Gainard (DD 706) - Naval Cruise Book

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h G . d-S presenf Captain is Commander Robert S. Brookings, ll, USN Cup T e f ' ' anna born in Redlands California, on 27 June, 1912. He attendegf . ' ' . P tain Brioiokllngfllrzsj Alexandria, Virginia, and Exeter Academy in New Hampshii 'Q copa i B kingsfreceived his undergraduate degree from Harvard University hi O I gggaind gfidegree of MBS from the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce gf an - - - 'A h U . rsity of pennsylvania in 1938. While in college he won varsity letters in fnpi f 9 W8 b ll nd track His civilian employment was with the Johns-Manville Corporation a an . 4 1- N Y k City. . . ' ew' 05940 Commander Brookings, then an Ensign, U5NR,.as a result of NROTC ' 'n at Harvard volunteered for active duty and was assigned to the USS. Gil- g2:nligD233l Wheri war with Japan broke out the ship moved into Alaskan waters, After gunnary schooling in 1943, he served aboard the USS Thatcher lDD5l4l taking part in the Solomons, Marshalls, MOrtcn0S, New GUU160, Philippine, and Okin- awa campaigns. ln 1944, he became Executive Officer-Navigator. ln the Spring of 1945, Commander Brookings was ordered back to the United States for leave and reassignment as Commanding Ofticer of the destroyer USS. Cra- ven lDDilf' 382l, then operating in the Mediterranean. He is one of the few reserve officers to have achieved command of a destroyer during the war. By the end ofthe war he had reached the rank of commander and in 1946 he applied for and was transferred fromnthe reserve to the regular navy. Commander Brookings later experience was as a student in the General Line School course at Newport, Rhode Island. Upon completion of this course he was as- signed as Administrative Officer for the Bikini Scientific Research Expedition. In the Fall of 1947 Captain Brookings assumed the duties of Executive and Industrial Rela- tions Officer of the Naval Ordanance Plant at Alexandria, Virginia. His next assign- ment took him overseas to Ankara, Turkey as Operations Officer and Training Offi- cer, Naval Group, Joint American Military Mission for Aid to Turkey. In the Spring of 1952, Commander Brookings was ordered back to the United States for leave and a course in anti-submarine warfare tactics. Following this he assumed his present duties as Captain of the USS. Gainard lDD706l. Commander Bf00ktn9S 1105 the Naval Reserve Medal, American Defence Service Medal, Ameri- can Area Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Area Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Area Campaign Medal l9 starsl, World War Il Victory Medal, NOVY Occupation Service Medal, and the Philippine Liberation Medal.

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Egypt, Sardinia, and the French Riviera city of Nice. It was August, 1947 when the Qqinard returned to her home port of Newport, Rhode Island. At this time the Gainard was placed in a state of temporary immobilization at Dovisville, Rhode Island. In March of I948, the Gainard again returned to a Navy yard, this time in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Refresher training at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba followed and then came a second tour of the Mediterranean area. This cruise took the Gainard to Tunisia, Trieste, Golfe Juan, French Riviera, Pireaus, Greece, Haifa, Palestine, Cyprus and Rhodes. In February, T949 the Gainard again partici- pared in Second Task Fleet maneuvers, this time in the Caribbean. In June, I949 the Gainard departed for New Orleans where she was engaged Wyx A Q54 4, . fo,-, Ni f , l.ayZ,?v A few Q 4 X H X by A,xQJf?'.7,,.. 'ca A E M y I 1 Q V- , - K f , Jax . f f f'fhs-My iw 2:3-.4 X , cf ' v ff , M.?f5.2l..,fY'f ., vim f . . , 0 ..-M , - I' s. -..,,,- I 1- fm . W A X , . .. 5- gk ,gf f t V W 14N Q, Q W- W mm ., sw . ,Vw Y , 1-WH 'fu ' as ,c,f,,.- - , W 4. , . . . .. , ,A ft is KW, N WZ.,-fi ,, ,V W.-.,.,,2y f ' , K 9 w X f by 4 ' , AfgffjhXf34 14,45 i ,PQQSfWiy, .jf ' I ,L . I I PW 6 Q, LL A . W , .., ' A.. fl ,Q 7, .W 4 .M-y,:,sZf ,s .Q J r f ' fi. X ' 1, W uw . .. 49 ' ' 'A-1695. 'WW MVA.. . fl . mf , K ,Wg f f ., my ' ef A-4. , .W in Naval Reserve Training Cruises, returning to NeWP0f'f in December' l95O's . ' d 'I M , For the next six months the Galnard operated out. of Ts hotmecslg ?J2on IdUrs1Z I95I she again returned to the Mediterranean. Addltiona 5051 SnCRemo Holy-.L Ville- this cruise were Istanbul, Turkey, La 599301 Ropello' an 0 ' Iranche, on the Riviera: AIQIGTSJ Uncll-Isbonf Porlugal' 7 Ing October of I95I, the ship returned to Newt-WOVII and pclrtlgpgleildlneirilelcl FLEX operations off the coast of the Carolinas. In December., .The 432210 Quanta- lhe PlIll0d9lPl'IICl Naval SIIIPYUVCIS and left in Muay fcirlli Ilglnilgii Ehud in October of namo BOY, Cuba. The SIIIP NGXI Operated. out of Nero ' lrg ' ' d tro - , tune 95 Y 1952 returned to Newport The remainder of the year was spenf In VOU ' - h G ' rd departed Sr activities in and out of Narraganset BUY- On January 7th l e Gmc On its Fourth cruise to the Mediterranean-

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' ff .,,.,,k,w.,, , , L ,,. v fywgg..-,.f 5 gf . f as f' ' ,N 4 1 -rx 4611! Ni'-J! 4' ' e' ,EA 1, is 11 in 1 gf i J' Gibraltar On I9 January the Gainard, oafterlacross- ing of thirteen days arrived in Gibraltar. It was a welcome sight to all of us after the difficult trip. For ua large 'part of the men it represented the introduction to a ne-'lv con- tinent and the beginning of an enriching 'ence in trave. expgilce secure inside of Gibraltar's shelter- ing breakwater and having finished the usual Ship chores necessitated by tl1e.crosslng, we turned to the task of acquainting ourselves with fhe people and their ways. Gibraltar was a mingling. of two cultures lust as it is a meeting place of two continents. .An old and typical British coloniallsm'was interspersed with the less familiar Spamsh,.lts istel streets were narrow and irregular, its architecture European, and its shops dark, low-cellinged and interesting. We found a mixture of the fashion shop and the bazaar. But all took advantage of the bargains both had to offer in woolens, silks, and linens. Certainly none of us will ever forget the grandeur of the rock itself, standing maiestic- glly above the city and the harbor. Here was a fitting symbol of Britannica's unfailing vigilance and it served to remind all that we were entering a sea still very much guarded by the English at either end. Those of the Gainard who took the British Army sponsored tour of the rock saw many of its secrets, its brislling guns, detection devices, reservoirs, and underground fortifications. All hands spent a memorable week in Gibraltar before turning Eastward into the vast Mediterranean. iw .ijt Nr' 1