Cleveland (LPD 7 CL 55) - Naval Cruise Book

Text from Pages 1 - 96 of the 1973 volume:

INA SASEBO TOKYO OKOSUKA N r TAIWAN KAOHSIUNG HILIPPINES W, AUSTRALIA SAN FRANC ISCOJ HAWAII PEARL HARBOR •-• LONG BEACH SAN DIEGO MY MIND KEEPS GOING THROUGH SO MANY CHANGES. Since change was our constant com- panion for nearly ten months, it ' s ap- propriate that our theme should be Changes. Just for example: during the cruise, we saw all the normal coming and going of those who worked with us — we changed commanding officers halfway through the cruise — we changed miss ions three times (and Task Forces: 77, then 76, then 78) — we changed our locations, operations, time zones, readiness conditions, liberty plans, un- derway times, you name it. Maybe change was the reason why those long months flew by so quickly — or did they? THE UMORGANJ ' Z ORGANIZES o tofr « T O.p.g ...AND SxFftEP£-:N£yrMAtf OMPTUS £T PAKATUsf 9 umuUl. COMMANDING OFFICER CAPTAIN WILLIAM BECK, JR. Will any of us ever forget the feeling of standing on the Bridge late at night off Hon La, when suddenly a chill runs up your spine — and you know that Captain Beck is on the Bridge. Thoughts run through your mind, Do I have the dot? Anything less than perfect was not good enough. He could always cast enough doubt to keep you learning and thinking. His leadership molded the crew and the ship into one fighting unit with spirit, professionalism and drive that no other LPD and few other ships could begin to match. From August, 1971, until December, 1972, Captain Beck commanded our ship, his ship, always looking for the dis- crepancies that everybody else had missed, always seeking ways to make us realize that we were capable of more than we knew. Captain Beck knew we could do the things he demanded, and so he made us do those things — long un- reps, interminable flight ops, dragging line periods — and when he left, a part of us left too. 4 — ? ! The Cruise Begins at Hon La— MARHUKIN ' .. Subic Bay in July — remember the rain? — and the Steamin ' CLEVE picks up the seven Cobras of HMA-369 and heads for Hon La. The next four months saw helo flights, unreps, helo flights, ver- treps, and more helo flights. CLEVELAND and the Cobras proved that the LPD is even more versatile and the Cobras more deadly, than anyone had known before. i gi J MARHUK meant Marine Hunter-Killer, and that ' s just what the Cobras did: they hunted out moving enemy supplies on sea and land and cut them off. CLEVELAND had seven of these 200-knot aircraft on board, with some 20 pilots to fly them and over 100 enlisted Marines to see to the AH-U ' s care and feeding. When these slender beasts rose off the deck to head toward the shoreline, everybody got out of their way — fast. MARHUK operations marked the first time an LPD had been utilized as a primary helo plat- form in an attack role which was not part of an amphibious landing; also, the operations saw the first major non-defensive employment of Cobra gunships based at sea. In spite of deadly return fire, a typhoon now and then, and destroyers that seemed out to get us in the middle of the night, we all survived three long line periods at Hon La. We were tremendously successful in our operations as well, thanks to the skill of the Marines and the spirit of the sailors. MARHUK was one of those satisfying times when an operation becomes a well-tuned example of Navy-Marine cooperation. At left and above: CLEVE ' s Ops Boss, LCDR Helsper, looks a bit worried before his first Cobra flight. Below left: We even brave Subic rain to keep the Cobras comfortable. ' O ' ■ ; V •  v O - • c m i ■ Constant maintenance keeps them flying. m Unfortunately, those holes were made by real bullets; fortunately, pilots returned safely with casrept Cobra. ' So lift off, already! 1 CLEVE intercepts NVN-bound rice! Captain Beck examines the spoils of war; looks like political slogans even come printed on rice bags. (Right: Now dump all SINKABLE trash aft... ). The 2.75-inchers at left were prime weapons on the Cobras. And, at the bottom right, Chris Denham, terror of rice bags everywhere. ■s v mi H £ ■ NUMBER 7000! At left: Captain Beck gives lLt Tim Ehly a Well Done on November 5, 1972. At right: ABH3 Canto is flanked by pilot Ehly and co-pilot lLt Don Ferguson. ?■ Major Ross cuts for Captain Beck. Marines line up for farewell cake. USMC 197 YEARS OLD! And on December 2nd in Okinawa ... ...MARHUK ended for CLEVELAND when DUBUQUE relieved us at White Beach. It was good-bye to the HMA-369 Marines — they were good ship- mates. December was truly a month for changes-: from MARHUK to ARG; from Captain Beck to Cap- tain Kirksey; from a mini-CVA back to an LPD once again. U.ND ERW AY Above, the shot line about to go over; below, human energy, the surest source of power. At ten knots, 120 feet out, alongside a fleet RPPT FNTSFnVTFNT oiler ' CLEVELAND S ul P s ner lifeblood: N.D. fuel oil. The probes are sent over from the oiler (above) and Deck and Engineering personnel see that the probes are properly seated. Below; While refueling is going on. cargo both small and large can be sent across by the tried-and-true highline. v ' . ti M I Jk±£ i Vertical replenishment is a fairly recent developement, but it really works-cargo can be transferred rapidly with no highlines or other set-up required. Above left: Helo flies in, hovers over deck while load is unhooked. Stiff probe is at- tached to cargo nets. Above and right: With nets attached, helo lifts off quickly. Cargo will be unhooked at the helo ' s destination. Above: Forklifts still have to handle cargo inside. Above and Right: Retur- ning for the empty nets is a vertreps last step.  m 4 INSPECTIONS Inspections, inspections, inspections. We stood an in- spection for every major port we went into. Many thought that they weren ' t worth the effort, but they were. Whenever we were inport with other ships, CLEVELAND personnel could always be separated by their neat appearance; this brought about numerous compliments which strengthened CLEVELAND ' S superiority over the other units in West Pac. COMMANDING OFFICER CAPTAIN ROBERT E. KIRKSEY Since early December, 1972, Captain Kirksey has been the Skipper to all the men of the CLEVE. He took us through our ARG days, then to End Sweep in Haiphong, then home to San Diego in April, all the time withstanding a spate of Airdale jokes while keeping our morale and professionalism as high as ever. Captain K ' s mixture of humor, openness, forcefullness and leadership gave us the example we needed and made us want to do our best, because we liked the man and because we knew what he expected of us. Captain Kirksey ' s background is in aviation, but he proved time and again that he could be as salty a seadog as anyone on board. How many of us have ever seriously considered the burden of responsibility that accompanies the job of Commanding Of- ficer of a ship like CLEVELAND? He has met those respon- sibilities head-on and has proved his capabilities as an out- standing leader, not only in aviation, but in surface warfare as well. Captain Kirksey is slated to assume command of USS KITTY HAWK in early October, 1973. ANEW BEGINNING Our new skipper kept the theme of our cruise going. With his advent he brought a few hundred people dressed in green, other ships to look at while we were steaming, men with flags called com- modores, but most of all, some really great liberty ports. Dragon dance at the Confucian Temple. NAGASAKI CITY OF REFLECTIONS 28 YEARS AFTER a TAV From Madam Butterfly ' s House, the oldest trading post in Japan, dating from 1570. GROUND ZERO Symbol of world peace. The reflecting pool in the garden of the Atomic Bomb Museum. SASEBO JAPAN CHANGE OF COMMAND On December 4, 1972, at White Beach, Okinawa, Captain William Beck, Jr. was relieved by Captain Robert E. Kirksey, two men of dissimilar background with common goals. Cap- tain Beck molded us into professionals and instilled a desire to be the best. Captain Kirksey added team work and positive motivation to make us one of the finest fighting ships in the Pacific. Under their leadership we have proven ourselves countless times to be the greatest. HONG y mmamtmrnammm __________j __ f« ' : R Jr ML, : ? ' -. ::; Is the sun coming up or going down? It That boat Schell, the gray one. He just occupied my sand- box. ■ ' l r i Md $m THE OBJECTIVE WON! FLASH 210600Z DEC 72 FM NEPTUNAS REX TO ALL POLLYWOG WATCHES BT UNCLAS ARRIVAL DAVY JONES i, r.oi: L ™ 0LLYW0G BATCHES ARE DIRECTED TO KEEP ALERT FOR THE ARRIVAL OF DAVY JONES. DA DAVY JONES REVIEW DAVY JONES THE ROYAL SCRIBE OF NEPTUNUS REX And his bevy of beauties. This is Charlie Hotel, I have the deck Breenvz has the conn. Vigil on the fantail. ' 0 ' ' KING NEPTUNE RULER OF THE RAGING MAIN At ease gentlemen, I ' m just passing thru. VIP ' S... They Came They Saw They Left yw- SINGAPORE ..... THE LION CITY UO ARG B .-■? .■—. ... .  £ ■ ' i ilMlttai The formation of ' TF 78 launched a new concept in minesweeping; under Rear Admiral McCauley our job was t( clear Haiphong. HAIPHONG END SWEEP 1973 HMH-463 lift off.-.ENDSWEEP begins. Whose turn to wring out the M.O.P. (Magnetic Orange Pipe)?  . ■ Fill ' er up and please No Smok- ing. , MARCH 5 1973 NUMBER 8000 Pineapple 8 logs 8000 for CLEVELAND Captain Kirksey congratulates the pilot The team -now over 2000 accident free Command cake cutting commemorates celebra- tion gtri MARCH 25, If AHELO GOES DOWN After a short stop onboard to pick up minesweeping gear, Pineapple 11 lifts off. Moments later the tail section breaks and she goes down... SALVOPS begin.... .aftermath, one lost helo but no casualties. ENDSWEEP BEARD GROWING CONTEST Things got hairy during Endsweep. Those that could and those that thought they could join- ed in the fun of beard growing. Prizes were awarded for the fullest, best sculptured, most colors, most unique and most feeble. Left-Contestants wait nervously as judges deliberate (below). Above-winners are con- gratulated by Chaplain Henry. Right-judges and winners. ORDER OF THE GATOR NAVY Know ye, that — An honorary member of the ship ' s company U.S.S. CLEVELAND (LPD-7) having on. performed feats aboard -rr ?3pr this first line fighting unit of the amphibious force of the UnitedStafesN by my cpurttind fyf s jshaffhimenwth be duly as an AMPHIBIA EXTgADRDINA R Y for Davy Jones His majesty ' s scribe THE PEOPLE .,- -.CS - 1 ' 3 Jam. EXECUTIVE OFFICER feU Commander Thomas R. Langley, Jr. It always falls upon the XO to be the bad guy, The En- forcer. He has to carry out the policies of the Comman- ding Officer, and frequently this means he has to see and deal with every violator of the rules, from minor UA ' s to the most serious of cases. Needless to say, when some of the crew sees the Exec, the circumstances aren ' t always the most pleasant. But Commander Langley, like all good XO ' s, made more of his job than this — much more. Both in port and underwav. he helped build the reputation of the CLEVE as a clean, squared-away, responsible ship with an active and in- dustrious crew who cared. This feeling lives on, and this reputation is Commander Langley ' s legacy, if you want to call it that. It ' s largely because of his hav- ing spent two years as our XO that we can say proudly to anyone who asks: I ' m a crewman in the Steamin ' CLEVE. II If!  ™lr l CLEVELAND LPD 7 DEPARTMENT HEADS OPERATIONS OFFICER LCDR. C.F. HELSPER AIR OFFICER LCDR. J.S. MESERVE ENGINEERING OFFICER LCDR. D.M. MC CORD FIRST LIEUTENANT LT. G.S. FORRESTER COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER LT. L.D. TACKETT SUPPLY OFFICER LT.J.J. SCHWEITZ NAVIGATOR LT. K.G. ERICSON MEDICAL OFFICER LT.J.P.HAYDU FIRST DIVISION m 9 «« 1 ••• JfAVlfl Top 1. to r. BM2 Sitton, CWO-2 Cherry, SA Klepper, SN Snyder, SN Campbell, SR Davis, SN Amspacher, SN Barnett, SN Mayfield, SA Browning, SR Plesnarski, SN Hill, ENS Parks, BMCS Scates. Middle 1. to r. SA Ondrovich, SA Phillips, BMSA Cook, DS3 Rairdon, BM3 Williams, SN Curl, SA Crisp, SA Shelton, SA Deaton, SA Ayers. Bottom 1. to r. SN Aleman, SN Slaga, SN Ballard, SA Kicks, SA Irby, SA Adams, SA Startari, SA Kopperl. DlD ASAV Sitf H6LMSA0AM M Top 1. to r. CWO-2 Cherry, SN Quante, SA Deaves, SN Sanchez, SR Petty, SA Gay, SN Caywood, SN Moore, SA Proffer, SA Bean, SN Aplin, SN Depons, SN Large, BMC McMahon. Bottom 1. to r. SA Lydell, SA Burden, SR Richie, SN Dietz, SA Vester, SA Jones, SN Dye, SN Currans, SN Kennedy. Kneeling 1. to r. BM3 Like, BMl Brown, BM2 Kailipaulauli (Ted). SECOND DIVISION Writing up another, huh chief. ' Lovte T FIIEfr vGrKT— ' Don ' t worry, we ' ll get ' em this time. ' m Qfr J 2 $ Once upon a time in P.I... ' Should we let it go? Top I. to r. C.MGZ Coffey, FTG2 Denham, SA Honeycutt, FTGSN Pearce Center 1. to r. FTG3 Cotter, GMG3 Bahr, FTG:i Szabatura, LT.JG Mullins, GMGSN Walton, SN Cavanaugh, FTG2 Tieskotter, FTG3 Waite, FTG2 Mata. Bottom GMG2 C.ilchrist THIRD DIVISION WALK SOFTLY, BUT CARRY A BIG GUN  A DIVISION Top 1. to r. ENC Wittich, EN3 Bailey, EN3 Deem, EN3 Huber, EN3 Lindensmith, EN1 Cutlip, ENS Caporuscio. Bottom 1. to r. EN3 Lloyd, ENFA Lallande, MM3 Walker, ENFN Luedke, ENFN Arcena. vV r YgR. Vehicle is IWW ,Si B DIVISION Top 1. to r. FN Murphy, FN Carroll, BTFN Jolley, FN Hansen, BTFN Turner, FA Harris, BTFA Cox, BTFA Keemer, FA Wiltz, BT2 Green, FN Daniels. Bottom 1. to r. FN Kerstein, BTFA Kankins, BTFN Free, FA Queer, BT1 Pope, BT3 Vasquez, BT3 Mezzell, BT3 Taylor. M SlOW to BU C0T06e3.. ' I believe in Z-grams. COMMUNICATIONS 1r Top l. to r. RMC Biedenbender, RM2 Robinson, RM2 Mozingo, RM2 Hamel,. RM1 Gowers, RM2 Houston, RM1 Enloe, RMSN Taylor, RM2 Langwell, RM2 Mills, RMC Mavs. Bottom l. to r. RM3 Mooneyham, RMSA Hardin, SM3 ' Adamski, SMSA Loughridge. SMC Cr owlv, SM3 Andrews, SMSN Kurdv, RMSN Bennett, RMSA Mitchell. Think we ought to turn to? y n Some people have to work. sgp 1 COMBAT CARGO NAVIGATORS gm S| ■ ... F jL Standing 1. to r. SN Gjolmesli, SN Wells, SN Wockley, SN Gilpatrick, QMC Johnson Kneeling 1. to r. QMSN Towers, QM1 Cain, QMSN Finneman ff 1 KM0U3 U)EJ?fc Aum-e ' WM5 ' pfco A3u6 cWoO IDIOT. ' ' Ve Never lose the load— often ' 180 ' turn it another 1H0 U i $mk -- - -4 K s r : ( I V IT; I ■ £; : SFF ste E DIVISION ' Pay more attention to your beard. If I turn this knob we should drop the load. Top 1. to r. ICC Murphy, EMI Bates, FA Thompson, EMFN Andrus, ICFN Frier, EM3 Maisel, IC2 House, FN Barney, ICFN Joubert, EMFA Carleton, FN Rizzo, EMC Wickham, WO-1 Matkovich. Bottom 1. to r. EMFN Rodriguez, EMFN Butin, FN Wood, EM3 Ancheta, FN Smith, EM3 Corpuz, EMFN Marquez, EMFN Bertulfo. HHHrT nHnjH 1 In fr ■nHH . T% 1 HfiflrT m x V R HHE?S % 5 ., M DIVISION I For a more rewarding job opportunity see the career counselor. Top 1. to r. MM1 Benson, FN Gehringer. MM:! Washington. MM3 Havward. FA Whannel, MM3 Holland, MMFA Taylor. MM3 Smith, FN Stamos, MM3 Minney. MM3 Symington. MMl Webb, MMC Walatka. Kneeling back to front MM3 Phillips, FA Sweet, FN Hall, FA Arce, MM3 Neville. MM3 Schuster. rJLvw mm mi ff AU-RiGHT; U)Ho ' 5 THE CLOWN TH T STOLE PA££ JH XI a OE DIVISION Then I told him to touch the end of the wire to see if it was plugged in. Top 1. to r. ETC Stone, ET1 Medina, ETR3 Jacobsen, ETN3 Knight, ETRSN Henderson, ETN3 Griffin, ETN3 Schwab, ETR3 McGaughey, ETN2 Marshall, ETRSN Hill, ETR3 Chenoweth, ETN2 McKennon, CWO-2 Arreola. Middle, 1. to r. ETNSN Guerts, ETRSN Klabunde, ETN2 Mabie, ETN3 Handy, ETRSN Pohrman, ETN2 Compo, ETR2 Padilla, ETN2 Thomas. Bottom, 1. to r. ETNSN Stephens, ETR2 Ensign, ETR2 Martin. I -ii t ' Li f ' i L iy k nuuM Sir, I think I ' ve been on the scope too long. 01 DIVISION Really!!! Standing 1. to r. OSC Iba, EW1 Quevedo, SN Griffin, 0S2 Sauter, OS2 Oldenettel, OS3 Kovath, OS3 George, OSSN Potts, ENS Bollen, LTJG Donohue. Kneeling, I. to r. CTM2 Nieto, EW3 Rabago. R DIVISION Top 1 to r CWO-2 Davis HTC Deptula, HTC Damitz, HT3 Enri- HTFN O ' Connor, HT2 Browne, HTFN Westphal, HTl Craighead, quez,MR3 tores, MRFN Roemmich, HT3 Barr, HTFN Olsker, HT2 Beery HT3 Heaton. Bottom 1 to r, MRFN Pohjola MR3 HTFN Metzler, MR1 Bigner, HT3 Chase, FN Morrow, HT3Trum- A -V ers . H ™ Worley, HTFN Armstrong, HT3 Chavez, HTFN ble, HTFN Niemi, HTFN Akins. Middle 1. to r. MR3 Christen. McCoy. Chief Ski speaking. sn ' t that bug called a chiefski? FTi -p% What ' s a chiefski? fl SI Top 1. to r. SKC Solis. SHC Linville, SK3 DeFancia, DK1 Balmaceda, SK2 Drazic, SN Cashman, SN Mayo, SN Sanderson, SN Ashford, SH2 Lockhart, SN Jenkins, SN Barnett, SH2 Reparip, SK2 Orbase, SHI Martin, LTJG Heleniak. Bottom 1. to r. SN Daguison, SK2 Devera, SN Smith, SK3 Doyle, SN Hohnberger. 1 1 .. t ¥£$f 4 ? MESS COOKS Top I to r. ETRSN Pohrman, FA Clements, FA Kolb, FA Thompson, FA Akins, AA Burkart, FA Schwinn, AA Vines, SA Kdsill, BMi Castaneda, ENS Huff. Bottom 1. to r. FA Taylor, AN McQueen, AN Walton, SA Layman, SA Cottle, SR Haddon, SA Leffel. (Foreground) SN Angello, SR Treiber. S2 Top 1. to r. SDCS Jocson, SD2 Moreno, SDSR Butcher, SDSN Winther, SKSA Crocker, CSSN Thomas, CS3 Pugslev, CS2 Griffin, CS1 Richards, CS1 Espinoza, CS1 Sheppard, CS3 Jensen, CS2 Monzon, CS2 Paran al, ENS Huff. Middle 1. to r. SDSA Curphey, SD3 Casaneda, SD3 Bigalbal, SD2 Kubulan, SDSN Asban, SDSA Gamboa, SD1 Sabal. Bottom 1. to r. SDSN Ramos, SDSN Alfonzo, SDSN Fernandez, SDSN Esteban, SD3 NooL ««. am ft V DIVISION Top 1. to r. LTJG Dillon, ABH3 Lane, ABH2 Williamson, ABH3 Canto, AN Coke, AN Mejia, AA Burkart, ABF2 Hollis, AN Chamberlin, AA Kaigler, AN Rando, AA Davis. Bottom, 1. to r. AN McQueen, AN Winter, AN Walton, AN Carney, AA Cleveland, AA Serfes, AN Rogalski, AA Martinez, AN Cummings, AN Deguzman. A JOB WELL DONE ' Flight quarters, flight quarters,... ' Those were the words that rang over the IMC over a thou- sand times while we were overseas. The men of the flight crew answered the call everytime with unequalled excellence and precision. CLEVELAND ' S flight deck saw it ' s 7000th and 8000th landings without incidence. BRAVO ZULU V DIVISION. v ? X DIVISION i %|V-?_;1% 7 Top 1. to r. Ltjg Brines, YN1 Menchaca, YN1 Swanson, YN3 Parkes, YN3 Wallick, PN1 Schultz, ABF2 Wilson, PN3 Law- son, ETC Howell, YNC Johnson Bottom 1. to r. PC3 Fuller, SN Logan, BM1 Inman, SN Angello, CTRSN Spetzler, PNSN Herd. TYPICAL- COMPASSIONATE fAASTER-AT-AR S MEDICAL DEPT. Doc Albert practices his profession in P.I. r ' HIS WOMT Hvi«vr A Bit] o Vdy 1. to r., Lt. Albert, Griffy, DT2 Cupido, HMC DiCarlo, HM3 Garibaldi, HM2 McGuire, Lt Haydu ' Two of these and you ' ll be on your.. CLEVELAND SAILOR OF THE YEAR -i ■ • a RM2 JOHN PAUL MILLS RM2 John Paul Mills, CLEVELAND ' S Sailor of the Year, has exhibited outstan- ding leadership ability in every endeavor he has undertaken. Since returning to active duty, after earning his Bachelor of Arts degree from Marquette University, he has continued working to improve himself. Many countless off duty hours have been spent studying professional publications to update his knowledge of com- munications, thus enabling him to better carry out his responsibilities and duties. The knowledge gained from his studies has been shared with his shipmates through formal lectures, which he has devised, and on the job training. Petty Officer Mills stands as an example to all the men for he possesses that sense of pride and authority that is evidenced not only in personal appearance but also in the performance of his duties. He has worked in the capacity of traffic checker, watch supervisor and at present communications watch officer. Though his work has occupied much of his time, he has found time to participate in other shipboard activities. He was elected by the communications department to be the departmental representative on the Welfare and Recreation Committee and sub- sequently accepted the additional responsibility as committee secretary. After the formation of the Culture Control Group, Mills volunteered many off duty hours attending the meetings in order to learn more about the problems of his ship mates. From this experience, he was nominated as one of two Drug Awareness Pet- ty Officers for the command. His interest also encompass the area of sports where he is currently serving as secretary of CLEVELAND ' S bowling league. He has currently applied for Officer Candidate School and hopes to ultimately ob- tain a line commission. CLEVELAND ' S Sailor of the Year has set big goals in his life and can best be described as a person of total involvement, one who epitomizes the meaning of the word SUCCESS . -H7 • 5  V.. U-.i ' — - ; — ON APRIL 28, 1973 WELCOME HOME April 28, 1973, truly no day of CLEVELAND ' S West Pac ' 72- ' 73 cruise was more memorable. For nine months and eighteen days CLEVELAND and her crew were absent from San Diego, but physically only. The loved ones we left behind kept the candle burning and were out in full force to welcome their boys home with one of the largest and warmest welcoming home crowds we will not soon forget. Our deployment a success, the war ended, the fine lady ' CLEVE ' was home safe finally. Turn down the sheets honey, I ' m coming home. It Goes Without Saying... t i % jH wffiiitS ' .Of . ■ tB ' Mm , M ffip ' ' ¥l .ftp K M B ||j : — ! — - - fU jfigfa. % 1 s Ul t p |: BL | J 1 ____ [ s wjv i pH W.O.P.A. had a good time too... (1. to r.) CWO-2 Davis, CWO-2 Arreola, Capt. Kirksey, CW02 Cherry. WO-1 Matkovitch. WALSWOHTHVfW Cruise Book Sales Offices PU ™I?£ME 111 M38 Ing ham Sireet-Suite 205 S° ™o ± San nieuc California 92109