Herbert J Thomas (DDR 833) - Naval Cruise Book

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CCMMANDING OFFICER COMMANDER W. A. PITCHER Commander William A. PiTcher, upon graduafion from San Jose STaTe College and afTer graduaTe sTudies in General EducaTion aT The Universify of California, vvas commissioned 'an ensign in February 1943. He reporTed To The USS HERBERT J, THOMAS for his second Tour of duTy vvhile The ship vvas drydocked in Yolcosuka, Japan, and relieved Commander Borden as Commanding Officer on OcTober QI, I957. Affer his commissioning, Commander PiTcher aTTended bomb disposal school and Then reporTed in May I943, To his firsT permanenT duTy sTaTion, USS ELIZABETH C. STANTON, an aTTaCk Troop TransporT. Upon Transfer from This command, he spenT The IasT year of World War Il on The aircrafT carrier, USS BUNKER HILL. For The Inferim of World War II and The Korean ConflicT, a Tour vviTh The Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps aT The UniversiTy of Pennsyl- vania vvas his iniTial assignmenf. During The period T946 Through I95I, Commander PiTcher served aboard The famous baTTIeship, USS MISSOURI, aTTended General Line and Naval lnTeIligence Schools, and served on The STaff of Head- oiuarTers, Caribbean Command. In SepTember of I95I, he reporTed To The USS OZBOURN, and on This ship commenced his desTroyer days. One year laTer he became ExecuTive Officer of The USS HERBERT J. THOMAS, vviTh his refurn To This ship In The fall of T957 as Commanding Officer being broken by Three years of duTy aT The Office of Naval OperaTions in WashingTon, D. C. Included in his five rovvs of medals and awards are The Bronze STar Medal, CommendaTion Medal, Pre-sidenTT-ai UnIT CiTaTion, European Theafer Medal vviTh Tvvo sTars, AsiaTic-Pacific Area Medal vvITh four sTars, Korean Service Medal wiTh Three sTars, The Philippine Independence Medal vviTh Tvvo sfars, and The Korean PresidenTial UnIT CiTaTi0n.I .. -4 f 1 'w-pw M ,,......,........,-,,..,,......Q..,...,...., -- - I I I I I i i 1 . i I I I I I I I I I I I -I 'i 'i i. l i I I I

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COMMANDING OFFICER RELIEVED, 21 OCTOBER 1957 co1viiviANoER Joiiixi c. aoi2DEN Commander John C. Borden served as Commanding Officer of The HERBERT J. THOMAS from SepTember 22, 1955, unTil his relief by Commander William A. PiTcher aT Yokosuka, Japan, on OcTober 21, 1957. Upon deTachmenT from his command, Commander Borden vvas ordered To duTy as Chief of The Naval Mission, MonTevideo, Uruguay. Upon complefion of college, Commander Borden enTered The Navy in 19-40 aT The Midshipmen School, USS ILLINOIS. Commissioned as an ensign The same year, he reporTed To his firsT duTy sTaTion for sea duTy aboard The USS NEVADA. He was signal officer of This ship vvhen iT vvas aTTacked and sunk by The Japanese in Their December 7, 19411, aTTacl4 on Pearl I-larbor, T. I-I. During The remainder of World War ll he served vviTh disTincTion on The baTTleship, USS ALA- BAMA, and The cruiser, USS PITTSBURGH. Following The Second World War Commander Borden compleTed assignmenTs in The SouThern Pacific While aTTached To The STaff of The Commander Naval Forces, Philippines, and Naval Communicafions STaTion, Guam, Mariana Islands. During This period he also served Tvvice in his firsT naval love, desTroyers, once as ExecuTive Officer of The USS SARS- FIELD and laTer as Commanding Officer of The USS BADGER. Prior To assuming command of The USS HERBERT J. THOMAS he vvas CommunicaTions Officer aT The Office of Naval OperaTions, Washingfon, D. C. ii Among The medals held by Commander Borden are American Defense Medal vviTh one sTar, The American TheaTer Medal, The European TheaTer Medal, Pacific TheaTer Medal vviTh six sTars, World War ll VicTory Medal, Philippine Independence Medal, China Service Medal, and NaTional Defense Medal. - A .. Q X. A.

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