McMorris (DE 1036) - Naval Cruise Book

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IIIIIHMIII—IIIIIMIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIIMMIIM ■!»—■■■■■ I A brief six-day visit to Singapore from 12-17 May, brought to an end forty-five days of arduous operations and provided a period of much deserved relaxation and liberty. Entrance to Change Alley in Singapore Chinatown in Singapore. In early May, the United States Navy mined the harbor entrances and costal waters of North Vietnam in order to prevent the delivery of supplies that would be used to assist that country in carrying out it ' s military aggression against the Republic of Vietnam. Upon departure from Singapore, McMORRIS was called upon to man the Notification Line in the Gulf of Tonkin with a mission of insuring that no third country ships were allowed to inadvertantly enter the mine fields. During this assignment, McMORRIS was assisted by units of the Republic of Vietnam Navy and bv U. S. Patrol Boats. i | s Vietnamese Destroyer Captain visits for dinner. U. S. Patrol Gunboat alongside to refuel.

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CRUISE NARRATIVE The deployment of USS McMORRIS (DE-1036) to the Western Pacific commenced on 30 March 1972, with departure from Pearl Harbor. Two days later, the North Vietnamese invaded South Vietnam (1 April), an action which changed the nature of McMORRIS ' s deployment for the next five months. Originally planning to visit Subic Bay, Kaoshung, and Sasebo, in the early stages of the cruise, McMORRIS was redirected while enroute to the South China Sea to assume a role of North Vietnamese trawler surveillance after brief stops in Guam and Subic Bay. McMORRIS persued the trawler until the trawler ' s mission was aborted. Next came a tour of Market Time duty, sur- veillance of the Republic of Vietnam coast to detect, destroy, or deter infiltration of war supplies by the North Vietnamese. This operation included a second trawler action and proved to the North Vietnamese that the sea lanes to the Republic of Vietnam were not available as a supply route in support of enemy forces. Inspecting a small craft while on Market Time. RVN ship off South Vietnam.

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Notification Line duties ran from late May until late July, interrupted by a most welcomed nine days port visit to Sasebo, Japan for liberty and repairs. Sight-seeing in Sasebo City street in Sasebo Subic Bay, in early August, acted as a starting point for our trip home which took us down under the equator for the second time during the deployment. Visits to Brisbane, Australia (14-17 August) and Whangarei, New Zealand (22-26 August) were a fitting climax to a most rewarding and challenging deployment. II CATER! E ■ don t » yl OKARA PARK Australian Navy Liason Officer being piped aboard Frolic before the rugby match in Whangarei :-:; ' ;: ? y :,! ' ::