Cleveland (LPD 7 CL 55) - Naval Cruise Book

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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?

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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.