Midway (CV 41) - Naval Cruise Book

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'WiliT!9li?i'H2?lG?F??i9?iEi?Bfi5!RHiffi1i'Kifi?1'?W'iii' My ' -. - Mediterranean Cruise doesn't just happen -- it's the synthesis of many months of skillful planning and training, the end product of the concerted efforts of several thousand individuals. 'V The green crew which reported aboard during the last yard overhaul was taken to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for six weeks of intensified simulated wartime training. The crew became a team and the MIDWAY became an efficient fight- ing unit before we returned, for the Christmas holidays. Meanwhile, freight trains from the four corners of the United States rolled toward Norfolk with the supplies required by a 45,000-ton carrier about to leave on foreign duty - tons of food and clothing, fuel for the engines, gasoline for the planes, thousands of gallons of paint, tons of spare parts, miles of assorted-sized line, and the everyday necessities like toothpaste, shoelaces, shaving cream and soap. Finally late on the evening of 3 January, the last crate was securely stowed below. As dawn broke on the following morning, the shrill notes of the boatswain's pipe called away the special sea and anchor detail. lt was a grey morning with a light drizzle, but nonetheless, Pier 7 was lined with a few hardy souls who came to see their loved ones depart. The ship slowly left Pier 7, Hampton Roads and Chesa- peake Bay behind and moved into the rough Atlantic where all hands secured the ship for rough weather. The crossing was uneventful except for an occasional wave crashing over the flight deck. After ten days however, all hands were glad to see land - for some it was the first glimpse of the Old World. New lands and new friends lay ahead and many hours were spent shining shoes and pressing blues in prepara- tion for the first European liberty. -A V ' ff W VNU 3li'e'1r1if'7'il'5'73'Tll'li-'ls 'lUeJ1e41WmWTT'TlTFai F1373 fl ' E?fie2ST1'3W1!..

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3 ...,f,... . fi. X A- ,A I ' ' ' ' 1 ' -'ff 1 'W Li' ZTQJ MSU... I 7 'I . 1 .A . ,2f,,0.w.-,..,,1y . , , f 'if' 7 ' - ' I 'fff:.fxf.3f'f'f'f' ' iff, 4, 5 I S .f- we W 1'-2 bf f f f ,e.' .:.fj,'.. V ik.. gi ff .4 5 A H, f ,-'- .'1E.l.f5'i'Q. ., bqfvlf CA TA W L AM H ASH F RD J R 5,5 e, wg-.1 , z.ws11f' M q 'Q COMMANDING OFFICER Captain William Henry Ashford, Jr., attended the University of Georgia for two years prior to entering the U. S. Naval Academy in 1923. Graduating with the class of 1927, Captain Ashford served two years aboard the battleship WEST VIRGINIA before being ordered to flight training. Upon designation as a Naval Aviator in 1930, he was ordered to the USS TEXAS as an observation pilot. In the interim years between World War ll, Captain Ashford served aboard the cruiser NORTHAMPTON and the carriers RANGER, LANGLEY and LEXINGTON in various observation and dive-bombing squadrons and also with a patrol squadron in the Canal Zone. World War ll found Captain Ashford as aide and Flag Lieu- tenant on the staff of Fleet Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr. When Admiral Halsey assumed command of the South Pacific Force and South Pacific Area, Captain Ashford was assigned as Air Operations Officer on that staff. He participated in many actions during the war, including Pearl Harbor, Wake and Marcus Islands, Gilbert Islands, Guadalcanal, New Georgia and raids on Tokyo. Returning to the United States in 1943, he commanded a fighter base in Green Cove Springs, Florida, until assuming command of the USS SABLE, a carrier engaged in qualifying pilots for the fleet. He later commanded the escort carrier USS COPAHEE in the Pacific. Captain Ashford was first a student and later a member of the staff of the Naval War College from 1946 until 1949. He served with distinction as Commander of the Fleet Logistic Air Wing and was responsible for the development and reorganization of this vital branch of the Navy's air arm. Prior to taking command of the USS MIDWAY in January of 1954, he headed several analysis and re- search sections under the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Air. Captain Ashford's decorations include Silver Star, Com- mendation Ribbon with Combat Distinguishing V , Presidential Unit Citation with one star and the Silver Life Saving Medal awarded by the Treasury Department. M . 1' 1 COMMANDER JAMES H. ARMSTRONG Exscurlvs omcsn Commander James H. Armstrong reported to the USS MIDWAY in December of 1953 after having served as Executive Officer of the U.S. Naval Air Station at Jacksonville, Florida, for more than 27 months. He is a native of Plant City, Florida, and attended the University of Florida. CDR Armstrong enlisted in the Navy's Aviation Cadet Training Program in 1936. He received his wings at Pensacola, Florida, in 1937 and was ordered to Patrol Squadron Two in Coco Solo, Canal Zone. He remained there until assigned to Patrol Squadron Twenty- Six at Honolulu, Hawaii in 1939. The outbreak of World War ll found CDR Armstrong attached to the Training Command at Jacksonville. Shortly thereafter he was ordered to VP-34, which was commissioned in Norfolk in March of 1942. This squadron deployed to the Canal Zone where CDR Arm- strong spent the next several months engaged in hunting enemy submarines, then plentiful in the Caribbean area. In 1943, CDR Armstrong was ordered to Headquarters Squad- ron, Fleet Air Wing Five, stationed in Norfolk, Va. Shortly there- after he became Commanding Officer of Headquarters Squadron 9-2. The mission of these squadrons was to support the anti-submarine squadrons based on the East Coast. His next tour of duty took him back to Panama as Commanding Officer of Headquarters Squadron, Fleet Air Wing Three. In 1946 and 1947, CDR Armstrong attended the Navy's Line Officer School at Newport, Rhode Island, and upon completion of his course of study he reported to the USS ONSLOW IAVP-481 as Executive Officer. His brief tour aboard the ONSLOW was fol- lowed by an assignment to the Aviation Personnel Section of CNO in Washington, D. C. After 27 months in Washington, CDR Arm- strong reported aboard the USS CORAL SEA as navigator. CDR. Armstrong is married and the father of three children. 4-.,i, 1 :L.f1..'- '- - - Q

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