Joseph Strauss (DDG 16) - Naval Cruise Book

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Q QQ S I z f.f?fff F -.I 01. ,,, am, , f A Wfmwrf JOSEPH STRAUSS was christened at New Or Qi? g Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J., on 9 DeCeI11bCf 1961 by her sponsor, Mrs. Lawrence Haines Coburn, a grand-daughter of Admiral Joseph Strauss, a World War I hero. On 29 March 1963 JOSEPH STRAUSS was delivered to the Navy, the second of her class, and soon afterward CDR William M.A. Greene, USN, assumed command at commissioning cere- monies at the U.S. Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia, Pa., on 20 April 1963. JOSEPH STRAUSS has an overall length of 437 feet, a beam of 47 feet, and a displacement of 4500 tons. Her complement includes 21 oiiicers and 320 men, who are provided with modern accomodations. Considerably larger than destroyers as known in the past,JOSEPH STRAUSS is a fast, highly maneuverable ship. The Automatic Combustion Control power plant is one of the newest to be installed in de- stroyers, enabling her to carry out with great speed and mobility any task which she is assigned. Her armament includes iQtlief'f.TART AR guided missile weapons-fsystem, ASROC QAnti-Submarine Rocketj anti-submarine torpedoes, -Vaneli two 5 inch 54 cal. dual purpose gun mounts. ,She is equipped with the most modern communications and electronics installations and is capable of .detecting tracking, and delivering rapid salvos of missiles and projectiles against enenfy targets, be they in the air, on the sea, under the sea, or on land. On 13 July 1963 after a memorable voyage through the Panama Canal JOSEPH STRAUSS arrived in Long Beach, California, to join Cruiser Destroyer Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet for a year of intensive training and drill. On 13 November 1963'CAPT Vincent P. Healy, USN, assumed command of the newly formed Destroyer Squadron Three in a 'ceremony on the decks of JOSEPH STRAUSS, his flagship. On 22 June 1964 JOSEPH STRAUSS arrived in Yokosuka, Japan, to assume duties with the Seventh Fleet as flagship of the Asiatic Squadron. Shortly after her arrival in Yokosuka, CDR Bruce Keener, III, USN, assumed command of an extremely talented and well-trained, yet unproven crew, and JOE STRAUSS was ready for her WestPac debut. While enroute to the South China Sea, word was received of the North Vietnamese PT boat attack OH USS Maddox and the first of nine at sea periods exceeding 3o days was launched. Any idea of an Oriental honeymoon in the Asiatic Squadron quickly faded as the war in Vietnam increased Seventh Fleet opera- tions to a Puflishiflg tempo. H0WeVef, the Crew responded with enthusiasm, eager to prove themselveS now that the real thing had finally arrived. The ship earned the Armed Forced Expeditionary Medal while supporting carrier air strikes in Vietnam before returning to Yokosuka in September. After a short overhaul and a pleasant 4 day visit to Beppu, Japan, the ship once again headed for the SO1lfh China Sea, fhiS time for 3 months. This trip was climaxed with Task Force Operation TALLBACK off the coast of the Philippines.

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S USS JUSEPH STRAUSS DDGJ6 READY FOR ACTION9' Qi witfizcg fl snuff? Us -QL, nyc, X 5-lg l QUCC0 f-' . X ' - I K i,,5-'w.- FOREWORD . . . USS JOSEPH STRAUSS. . . flagship of Destroyer Squadron Three, the Asiatic Squadron , homeported in Yokosuka, Japan from July 1964 to july 1966, . . pioneer of Search and Rescue Operations in the Gulf of Tonkin. . . temporary flagship for Commander Seventh Fleet for his visit to Bangkok, Thailand. . . credited with timely and competent advisory- control of 2 AIH Skyraiders resulting in a MIG-17 kill. . . first DDG to fire Shore Bombardment. . . recommended by COMSEVENTHFLT for the Navy Unit Commendation.. . regarded as the standard for professionalism in WestPac. The following pages tell the story of how she developed from a green ship fresh from the New York Shipbuilding Corporation in Camden, New jersey, and Underway Training in San Diego, California, to a seasoned Viet Nam combat veteran, capable in true destroyer fashion of any task. They show the broad panorama of life in WestPac both at sea and ashore. However, they do not reflect the long days at sea or the extreme sacrifice paid by her crew and their loved ones. This book is dedicated to the hope that our efforts were not in vain. . .

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The ship returned to Yokosuka, the crew exhausted, ready to get better acquainted with their new homeport only to be faced with an Admin Inspection. Cheerful they weren't, but they bent to the task in typical JOE STRAUSS fashion, the results were impressive. Shortly after the Admin, JOE STRAUSS say goodbye to an important founder of JOE STRAUSS tradition when LCDR Jack Ward was relieved by LCDR John Hardesty, to report to Nuclear Power School. .The rigors of the Admin were soon forgotten during the remaining three weeks in port. Getting underway from Yokosuka on 21 January 1965 was a trying event for all hands after experiencing the pleasures of life in a country which we were beginning to think of as home. To all brown-baggers came the realization that due to the pace of operations in WestPac, it could well be several months be- fore we returned. It was a safe assumption, but the variety of activities kept us so involved that the time passed in a blur. V Our sea legs back once more, we were kept briskly on the move off the coast of Vietnam operating with four different carriers after which we dropped into Subic Bay for a much anticipated upkeep period for 9 days. JOSEPH STRAUSS next participated in Operation JUNGLE DRUM III, a combined training exercise conducted with the Royal Thai Navy in the Gulf of Thailand. On 20 March, upon completion of the exercise, Vice Admiral Paul B. Blackburn, Jr., USN, COMSEVENTHELT, transferred to JOE STRAUSS at sea and broke his flag, and JOSEPH STRAUSS was privileged to serve as his flagship for a four day oflicial visit to Bangkok, Thailand. All hands were awed by the banks lined with palm trees and white temple spires sparkling in the morning sunlight as we steamed up the river to Bangkok. And what a welcome was waiting for us! The friendly Thai people wasted no time in showing us their warm hospitality and the time was filled with breath-taking tours, parties, and various shipboard honors and ceremonies as JOE STRAUSS entertained many important guests coming to pay their respects to Admiral Blackburn. The four days flew by and before they knew it, the crew was brushing up on their Japanese while enroute back to Yokosuka. After a two week upkeep JOSEPH STRAUSS again made V ADM, PAUL P, BL ACKBURN, JR. the inevitable trip south to begin a period of operations which COMMANDER SEVENTH FLEET were to bring recognition and honor to both this ship and crew. Beginning 24 April JOSEPH STRAUSS, together with USS ERNEST G. SMALL, became the first advanced SARf AAW picket team in the Gulf of Tonkin in support of U.S. air strike operations in North Vietnam. From 16 through 21 May upon completion of this SAR assignment JOSEPH STRAUSS took part in special surveillance of a Russian task unit composed of two destroyers, whose crew took about as many pictures of us as we did of them. When surveillence was completed, JOSEPH STRAUSS returned to Yokosuka for a brief upkeep and then sailed once more for the Tonkin Gulf on 4 June. The ship then headed for Hong Kong for 2 weeks of Station Ship duty. This entailed much more work than meets the eye but the crew still found time to help repair an orphanage and throw the best ship's party the Hong Kong Hilton has ever seen. The ensuing 27 days as flagship of the AAWXSAR picket unit were uniquely successful establishing operational procedures and capabilities which remain destroyer standards. On 17 June two F4B Phantom's