Piedmont (AD 17) - Naval Cruise Book

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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.

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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.

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yxgicu .., 0, ,Ji ' 2 as W ,,, x :iff .f- lvf r lf' LWB e L 1 47 if 1 K .F --,.r.y I 'J' 'i xl, it I pw? 45 :Lu Commander Lyle R. HAYS was born in Ava, Missouri. He attended Chaffey Junior College, Ontario, California, and LaVerne College, LaVerne, California. He was com- missioned as Ensign E-V-C at New York in 1941 from the V-7 programg his designation was changed to un- restricted line in 1942. His first assignment was as Engineering Officer in USS PREBLE DM-201 from October 1941 to December 1944, he was aboard her at Pearl Harbor during the Japanese attack in 1941. After studying at the Oil Burning School and the Destroyer Engineering Operations School, he helped commission, as Engineering Officer, USS MCKEAN QDD- 7841. He served as Intake Liaison Officer in the ELEVENTH Naval District during demobilization in 1945-46. He then served as Commanding Officer and Executive Officer of USS OWEN DD-5361, preparing the ship for decommis- sioning. Commander HAYS has served as Executive Officer of USS HENDERSON QDD-7855, in which he participated in EXECUTIVE CFFICER 6'Operation High Jump in the Antarctic in 1946-475 and as Commanding Officer of USS BECOR KAPD-1275, USS GOSS KDE-4441, and USS PERKINS QDDR-8715. He has studied at the General Line School, and has taught naviga- tion at Camp Hale, Colorado, for Army maneuvers in the arctic area. Other duties have included serving on the staff of the Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet, Executive Officer of the Service School Command, NTC, San Diego, Plans Of- ficer of the Commander Caribbean Sea FrontierfCom- mander Antilles Defense Command, and the Fleet Anti- Warfare Training Center, San Diego. He assumed duties as P1EDMONT's Executive Officer in November 1962. He holds the American Defense Service Medal, Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, American Campaign Medal, China Service Medal, World War II Victory Medal, National Defense Service Medal, and Navy Occupation Service Medal. LYLE R. HAYS J' Y ' ,W 5 5