Mauna Loa (AE 8) - Naval Cruise Book

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Ray Arden Spenser was born in American Fork, Utah, on June 7, 1917, son of William R. and Bertha Pearl (Anderson) Spenser, both now deceased. He at- tended Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1941. Prior to entering naval service, he served as a Corpora! in the Utah National Guard (November 1940 - October 1941), and worked as a sheet-metal worker. Water Ser- vice, for the Los Angeles and Utah Division of the Union Pacific Railroad Company. Appointed Midshipman, U.S. Naval Reserve he had training at the U.S. Naval Reserve Midshipman School, USS PRAIRIE STATE, New York, New York. Commissioned Ensign, USNR on December 2, 1942, he advanced in rank, to that of Captain, to date from July 1, 1964, having transferred from the Reserve to Regular Navy on August 30, 1946. After receiving his commission in 1942, he was assigned to the Gunnery Department on board the USS NORTH CAROLINA (BB-55) until May 1943, then reported as Second Division Officer of the USS CIMARRON (AO-22). While aboard that oiler he participated in the Gilbert Island Operation. Detached in December 1943, he next had training at the Submarine School, New London, Connecticut. He served on the Staff of Commander Sub- marine Division ONE HUNDRED FORTY TWO during the period April to September 1944, then became First Lieu- tenant of the USS BILLFISH (SS-286) and while on board that submarine participated in two war patrols. He was a student at the General Line School, New- port, Rhode Island, from July 1946 until May 1947, and the next month reported as Engineer on board the USS CAIMAN (SS-323). In September 1948 he joined the USS BAYA (AGSS-318), and subsequently served aboard that electronics experimental submarine as Operations Officer, Navigator and Executive Officer until August 1950. Dur- ing that time the BAYA made a cruise to the Arctic to gather valuable scientific date in the Bering and Chuk- chi Seas, and was a unit of the Joint American-Canadian Task Force gathering scientific data off western Canada. He was Assistant Professor of Naval Science with the Naval Reserve OfficersTraining Corps Unit, Ren- sselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, until June 1952, and in August that year was assigned as Executive Officer of the USS TORO (SS-422). Temporary duty September-December 1953, on the Staff of Commander Submarine Squadron TWO, was followed by command of the USS HALFBEAK (SS-352). Ordered to the Office of Naval Research Branch Office, New York, he served as Bureau of Ships, Office of Naval Research Project Officer, at the Bell Telephone Laboratory, Whippany, New Jersey, from April 1956 until June 1960. During that time he was concerned with highly classified projects for the Bureau of Ships, Bureau of Naval Weapons, Office of Naval Research, and the Chief of Naval Operations. He had scientific, patent and ad- ministrative duties with Office of Naval Research con- tractors and administration of the research program. In July 1960 he became Assistant Operations Officer- Subsurface, on the Staff of Commander Carrier Division EIGHTEEN, and in February 1962 assumed command of Submarine Division THIRTY-ONE. He served as Assis- Captam Ray A. Spenser tant Director of Engineering Applications Programs in the Office of Naval Research, Navy Department, Wash- ington, D. C. from June 1963 until ordered detached in November 1965 for duty with the Fast Deployment Logi- stics Ship Project, Office of Naval Material, Navy De- partment, ordered as Commanding Officer, USS MAUNA LOA (AE-8) effective 2 December 1966. Captain Spenser has the American Defense Service Medal; American Campaign Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Cam- paign Medal with three stars; World War II Victory Medal; Navy Occupation Service Medal, Europe Clasp; The National Defense Service Medal; and Navy Unit Citation for work on SEALAB II. He is married to the former Marion Slater of Ozone Park, Long Island, New York, and they have two sons, Kenneth Vaughn and Gordon Ray Spenser. His Home Town address is Provo, Utah. Son Kenneth is attending U. S. Naval Academy - Entered June 29, 1966.

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Capain Henry J. H. Cooke Captain Henry J. H. COOKE, son of Captain and Mrs. Frederick H. Cooke, CEC, USN, was born on 16 October 1920, in Washington, D. C. He attended school in Port-au-Prince, Haiti; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Honolulu, TH. and Brookline, Massachusetts, before entering the Naval Academy in 1939. Graduating from the Naval Academy (Class of 1943) in June 1942, Captain Cooke served in the Destroyers USS BROWNSON (DD 518) and USS MONSSEN (DD 798) in the Atlantic, European and Pacific Theaters during World War 11. In February 1945 he entered Flight Train- ing at NAS Corpus Christi, Texas His first tour of duty as a naval aviator was as Com- mander Naval Air Bases, Navy 3205, in the Admiralty Islands. From January 1948 to June 1949 he served as a Flight Instructor at Pensacolo, Florida. Duty with Com- posite Squadron 33 (VC-33) based at Norfolk, Virginia and later at Atlantic City, New Jersey from 1949 to 1951 followed. During this period he served as Operations Officer of the Squadron. Captain Cooke returned to the Naval Academy 1951 as an Instructor in the Department of Ordnance and Gunnery. In September 1953, Captain Cooke reported to Fight- er Squadron SEVENTY-THREE (VF-73), based at Quon- set Point, Rhode Island, as Executive Officer. In January 1955 he became the Commanding Officer of VF-73 and •served as such until relieved in January 1956. His next duty station was the Naval Gun Factory, Washington, D, C. and was attached there as Assistant Engineering Officer (Aviation Ordnance). In August 1957, Captain Cooke reported to the Marine Corps Schools, Quantico, Virginia, as a student in the Senior course and graduated in June 1958. In the summer of 1958 he commenced duty with the Commissioning Detail of the USS INDEPENDENCE (CVA-42) at New York, New York. From commissioning in January 1959 until detached in April 1960, he served as the carrier ' s Navigator. In May of 1960 he reported for duty on the Staff of Commander SIXTH Fleet in the Med- iterranean and served on this staff until May of 1963 as Assistant Operations Officer for Exercise Plans, Anal- ysis and Review. While serving on the SIXTH Fleet Staff in 1962 he was promoted to Captain. Upon returning to the United States in June of 1963, Captain Cooke entered the American University at Wash- ington, D. C. for graduate study in International Relations. One year later he reported for duty in the Strategic Plans Division of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. Captain Cooke wears the following campaign decor- ations: American Defense Service Medal, European Cam- paign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Medal with four bronze stars. Navy Occupation Service Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal. Captain Cooke is married to the former Patsy Webb of Dallas, Texas, widow of the late Lieutenant William M. Knapp, USN. They have three sons, Midshipman William R. Knapp, USN, Robert M. Knapp, 17 and Fred- erick H. Cooke, 15.

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hieutenant Commander Clayton y Conn Clayton J Conn is a native of Idaho Falls, Idaho. In June 1948, he graduated from Idaho Falls Senior High and in September of that year entered Idaho State College at Poca- tello, Idaho. In 1949 he married Miss Marcia Ann Herbert of Rigby, Idaho. After graduating from Idaho State College in June 1953 LCDR Conn entered Officer Can- didate School in Newport, Rhode Island. Upon graduating and commissioning in November he was ordered to his first duty station at the Mili- tary Sea Transport Service Office in Long Beach, California. Since 1955 when LCDR Conn was detached from MSTSO Long Beach he has served as Assistant Communications Officer CTG 7.3, Personnel Officer Naval Station Receiving Station, Seattle, Washington, and Assistant Pro- fessor of Naval Science at the University of Kansas. His sea duty assignments have been Operations Officer for 1 year on board the USS PICTOR homeported in San Francisco and Dam- age Control Assistant on USS HELENA for two and one half years homeported in San Diego. Parents of three children LCDR and Mrs. Conn now make their home at 221 Goldsborough Village, Bayonne, New Jersey.