Mount McKinley (AGC 7) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 105 text:

,. my ,,,....,.,..!1wfg.,.,.,,.,,,.,,- ' K' ' ' - 5 V . . V-, V3-1 L-3 ff , ,fn .:..,...,...,. ..,.,..,, ...W V 9 '1'P.ni5dl-A.-51.-1-44s-.suse-1Qaubr: ' f'--90-Le-:...ef.ou-W, ----- :id ..,, In the spring of 1960 MOUNT MCKINLEY again deployed to the Mediter- d Norfolk Naval Ship' ranean. After completion of a normal tour she entere yard, for a long awaited yard period, ln the spring of 1961. Upon completion of her facelifting MOUNT MCKINLEY entered refresher training at Guantanamo Bay,-Cuba, in the summer of 1961, in preparat10n ' hi for Co mander for her September deployment to the Mediterranean as fla9S P S d n TWO On her fifth Mediterranean cruise, MOUNT MCKINLEY Amphibious qua ro . participated in several large scale amphibious exercises, and spent Christmas 1961 in Athens, Greece. In J nuar 1962 Captain Ernest L. SCHWAB, USN, relieved as co mandihg 8 Y officer and in February brought the ship back to Norfolk for leave and upkeep. In April 1962, MOUNT MCKINLEY was again off to sea as an Amphibious Group Flagship in the Amphibious Demonstration, for the President of the United States and about,50 ambassadors, at Camp LeJeune, North Carolina. This was followed by massive amphibious exercises in the Caribbean. 1 ll.. Followlng the exercise MOUNT MCKINLEY made operational visits to Bermuda, Nassau, Puerto Rico, Curacao, and the Dominican Republic. Returning to the Norfolk area, MOUNT MCKINLEY served in a communications exercise with Commander in Chief, U. S. Atlantic Fleet, Admiral R. L. DENNISON , USN , embarkaa, During the Cuban crisis MOUNT MCKINLEY operated initially as an amphibious flagship for Commander Amphibious Force, U. S. At1ant1c p1e,t, and, later, for Commander Amphibious Group FOUR. In December 1962, after the Cuban crisis, she made a short operational cruise along the East Coast of the United States then returned to Norfolk on 9 December 1962. For the next month MOUNT MCKINLEY prepar,d for overseas movement. On 10 January 1963 she sailed for the Mediterranean for her sixth deployment with the Sixth Fleet. This story is chronicled on tha following pages.

Page 104 text:

In rapid succession MOUNT MCKINLEY participated in landings and other operations in the Leyte Gulf, on Mlndoro Island, in Llngayen Gulf, and San Narclsco in the Philippines, between November 1944 and March 1945. Late March saw MOUNT MOKINLEY lead the 77th Army Division in an assault on Kerama Retto near Okinawa. After an overhaul in the States, She returned to Japanese waters to receive the surrender of Sasebo, and to carry out the landing of occupation forces there and at Kuro After her return to the States, she was fitted to participate in the atomic tests held ln Bikini Atoll in July 1946. A year later she returned for the Eniwetok tests The next three years were employed in amphibious train1ng exercises, ranging as far north as Kodiak, Alaska When the Korean War broke out in June 1950, MOUNT MCKINLEY was in Japan conducting amphibious training with the E1ohth Army Plans were changed i mediately, and she directed the first landing of American troops in Korea In September, MOUNT MCKINLEY was flagship for General Douglas MacArthur as he directed the land1no of the Unmted Nations Forces at Inchon- 0065 after, with Commander Amphibious Group ONE aboard, she made the landing at Wonsan. In March 1952 she returned for her second Korean combat cruise. After nine months spent in training the Eighth Army in amphibious warfare, she returned to San Diego MOUNT MCKINLEY returned to relieve ELDORADO in November 1953 for her third tour of the Korean War. In 1955, she participated in Operation Wigwam, and the next year re- turned for Operation Redwing These were the last maJor operations in the Pacific, on 1 September 1956 she was detached for duty in the Atlantic Fleet. Afte a few months in the Norfolk area, she left for the Mediterranean on 9 January 1957 M UNT MCKINLEY visited Malaga, Spain, Bari, Italyg Athens and Patras Greeceg Izmir, Turkey, Beirut, Lebanon and Rhodes, Greece. She returned to Norfolk in June, remained there until 30 August, then crossed the Atlantic for NATO exercises, and liberty in Portsmouth, England, In January 1958, she returned to the Mediterranean with Co mander Amphibious Squadron POUR embarked After several landmng exercises, and liberty in Valencia, Barcelona, Alicante, and Malaoa, Spain, Naples and Leghorn, Italy, Cannes and Golfe Juan, France, she sailed to Gibraltar to turn over the amphibious responsibilities in the Mediterranean to USS TACONTC CAGC 171 The same day trouble broke out in Lebanon and MOUNT MCKINLEY raced for the eastern Mediterranean to begin a long period of cruising in the area of Cyprus Finally, in August 1958, she returned to Norfolk The year 1959 saw MOUNT MCKINLEY deploy on another Mediterranean cruise. Upon her return to Norfolk, she immediately prepa ed for a six week cruise to Valparaiso, Chile President Eisenhower was making a tour of South America and MOUNT MCKINLEY had been selected to serve as the communications ship on thw west coast 0 O - 0 .. - .- 0 . 4 X. 'O , . . A 0 5 O and Le Havre, France. . . 1 . ' ' o 0 - r , , o 0

Page 106 text:

COMMANDING OFFICERS OF USS MOUNT MCKINLEY fAGC.7j QOMMANDING OFFICER ASSUMED Captain Captain Captain Captain Captain Captain Captain Captain Capta1n Captain Captain Captain Captain Captain Captain Captain Captain Roy W M GRAHAM, USN Wayne N GAMET, USN Frederick L RIDDLE, USN William L WARE, USN Lee F SUGNET, USN Carter A PRINTUP, USN Lucius H CHAPPELL, USN Charleg B BEASLEY, USN Rollo N James T Scarritt Henry A Thomas M NORGAARD, USN HARDIN, USN ADAMS, USN RENKEN, USN FLECK USN Francis J BLOUIN, U N George F PITTARD, N Monroe KELLY, Jr , U N Henry C LAUERMAN, USN Ernest L SCHWAB, USN Ma May Aug Jun c Dec u Jan u Apr Apr Nov Sep Nov Dec Nov an 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1951 1952 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1960 1962 EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF USS MOUNT MCKINLEY QAGC-71 RELIEVED May Aug Jun Ott Dec Jul Jan Jul Apr Apr Nov Sep Nov Dec Dec Nov Jan 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1951 1952 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1962 Commander Commander Commander Commander Commander Commander Commander Commander Commander Commander Commander Commander WICKENS, USN PINNEY, USN wExEL, USN GASH, USN c KEEPERS, USNR KLIPPEL, USN BETZER, USN JONES, USN WHITACRE, USN RUCKER, USN RUZIC, USN GOULET , USN o 0 1 Y v 21 - 9 - 2 . 16 O t - 17 . A 18 J 1 - 26 ' . 25 J 1 - 7 ' 1 . 25 . 28 . S 30 . US 30 Captain . S 23 Dec 1959 . 17 . 18 J J. L. E. P. F. E. R. W. ' Ko Il I R. W. E. J. F. J. A. A. J. A J. E. L. J.