Denver (LPD 9) - Naval Cruise Book

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Officers of DENVER 4 The officers of DENVER are the source from which the leader- ship for her crew originates. Their abilities to utilize the training skills of the men assigned to their respective work centers, divisions and departments fulfill the tasks assigend DENVER and maintain her maximum level of readiness. The officers of the Wardroom are a varied lot from many back- grounds and ways of life. Many are college graduates who entered the Navy either through U.S. Naval Academy, Navy ROTC, Navy Of- ficer Candidate School or Navy Officer Indoctrination Schools. The professional training for the officers entering the Navy through any of the afore mentioned programs is varied which adds to assist the wardroom in professional development. There are also those few officers who have developed them- selves professionally from the enlisted ranks and were commis- sioned as Limited Duty Officers. Through years of professional in-rate-advancement and impres- sively exhibiting their speciality skills they were recommended by their commands for a direct com- mission in their former enlisted rates and NECs. The officers of DENVER are proud of her crew, for the crew is her mainstay to fully meet all of her commitments on time. LT A. R. HILLIGAS, SC Hudson, NY LT T. C. RAMSEY, DC Englewood, CO LT J. A. ELLIOTT San Diego, CA LT L. D. BUCHANAN, MC San Diego, CA LCDR R. L. MOON Escondido, CA LCDR M. C. WEST Annapolis, MD LCDR J. L. MORFELD St. Louis, MO LCDR G. K. SCHEIBLE, CHC San Diego, CA LT W. S. CLARK Coronado, CA LT C. W. SMITH San Diego, CA LT B. R. YABUT Olongapo, R.P. 1ST LT S. B. WITTLE, USMC San Diego, CA 12

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USS DENVER ' S 1981 deployment to the Western Pacific began about noon on a bright warm day. For most of the crew and for the dependents and friends on the pier, it wasn ' t as cheery as it was sunny. For as the giant Amphibious Transport (Dock) pulled away from its berth at the Naval Station, San Diego, the realization of the forthcoming separation scheduled for some six months pervaded almost everyone ' s thinking. Her brilliant white number 9 reflecting on the surrounding harbor waters, she turned ponderously into mid-channel, point- ing her bow toward the center span of the blue arch of the Coronado Bay Bridge. Last waves of loved ones came from the end of pier 6, and then her 22,000-horsepower engines beat the dirty water under her stern into a white froth, she moved off to the duty that called her in the Western Pacific and points beyond. For some of the crew with families in the Phillippines, this was the beginning of a long journey home. DENVER ' S departure came 22 months since she had returned home from her previous deployment in 1979. In the intervening months there had been new marriages, events that in many ways add yet another member to the crew, because as surely as the men of DENVER are called upon to do their duty, the wives also serve their country ' s needs. The departure left things undone — the hinge on the car hood that broke the evening of the 23rd when the oil was changed for a final time by the man of the house, or the fence unpainted. It left other things done — the vows of lasting love, the promises of a December morning to be kept as DENVER and her men return to San Diego, the knowledge that she and her men would ably meet the forthcoming challenges. DENVER and her men would be gone over the summer and fall seasons, missing many of the yearly activities and sporting events. Muc h of the news about current events would be received through the mail. In most hearts aboard the purposeful grey ship there were hollow spots, existing for a reason. They were there to harbor the nighttime dreams and the daytime thoughts and memories. They were there to hold and love that which was out of reach for the coming months. 24 JUNE 1981

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LTjg R. D. WASHINGTON Austin, TX LTjg P. C. ANDERSON Broomall, PA LTjg Z. M. TACKETT Springdale, AR LTjg J. C. TAYLOR Mountain View, OK LTjg A. R. MOORE Ottawa, KS ENS L. D. MOWERY Clarksville, TX ENS E. J. HENRY Kansas City, MO ENS R. B. STUCKY Woodside, CA 13