisions. Then, early in May, the BROWN backed down from her berth and steomed out into Tokyo Bay with Fujiyama in the background. Two days later as dawn stretch- ed itself across the cloudless sky the task force was sighted in silhouette on the

Suggestions in the Brown (DD 546) - Naval Cruise Book collection:

Brown (DD 546) - Naval Cruise Book online collection, 1953 Edition, Page 1

1953

Brown (DD 546) - Naval Cruise Book online collection, 1951 Edition, Page 23

1951, pg 23

Brown (DD 546) - Naval Cruise Book online collection, 1951 Edition, Page 30

1951, pg 30

Brown (DD 546) - Naval Cruise Book online collection, 1951 Edition, Page 8

1951, pg 8

Brown (DD 546) - Naval Cruise Book online collection, 1951 Edition, Page 7

1951, pg 7

Brown (DD 546) - Naval Cruise Book online collection, 1951 Edition, Page 9

1951, pg 9

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