Walke (DD 723) - Naval Cruise Book

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USS WALKE CDD 7235, first commissioned on 21 Jan- uary 1944, was named for Henry A. Walke, HH Ame' rican Naval officer. He was born near Portsmouth, Virginia on 24 December 1808, and died in Brooklyn, New York on 8 March 1896. He had served with -dis- tinction in the Mexican and Civil Wars, retiring in 1870 as Rear Admiral. Walke participated in the invasion of Europe in june 1944, engaging in shore bombardment and close sup- port of troops in Normandy. At Cherbourg she gave fire support to minesweep operations, narrowly es- caping enemy fire, the ship completed operations and returned to the State-s. In November and December 1944 Walke participated in the Philippine Campaign with action in Luzon, Or- moc Bay and Mindoro. On 6 january 1945, while fur- nishing fire support for minesweep operations in Lin- gayen'Gulf, four enemy planes approached the star- board bow, low on the water. Walke returned fire shooting down the first two planes. The third plane, although hit, crashed into the port wing of the bridge and burst into flames. The fourth plane, also hit, crashed in flames on the port quarter. Personnel casualties numbered sixteen, including the Comman- ding Officer, CDR George F. DAVIS, USN, who after heroic action passed away as the result of burns. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously. Following overhaul in the States , Walke took part in Okinawan operations and the occu- pation of japan in 1945, and the first atomic bomb tests at Bikini in 1946. In 1947 she joined the moth- ball fleet. Walke was recommissioned in October 1950 to join Task Force 77 in Korea. While steaming off Won- san on 12 June 1951 the ship sustained an underwater explosion believed to be a torpedo or mine. Twenty- six men died and forty were wounded. After repair in Japan and overhaul in the States, she returned to Korea in 1953 and again in 1954. Since Korea, Walke has made eleven tours of the Western Pacific. On this latest tour Walke provided shore bombardment and night illumination in support of ground troops in South Vietnam. Walke is a unit of Destroyer Squadron TWENTY- THREE, the famous Little Beavers. 2

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CAPT I EXECUTIVE GFFICER Q Q. 8-..c-,..ma-...wal After serving over 12 years in the Navy, I have naturally made quite a few previous cruises, but I can truthfully say I have never been prouder of the performance of my ship and crew than I have been during this Westpac cruise. The topnotch perfor- mance of the ship, and the excellent team spirit of the crew certainly makes me feel Proud and privileged to serve as Execu- tive Officer of USS WALKE. R W F reeman During this seven month Westpac deployment cruise, we have traveled some 42,000 miles of ocean, visiting and carrying our flag into many ports of allied nations. Your conduct at sea and ashore was exemplary at all times. We completed this cruise without having one major material failure or missing one operational commitment. This is a tribute to the profess- ional skill and devotion to duty of every one of you, particularly in view of the high tempo of operations with only nineteen days of tender availability during this seven month period. By virtue of the fact WALKE was blessed with a wealth of skills and ability, it was only re- quired that we consolidate these resources to form a smooth working team that produced outstanding results when we provided naval gunfire in support of ground troops in Vietnam. My heartfelt gratitude goes out to all of you for a job well done. As Admiral Arleigh BURKE once said: We are destroyermen. A big ship man would have trouble filling our shoes. We like to think we would have no trouble filling his. We have learned the lesson of self reliance, of not being afraid of a little rough living or any tough assignment, we are real sailormen, the destroy ermen of the fleet. When things are getting too hard for anyone else they' re getting right for us. These words symbolize your CAN- DO spirit, your teamwork and esprit de WALKE that carried our athletes to their greatest victory - winning the Admiral's trophy for over all excellence in Task Group 70. 4 sports. If was indeed a pleasure and a privilege to have been a shipmate in such a fine crew of destroy- ermen. R. K. Thompson