Chipola (AO 63) - Naval Cruise Book

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. 4 ..J 'bl . i ,.- . r S 7 1969 , ,. T. fa-1 his-Wx, CHIPOLA has completed one more WESTPAC cruise. The cruise has been a distinct success as evinced by the statistics that have been compiled. Some of the credit is due to the BLUE CHIP herself, but, of course, she cannot operate and carry out her mission without her crew. We in the Service Force, Whose motto is Service to the Fleetv, do our utmost to pro- vide the best service possible to our customer ships at sea. Each man in the ship, no matter what his particular job may be, contributes directly to the capability of CHIPOLA to perform her mission. We have received countless Thanks for your Services and Well Done's from ships alongside. We have been called Professionals . We like to think that We are. This cruise book, then may impart a small insight into the activities of CHIPOLA and her crew during our must recent deployment. Warm Regards, n L. W. KELLEY Commanding Officer

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xv, I Qf 1 V- hi x ll L Uss CHIPOLA qAo 635 Dew Named after a river flowing through Georgia and Florida, USS CHIPOLA CAO 635 has had a long, if interrupted, career since her launching at Sparrows Point, Maryland on 21 October 1944. CHIPOLA was commissioned on 30 November 1944 in plenty of time to engage in ac- tion in the Pacific Theater of World War II. She received three battle stars for her re- fueling of attack ships in the campaigns at Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and Third Fleet operations against Japan. CHIPOLA was on hand for that historic moment when the instrument of surrender ending WW II was signed aboard USS MISSOURI in Tokyo Bay. After the war the CHIPOLA served as a tanker transporting fuel from literally one end of the World to the other, making about twenty trips around the world while so en- gaged. Upon the outbreak of hostilities in Korea, CHIPOLA served with the Seventh Fleet for which participation she earned the Korean Service Medal. On 1 August 1955, shortly after the war's end, CHIPOLA was placed out of commission. Her rest was fairly short lived as she was recommissioned on 29 September 1956 as an MSTS tanker. In this capa- city she carried fuel along the East Coast of the United States until she was again placed out of commission on November 1957. CHIPOLA remained in moth balls until September 1961 when she was once again called on by the Navy to resume her role in the auxiliary fleet. Outfitted and readied for sea, she was recommissioned in Baltimore, Maryland on 17 December. One month later she left those snowy climes for the nation's only Pacific Island state. She arrived in Pearl 1 bor in March 1961. ' Since arriving in the Pacific, CHIPOLA has completed four previous deployments with Seventh Fleet in the Western Pacific. During her fifth deployment in WESTPAC, .JHIPOLA refueled three hundred seventy three ships, ranging from the small SWIFT boats if our giant attack carriers, an example of the continued reliability and effort of the ship nd crew. I ' CHIPOLA's record of service is an impressive one. Her officers and men look forward continued operations in the Pacific area, upholding the Service Force Motto-Service, ubility, Support. This is the story of her fifth deployment.