John Paul Jones (DDG 53) - Naval Cruise Book

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COAT OF ARMS BLAZON SHIELD Azure, an anchor palcwise or interlaced with a naval sword and cutlass proper: a bordure argent pellety of thirteen. CREST On a wreath of the colors(or and azurejin front of a profile of John Paul Jones, a naval gun all proper. SUPPORTERS Cropssed behind the shield the naval flag John Paul Jones raised on the SERAPIS and the first Naw Jack all proper. MOTTO Inlertwined around the flag staffs a scroll azyre edged or inscribed. IN HARMS WAY , in gold. SYMBOLISM SHIELD Dark blue and gold are the colors traditionally associated uiththe Navy. The anchor interlaced withthe officer ' s head and enlisted sword symbolize sea prowess and team work. The AEGIS .system ' s octagonal shape highlights the modern weaponar ' of DDG 53 with its anti-air. surface, sub-surface and strike warfare capabilities. The white border with thirteen black rivits represents day and night vigilance, solidity and determination. The number of rivits. resembling cannon balls, also recalls the llilricfu colonies aiul Ihr ii.nal t uns used by Jntui Paul .(ones in i)alllc. CREST The portrait is of John I ' aul Jones, father of the American Navy. His heroism against larger and better equipped f()rc ' s eslablished a naval tradition that has never been forgotten. Tiie naval gun represents weapnii,ir ' nl ili.u jxTiod. SUPPORTERS The (lags were display«-cl by John I ' aul Jones on his warships. The thirteen star flag com memorates the most famous KevolullonarN ' War na al combat when John Paul Jones captured the SERAPIS. Tin- ralllesnakc Don ' t Tread On Me tlai; rcnecls the lempcnuncnl ol llie limes. SEAL The coat of arms as blazf)nec! In full color upon a wlilt - oval edm- on the outside with a gold nijie and ln.scribed USS JOHN PAUL JONES at the lop and DDC . . ' 53 at the bottom In blue.

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COMMODORE JOHN PAUL JONES John Paul Jones a name synonymous with daring and courage under fire, naval professionalism, and the establishment of the American narx. Born the son of a gardener in 1747 he went to sea as an apprentice at the age of 12. For nine years he sailed the north Atlantic before the mast. In 1768 he assumed control of a brig when the master and mate died offerer, on a voyage from Jamaica to England. Rewarded with the command of the vessel for bringing it home safely, he spent five years as a captain in the merchant senice. In 1773 his crew mutinied in Tobago and he was forced to kill the ling leader in self defense. On the advice of friends he Retired incognito to the continent of America until a court of admiralty could be | formed to hear his case. At the outbreak of the revolution John Paul Jones traveled to Philadelphia, where he was commissioned as a senior Lieuten- ant of the Continental Navy on 7 Dec 1 775. He sened onboard the flag ship Alfred participating in raids on the Bahamas. He then took command of the Providence and in a single cruise took 16 prizes and burned fishing stations in Nova Scotia. Promoted to captain and given the command of the Alfred. John Paul Jones sailed first to the grand banks where he took seven prizes. As the most successful captain in the continental navy. John Paul Jones Mas rewarded with the command of the Ranger, an 18 Gun Sloop of War. Entering the Irish sea he took two merchantmen as prizes and destroyed five others. In rapid succession he landed at the port of White Haven where he spiked the guns of the harbor fort and set fire to the ships anchored in the harbor. He sent a party of four to capture the Earl of Selkirk and defeated the British Sloop of War the Drake. When he returned to France with the captured Drake, his fame led french officials to plan more ambitious enterprises for John Paul Jones, including his command of naval vessels carrying an army led by Lafayette on a raid to Ireland or Scot- land. This plan came to naught and for over a year John Paul Jones searched for larger ships to replace the Ranger. Always a peifectionist. John Paul Jones rejected several ships offered to him, saying I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast, for 1 intend to go in harms way. Forced to settle for command of an old East Indian, Jones refit the vessel for use as a war ship and renamed it the Bonhomme Richard, in honor of Benjamin Franklin and set sail around the British Isles in the summer of 1779. The 23rd of September found Jones off Flambrough Head as a Baltic fleet of 41 ships sailed into view canying cargo of much needed naval stores. John Paul Jones immediately closed for action setting off the hottest single ship battle in the age of the Sail. As the merchantmen fled, the British ship Serapis and the Bonhomme Richard maneuvered for position and opened fire almost simultaneously. Two of the Bonhomme Richard ' s largest cannons burst in the opening exchange, and John Paul Jones saw that his only hope in victory was in boarding the more poweifid ship. The ships became entangled and for mo hours the Serapis pounded the Bonhomme Richard with cannon fire while seaman and french marines swept the deck of the Serapis killing anyone appearing above deck. At a lull in the battle Captain Richard Pearson of the Serapis asked if Jones was ready to surrender. John Paul Jones rejected any such thought and replied, have not yet begun to fight. At 2200 a grenade from the Bonhomme Richard set off charges on the gundeck of the Serapis. Fearing defeat, Pearson ordered his men to board the Bonhomme Richard, but they were thrown back, within half an hour Pearson surrendered. Casualties were high, half the crews of both vessels were lost and the Bonhomme Richard sank two days later, forcing John Paul Jones to transfer his flag to the captured Serapis. Retiring to Paris. John Paul Jones received a hero ' s welcome. Hoping for fitrther employment in European waters, John Paul Jones lingered in France for another year before returning to the United States where he was given command of the 74 gun ship, America. At the wars end the Continental Navy was disbanded and John Paul Jones ' senice under the American flag ended. Returning to France for a final time. John Paul Jones died in Paris on July 18, 1792. For a century John Paul Jones ' s body lay in a cemetery outside of Paris before President Roosevelt dispatched a flotilla of destroyers to return his body to America and ordered it laid to rest in the chapel at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis. His legacy is sumtnarized on his tomb, He Gave To Our Navy Its Earliest Traditions Of Heroism And Victory .

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COMMANDING OFFICER COMMANDER PETER B. OPSAL United States Navy Commander Peter Bemt Opsal graduated from Saint Olaf College in Northfield. Minnesota, and received his commis- sion in June of 1976 following Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island. He is the son of Captain Bemt C. Opsal, CMC, USNR (Ret) and Shirley Opsal and was raised w ith his three sisters in Richfield. Minnesota. On his first sea tour of duty. Commander Opsal served as Gunnery Assistant and Boilers Officer on board USS HOEL iDDG 13). During this tour. HOEL deployed to the Western Pacific and participated in the evacuation of Americans from Iran. He attended the Surface Warfare Officer School in Newport. Rhode Island, with follow-on department head tours as Engineering Officer in both USS O CALLAHAN (FF 1051 ) and USS CHANDLER (DDG 996). These ships deployed to the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean as well, operating as part of the Middle East Force and participating in numerous exercises with various foreign navies. His most recent sea tour was as E.xecutive Officer of USS VALLEY FORGE (CG 50). which also deployed and performed tanker escort duties in the Arabian Gulf. Commander OpsaLs assignments ashore included graduate studies at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, where he earned a Masters of Science degree in Manpower, Personnel and Training. He also received Joint Professional Military Education at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He served ashore at the Naval Military Personnel Command in Junior Surface Warfare Officer Assignments, followed by a tour as Aide to the Chief of Naval Personnel. He most recently completed a tour in Washington, DC, as Administrative Aide to the Secretary of the Navy. Commander Opsal ' s awards include the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal (2), the Navy Commendation Medal, the Navy Achievement Medal, and ' arious Unit and Service awards. Commander Opsal is married to the former Sandra Long of Wyandotte, Michigan and they reside with their daughter Kelly, in Coronado, California.