Denver (LPD 9) - Naval Cruise Book

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A FLASH TO THE PAST... DENVER AIDES KOREAN ORPHANS San Diego Navy Dispatch, April 22, l )$3 Pusan, Korea - Easter arrived early at two orphanages and one hospital as members of the San Diego-based landing transport dock USS DENVER (LPD-9) delivered books, medical supplies and foodstuffs. Ten pallets of goods were distributed as part of the Navy ' s Project Handclasp. The Project Handclasp program is designed to provide overseas commands, fleet units, and Navy ships with the humanitarian materials essential to carry out peace-keeping and nation building as American ambassadors of goodwill overseas . Project Handclasp is a way to build better understanding between the people of other countries and the people of the United States. Materials distributed by DENVER sailors were donated by Mary E . Murray, Past National Regent, Catholic Daughters of the Americas Everyone gave and everyone received. And that ' s the way things ought to be, proclaimed Lt . Ken Abbott, DENVER ' s chaplain. Accompanying Abbott were: Lt. Dave Scott, MSC Art Arceo, RMl John Beck, RMl Jeff Harryman, RP2 RichApel, HT2 Joe Dougherty, BM2 Bob Kemp, EW2 Kurt Morrison, MS2 Mandy Roque, J02 George Sicay, PN3 Mike Gaouette, 0S3 Jim Hall, BM3 John McLallen, GMG3 Chris Ritchie, GMG3 Robin Saracino, OSSN Tony Esquibel , BMSN Tom Hughes , HTFN Tony Moyer, SN James Albrecht, and SN Don Maurer. The first stop was the Little Flower Orphanage. This facility is home for approximately 140 handicapped orphan children. It ' s enlightening to see how fortunate we are, said GMG3 Chris Ritchie, of his first exposure to handicapped children. The sailors mingled with the youngsters before unloading diapers, medical kits, food seeds, and candy. From there the men visited the Pusan Boystown and Mercy Hospital. The facilities are part of Korean Relief. Korean Relief, headed by Reverend Aloysius Schwartz, has branches in Pusan and Seoul . The sites provide education for orphan children, full service hospital care for the poor, and a hospice for destitute and homeless men. Delivered there were books , food, clothing and medical supplies . The final stop was the St. Francis Orphanage. Home for about 50 boys, St. Francis received foodstuff s, medical packs, clothing and toys . After unloading the supplies, DENVER sailors filled the air with saucer tossers. Youthful Korean orphans scattered about the grounds with the bright blue plastic discs that had fallen from the sky. Those kids had a really good time with those (saucer tossers) , and so did I, said EW2 Kurt Morrison after playing catch with one of the boys. Although the weather was overcast with showers during the afternoon of distribution, the people-to-people sunshine was delivered by sailors of USS DENVER. 28

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mFm Zavala, M.I. FlBHm Broujn, 5E FlBFm Marcus, L. T. m Kearney, T.M. 27

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OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT LCDFf E5PE, B.L OF5 The fast tempo, the early departure and constant change in DENVER ' S schedule kept the Operations Department very busy this deployment. Consisting of five major work centers, the Operations Specialist (OS), Radiomen (RM), Signalmen (SM), Electronic Technicians (ET), and the Electronic Warfare Technicians (EW), the Operations Department played a key role in maintaining communications and control equipment as well as operating them with skilled professionalism. The Department was constanlty on the go, cind there were plenty of reasons. Responsible for the AT T Sailorphones, the ET ' s kept the folks back home in touch with their Sailor or Marine even while the ship was underway. With the added ability to e-mail, the RM ' s had their hands full trying to keep the system up and operating for those who wanted to send their loved ones across the globe a letter within minutes instead of having to wait weeks for paper mail. Training for the identity of hostile emmiters and other electronic warfare specialties were on the minds of the EW ' s. Especially when only expecting the unexpected to happen at any moment while in the Gulf. The EW ' s work in coryunction with the OS ' s in the Combat Information Center. The OS ' s operate radar repeaters and communication circuits. Safe navigation and attention to detail keep these specialists on their toes when it comes to tracking and identifying unknown surface ships. When a ship comes close enough for visual identification the OS ' s give the Signalmen a call. Due to their location on the highest floor level of the ship and their high powered binoculars, the Signalmen have a better chance of identifying the unknown vessel from a greater distance than the average lookout. As a tezim, the Operations Department helped achieve and maintain the high combat readiness standard expected in any unpredictable situation. 29