Piedmont (AD 17) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 7 text:

in. R l 4 Q-. la Wi tk 53'- ilia- We va- , Riff e 1 n.. 44, K. fillet 11-VIL lwsif lr Eff P Sli' i If wyqaf ill X211 I. A, 'Z :nail grssize ug HG'-'37-f rs U5 nw! 123: ni BU: rdf' had mb 5' .all rv Fggzht .25 Kn- W1 sf' P 'if .jfwr 4 .Kb P I, -:HW 1 aka. a' GEL me 5 ruary 1947, and 12 to 15 Septem- ber 1948g and the China Service Medal for the periods February- March 1948, and 16 to 20 May 1950. During the Korean campaign, the beginning of which found her in Japan carrying out her normal schedule of tender services to- SEV- ENTH Fleet ships, PIEDMONT completed four tours in the West- ern Pacific, from 1950 to 1954. She provided tender services to ships of Canada, Colombia, New Zealand, South Korea, and Thai- land, as well as those of the United States. She was also flagship for Commander United Nations Block- ading and Escort Force. For her services, PIEDMONT earned the Korean Service Medal with four battle stars, the United Nations Service Medal, and the Korean Presidential Unit Citation. Since the Korean campaign, PIEDMONT has continued to carry out her mission of tending de- stroyers, both on the Pacific Coast and in the Western Pacific. She has divided her duties between the West Coast, usually San Diego, California, her home port, where she has generally remained from six months to a year, and the West- ern Pacific, for periods of six to eight months, usually based in Yokosuka, Japan. ln February 1956 she returned to California from a six-month tour of duty in the Far East which in- cluded visits to the Philippines, Hong Kong, Formosa, and Japan. In April of that year PIEDMONT sailed to Bremerton, Washington, for a two-month yard period at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Upon her return to San Diego in June, she became flagship of Commander Cruiser Destroyer Force, U. S. Pa- cific Fleet. In January, 1957, PIED- MONT again sailed to WESTPAC for her annual tour of duty, visit- ing Subic Bay fPhilippinesD, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sasebo, Kobe, and Yokosuka, returning to San Diego in August. In June 1958 PIEDMONT steamed for Yokosuka, via Pearl Harbor, arriving at Yokosuka on 12 July and embarking Com- mander Destroyer Flotilla ONE. Upon arrival, PIEDMONT antici- pated a normal tour of six months in that port, but when the Lebanon crisis in the Middle East erupted- three days after arrival-she sailed for Subic Bay to stand ready to participate in possible operations. After the Lebanon situation calmed, PIEDMONT departed Su- bic Bay in August, 1958, for Kao- shiung, Formosa, headquarters of the Formosa Patrol Force. The off- shore island of Quemoy, held by Nationalist China, was under heavy bombardment by Chinese Commun- ist artillery, PIEDMONT provided service for ships of the SEVENTH Fleet engaged in convoy and pa- trol duties in the Formosa Straits. PIEDMONT returned to the United States in January, 1959, for a yard overhaul in San Francisco, California. She arrived 'in San Diego in May, again embarking COMCRUDESPAC. She has made three more cruises to WESTPAC between 1960 and 1963, serving as flagship for COMDESFLOT ONE while in Japan. PIEDMONT completed a five- month period of overhaul and mod- ernization at the U. S. Naval Ship- yard, Long Beach, California, on 31 January 1963, under the Navyis Fleet Rehabilitation and Moderniza- tion QFRAMJ program.

Page 6 text:

HISTORY USS PIEDMONT KAD-175, one of three 6'Dixie class destroyer tenders now operating in the Pa- cific, is the first ship of this name. Following the Navy's policy of naming such ships after locations and areas of the United States, USS PIEDMONT was named after the Piedmont region, which lies just east of the Appalachian Mountains in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the Carolinas. Authorized by an Act of Con- gress in May, 1938, PIEDMONT was built by the Tampa Ship Build- ing Company at Tampa, Florida. Her keel was laid on 1 December 1941, and she was launched on 7 December 1942. Her length is 530 feet, her beam 73 feet, she dis- places 8,000 tons standard f18,000 tons full loadj. PIEDMONT was commissioned a United States Ship on 5 January 1944. A recounting of the work done by the men of PIEDMONT dur- ing World War II would encompass manyhpages, too many for a short history of this kind. A few of the high points of PIEDMONTIS ac- tivities during that war should suf- fice to portray the unsung, yet vi- tally necessary role she played in helping to bring about victory. On 6 March 1944 PIEDMONT sailed from Florida for the Panama Canal, San Diego, and then Pearl Harbor. Less than twenty-four hours after her arrival at Pearl Harbor, PIEDMONT had taken her first Pacific Fleet destroyer along- OF USS Pl side. She remained there for the next two months during the fever- ish preparations for the Marianas Campaign. During the month of May, her crew set what was then a record in exerting a total Of 110,000 man-hours on repairs to other vessels. At one time, PIED- MONT had seven destroyers along- side and was working on jobs for fifty other destroyers moored in the area. In mid-.lune 1944 PIEDMONT sailed from Pearl Harbor to Ajoin other units of the fleet in the Mar- shall Islands, where she served task groups from huge Task Force 58, supporting the Marianas Campaign. In September she sailed into the Southwest Pacific to Manus Island, the largest of the Admiralty Islands, where other units of the fleet were preparing for the Philippines Cam- paign. Her next four months were spent sustaining U.S. destroyers in their battles with Japanese ships and uKamikazi', planes. ' In early January 1945 PIED- MONT sailed from Manus Island to Ulithi Atoll, in the Caroline Is- lands. The three months following saw United States Pacific Fleet units, during the long, bitter weeks of the Iwo-Okinawa operations, suf- fering more damage than at any other time in its history. PIED- MONT again employed her facil- ities to repair and 'cpatch up de- stroyers damaged during this cam- paign. In June 1945, with cessation of E DMQNT organized resistance on Okinawa, PIEDMONT sailed to the Leyte Naval Base, and then to Eniwetok Atoll, in the Marshall Islands. Here, on 14 August, the men of PIED- MONT received the news that fla- pan had accepted Allied peace terms. In addition, they learned that PIEDMONT had been selected from the Pacific Fleet destroyer tenders to move into Tokyo Bay with the first Naval occupation units. The ship departed Eniwetok, rendezvoused at sea with units of the THIRD Fleet, and, on 28 Aug- ust, dropped anchor in the Sagami Wan, south of Tokyo Bay. On the 30th she moved into Tokyo Bay, and on the following day moved to the dock at the Yokosuka Naval Base, 37 miles south of Tokyo. While moored at Yokosuka, PIEDMONT supplied provisions and clothing to the landing forces, and to ,the hospital ships standing by to care for released Allied prisoners of war. So permanent a feature did the ship become in Yokosuka that the dock was named HPIEDMONT Pierf' PIEDMONT remained in the Tokyo area sup- porting the occupation forces until sailing for the United States, arriv- ing at Alameda, California, on 15 March 1946. PIEDMONT's commendations earned during the War and the period following included the Navy Occupation Service Medal, Pacific, for the periods September 1945 to February 1946, June 1946 to Feb-

Page 8 text:

DAN T DRAIN Captain Dan T DRAIN USN, was born in South Bend Indiana He received his undergraduate education at Purdue and Indiana Universities, graduating from the latter with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government. He was commissioned an Ensign in June 1941, upon comple- tion of Midshipmen School Chicago, Illinois. After instruction at the Naval Mine Warfare School, Captaln DRAINS first sea assignment was the gunnery department 1n USS PREBLE KDM-205, a Pacific Fleet de- to December 1943. In January 1944 he assumeduduties as Executive Officer and Navigator of USS MONTGOMERY IDM 171 1n mid-1944 he became Commanding Officer of that ship erving as uch for the remainder of the War in the Pacific. Other duties afloat have included Intelligence Officer and Assistant Operations Officer on the staff of Commander Amphibious Group TWO which had a large part in build- . D , , . . . . 7 . , . stroyer minelayer, where he served from October 1941 - Q . . , s ' U s 7 CCMMANDING OFFICER ing the Thule Air Force Base, Greenland, Operations Officer, USS TOLEDO fCA-1335, and Commanding Of- ficer, USS RUPERTUS KDD-8515. Captain DRAIN has studied at the Naval Post Grad- uate School, the Naval Intelligence School, and the Navy Language School. He has served as an instructor at the General Line School, as Head of the Security Control Branch of the Office of Naval Intelligence, and as Ad- ministrative Aide to The Chief of Naval Personnel. Prior to his assignment to PIEDMONT, Captain DRAIN was Commander, Destroyer Division 152, completing his tour on 9 October 1962. He assumed command of PIED- MONT on 27 October 1962. Captain DRAIN has received the Navy Unit Citation, American Defense Medal fwith starl, Asiatic Pacific Medal ffive starsl, American Theater Medal, World War II Vic- tory Medal, China Service Medal, and National Defense Medal.