Paul Revere (APA 248) - Naval Cruise Book

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unguided missile containing valuable scientific in- formation. In 1961 her sustained transport capabilities were vigorously tested when she Wasemployed as the attack transport of the ready amphibious group in the Western Pacific. For seven months the USS PAUL REVERE, along with the USS MONTI- CELLO, carried a complete reinforced battalion landing team of marines and their equipment. The ready group took positions at strategic points in the South China Sea, fully prepared for contingency operations during periods of international tension ' CAPTAIN ALBERT R. OLSEN Commanding Officer, 16tAugust 1960 to 2 October 1961. ing officer, was quartered aboard for a year. During one -memorable period that spring, the ship remained at sea for 55 days, interrupted by a scant'36-hour rest in port after the first five Weeks. ' CAPTAIN MARSHALL F. THOMPSON Commanding Officer, .1 une 1959 to 15 August 1960. created by the events in Laos and South Viet Nam. At the end of that deployment the USS PAUL REVERE became flagship for COMPHIBRON FIVE. The Staff, under the command of Camo. Robert B. Erly, who Was the shipls first command- How or why PR ffor Paul Reverej should also bring to mind Peter Rabbit is a mystery, but like all great nicknames, it stuck. And we're stuck with a furry guardian angel.

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iP The USS PAUL REVERE KAPA 2485 was converted from a merchant ship, the USS Diamond Mariner, which was built during the Korean War. Commissioned on 3 September 1958 at Long Beach, California, the USS PAUL REVERE became the Navy's first attack transport capable of sustained speeds of over 20 knots and equipped for combined over-the-beach and vertical envelopment amphibious assaults. Although the ship is named after the Revolu- tionary lWar patriot Who kept alert for enemy forces CAPTAIN ROBERT B. ERLY Commanding Officer, 3 September 1958 to June, 1959. Mrs. Robert B. Erly sends the USS PAUL REVERE down the ways with a champagne send-off. from across the Atlantic, the USS PAUL REVERE has never seen the east coast. Serving exclusively in both the First and Seventh Fleets, the ship re- mains constantly ready to support the United States and allied interests in the Western Pacific. ln addi- tion, she is prepared to assist in the evacuation of U.S. and friendly foreign personnel and to par- ticipate in combined training exercises with Japan. Korea, Taiwan, and the SEATO nations. The tasks assigned to the USS PAUL REVERE have been many and varied. In September 1960 she headed the recovery group in project NERV, aiding in retrieving an

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After returning to San Diego in July, the ship spent all of September 1961 in the Seattle area on Operation Sea Wall. In December, Todd Shipyard, which originally converted her from a merchant to a martial vessel, took care of the accumulated Wounds and scratches sustained by the ship over many months of hard driving. Having missed the Christmas of '60 at home and having undergone a midnight sortie to usher in 1961, the ship was more than happy to spend Christmas '61 and New Year's '62 in San Diego. L Facts and figures, dates and places make up only one kind of ship's history. Months deployed or months at home, the day to day history is of another kind: push, pull: s.. - ' aint . . . . . . chip, sand, and . . . Pam! - - - palm ' ' ' p