Claude V Ricketts (DDG 5) - Naval Cruise Book

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The Man - Claude V. Ricketts Claude Vernon Ricketts was born in Missouri on February 23, 1906, and was graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1929. For duty in World War Two he received a Letter of Commendation with Ribbon and the Legion of Merit with Combat V . After instruction at various staff and war colleges he reported in June 1949 as Commanding Officer of USS ALSHAIN (AKA-55). In July 1952 he became Head, Amphibious Warfare Branch, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. On February 1, 1961, he became Commander, Second Fleet, and on September 25 of the same year, he assumed his last duty in the U.S. Navy as Vice Chief of Naval Operations. While serving as Vice CNO he devoted his enormous energy and talents to many projects of importance to the U.S. Navy and the NATO alliance. On July 6, 1964, Admiral Ricketts died of a heart attack. On July 28, 1964, USS BiDDLE was re-named and recommissioned USS CLAUDE V. RICKETTS(DDC-5) in memory of the former Vice Chief of Naval Operations. At the name-changing ceremony, the Flonorable Paul H. Nitze, Secretary of the Navy, spoke of the appropriateness of renaming the ship in honor of Admiral Ricketts because of the great contributions the Admiral had given to the concept of mixed-manning and the Multilateral Force.

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From 1966 to 1973, the RICKETTS made numerous deployments to the Mediterranean Sea. In July 1972, the ship made a Northern European Cruise, in August of 1973, the RICKETTS as a unit of Destroyer Squadron 20, deployed to the Mediterrane an to operate as a member of the Sixth Fleet and returned to Norfolk in January 1974. Upon her return, RICKETTS entered Norfolk Naval Shipyards for a ten month complex overhaul, returning to the fleet in January 1975. Completing acceptance tests, qualifications, and refresher training during a two month cruise to the Caribbean from March to May 1975, RICKETTS deployed to the Mediterranean as a unit of the Sixth Fleet in July 1975. On November 22, 1975, during a collision at sea between the USS BELKNAP and the USS JOHN F. KENNEDY, RICKETTS was assigned as a rescue destroyer to fight raging fires aboard the USS BELKNAP. RICKETTS and her fire fighting teams performed in a heroic and exemplary manner in bringing the flames under control and conducting injured personnel transfer and treatment. Her efforts were instrumental in saving the USS BELKNAP and in rescuing the crew of the stricken ship. RICKETTS returned to Norfolk in January 1976, joining the U.S. Second Fleet. On September 8, 1976, an awards ceremony was held for RICKETTS participation in the heroic rescue of the USS BELKNAP. In addition to numerous personal awards, RICKETTS was awarded her second Navy Unit Commendation for her heroic rescue actions. This award, the equivalent of an award of the Silver Star, is the highest unit award granted in peacetime. RICKETTS deployed form Norfolk on October 4, 1976, joining the U.S. Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. This deployment included a trip to Kenya to participate in the celebration of that Country ' s 13 Anniversary of Independence. Six weeks after returning from the Mediterranean, RICKETTS joined a U.S. Task Group on a six week operation with the Brazilian Navy. RICKETTS earned the DESRON TWO TWO Squadron Battle Efficiency Award for fiscal year 77 . In addition, the ship received department excellence awards for Engineering, Communication, Supply, Damage Control, and ASW for the same period. RICKETTS entered Philadelphia Naval Shipyards in September 1977. Following the completion of the overhaul in October 1978, RICKETTS underwent Refresher Training in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, returning to the homeport of Norfolk, Virginia in April 1979. Most recently, RICKETTS has completed a 7 month deployment to the U.S. Middle East Force and U.S. Sixth Fleet. Departing Norfolk in early September, 1979, RICKETTS operated with the Sixth Fleet before transitting the Suez Canal and joining the Middle East Force in late September. In the Middle East, RICKETTS conducted at sea operations and visited ports in the Republic of Djibouti, Kenya, Pakistan, and Bahrain. She was the first Norfolk-Based ship assigned to the Naval buildup in the Persian Gulf in response to the Iranian Crisis following the November seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. While in the Persian Gulf, RICKETTS conducted more than 10 weeks of continuous underway operations celebrating the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Holidays at sea. For their contribution to this contingency, crew members were awarded the Navy-Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal by the Secretary of the Navy. RICKETTS returned to the Mediterranean in early Febrary 1980 and operated with the U.S. Sixth Fleet until recently when she departed for Norfolk. While in the Mediterranean, the ship visited ports in Italy, Sardinia, Crete, and Spain. Although maintaining a high operating tempo, RICKETTS was one of the two Atlantic Fleet destroyers cited by Vice Admiral J. D. Johnson, Commander Surface Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, as Fuel Efficiency Best Performers for realizing at least a twenty percent reduction in fuel consumption through efficient operations of engineering plants.

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COMMANDING OFFICER Commander Thomas Andrew York United States Navy A native of Kansas, Commander York was educated at the Kansas State University and was a member of the English Department faculty while a graduate student. In December 1960, he was commissioned Ensign USNR from the U.S. Navy Officer Candidate School at Newport, Rhode Island and subsequently was assigned sea duty in Mine Division Seventy-one. Other sea duty assignments included Staff, Mine Flotilla One homeported in Sasebo, Japan; USS PROVIDENCE (CLG-6); USS MANSFIELD (DD-728) homeported at Yokosuka, Japan; Aide and Flag Secretary to Commander-Destroyer Flotilla Six; and Executive Officer in USS JOHN KING (DDG-3). Commander York ' s shore assignments have been in the Bureau of Naval Personnel, the Headquarters of U.S. Navy Recruiting Command and most recently in the Strategic Plans and Policy Division in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. A graduate of the U.S. Navy Destroyer School and the Armed Forces Staff College, Commander York resides with his wife, the former Mary Lucille Crain, in Virginia Beach, Virginia.