Walker (DDE 517) - Naval Cruise Book

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l .1- I i i '1 1 1 , P E V Y 2 is I .. 5 1 , -1.-W? f ' -as Forward The Seventh Fleet is the strilzingf power ot the Uniteci States. It represents training, reacliness, anil liarrl worlz. it represents long hours, anti long separa- tions liroin lovetl ones. it symlmolizes the highest tratlitions ot the Naval service, the sometimes exciting action, the terlious antl routine patrol. The profession ot going to sea in ships is exacting anti precise. The inte- J gration ot teamworle anal science, ot worle anal play, is a joh tor which there can he no sulmstitute tor Llevotion. The motlern warship is a city ot steel, ot high pressure steam anti rapicl firing guns. llumireats ot men worle in crampeti quarters, eat anal sleep in shifts. Power plants roar tlirougliout the night, anti never stop at clawn. Gun crews sit liucicllett at their stations in the stormy seas, or unttera hlistering, tropi- cal sun. Ratlio lirequencies linlc us with llie shore conunaml, anal the Stretching Fleet. Engineers pump tons ol. oil into superlicatcnl hoilers. Balee shops worlz at night. High-poweretl ratlars amt sonars scan the slcies anfl prolae the waters tor the enemy, or a nearliy trieml. Vliliousantls ot letters anal clirectivcs are re- ccivenl, stutliett, anal implcnicnterl. Complex records anal reports analyze laattle performance. Anti trom this tusion ot lalmor, ol: slcill, ancl clectication, comes the fighting' ship, reatly to join the Fleet. She joins the carrier taslc torce at sea in a secret renctezvous. She sweeps alleacl ot the mighty carrier with hristling protecting, months ot training, anal loaclenl guns. She is a hunter-lziller, reacly to seel-2 anal a suhmarine. She closes an enemy shore-line anti neutralizes gun emplacements, shells railroacis and tactories. This is the story ot such a ship, anal the men who talee her clown to the sea. 5 , ltiiii' P' ti ,.-. A-, A

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A S'lcost'ii History ot U.S.S. WALKER For over tliree ctecactes tliere ti:-is loeen a Unitect States warsliip prouctly laear- ing tlie name ot U. S. S. XVALKER. Tlie present ciestroyer was lwuilt in Boston anct coinmissionesl on April 3, t9-L3 in lionor ot Rear Admiral Iolin Grinies Wallzer, U. N., wllo was lnorn in 1835, anal Lliecl in 19OY as one ot tlie Navy? early lieroes. Tlie Pacific ocean is not new to XVAl-KElQ, tor slie roainert tliese waters utur- ing Nvorlcl Wfar II tor over tliirty inontlis. During lier early campaignes of 194-13 anrt 19414 slle engaged tlie eneniy in tlie Gilliert lslanrls, Marsliall lslanrls, Dutcli New Guinea, Niarianas, Leyte anrt Olcinawa, aint tiinally joineil, tlie strilcing force against tlie Japanese liome islamts. XVAIJKEQS comlnat lite lias always lieen exciting. As part ol tlie Seventli Fleet in tlie Pliilippines lier guns accounterl lor a lap Zero plane, antl covererl tlie waves ot invasion troops storming .isliore on lreyte. Xwlien slie linally StCi1ll'lCLiil1lLU rl1CYl2yL7 lli'lI'l50l' JS JH L'SL'Ul't litll' L1Cl1C!'Ctl iXl.1LTJxl'tltlIT,S Sll!'l'Cl1LlCl' team, lier liistory revealett an array ot. six liattle stars, willi countless instances ot inclivitlual lieroic pertorinances. Earlier slle pausect in tlie Atlantic long enougli to capture a Liernian U-Boat crew. Fresli from a Navy Yarrl overliaul in I9-115, XWfXl-KlER joineri liainous Taslc Force 58, lect lay Actniiral flare btitsclier. Atter air strilzes against japan, slie l1CZ1Ct6Cl.SOl1tl1 to support tlie invasion ot Qlzinawa. Xvliile on piclcet mluty a suicicte plane crasliect close alnoarci, its fuselage parting a lite line. Her guns tlien lnlastect tliree planes troin tlie slzy. Xvitli peace came tlie niotlilaall tleet, lnut XVALKER was not t.iCSlLil1CLlliOI' quiet retirement. W7l1en plans were cievelopett tor a new sulimarine lziller, time Dtare tslanct Naval Sliip Yarci cliangecl lier tace, installctt tlie latest ancl most rteartly unrterwater weapons, antt XVALKER rejoinerl tlie Fleet as a liunler-lciller Ltestroyer on Septenitier 15, 1950. Xvitli tlie Korean Xvar alieacl, XVALKER spect westwarrt across tlie Pacitic, wliere slie participatett in carrier strilzes anal sliore tioinlnarctinents along tlie entire Korean coastline. Since tlien slie laas been a frequent inenilner ot tlie Par East torce, rotating lnetween time Seventli Fleet, anct tier lionie liase in tlie Hawaiian tslancls.

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ROBERT L. KALEN CONIIVIANDEQ UNITED STATES NAVY the Executive Officer Lieutenant Rembrandt C. Robinson, U.S.N. assumed the duties of Executive Officer in Pearl Harbor on December 4, I954, iust as WALKER was making preparations for her deployment to the Far East. As a veteran of both World VVar II and the Korean War, Lieutenant Robin- son has previously served in every shipboard department, and recently com- pleted a tour of shore duty in the Bureau of Naval Personnel, Washington, D. C. Prior to World War Il he attended Pennsylvania State University, and later joined the Amphibious Forces, Pacific Fleet where he served in action against Japanese forces. After the vvar he ioined the Atlantic Fleet, serving in five different ships. He was aboard destroyer ENGLISH as Engineer Officer when the Korean War started, and sailed from Norfolk for the Far East vvith one of the first Atlantic Fleet divisions to arrive in the combat zone. Q, ' .Le -L .iaglgil-4 I E3 if 5 the Captain Commander Robert L. Kalen, U.S.N. took command of WALKER on July 2l, l953. bringing with him the experience of a long and varied career. He lost no time in bringing WALKER to the highest standards, taking her through the difficult months of the last For East cruise. His steady leadership soon brought the highest reputation to our operations throughout the Fleet. After graduation from the U. S. Naval Academy in 1940, the Captain served with distinction in the cruiser CHESTER, earning the Bronze Star medal for action in World War ll. Later assignments found him on the staff of the Commander- in-Chief, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, and as an instructor of Naval Science at Oregon State College. He then ioined destroyer DUNCAN as Executive Officer, and iust prior to WALKER completed a tour of shore duty in the Bureau of Naval Personnel, Washington, D.C. REMBRANDT C. ROBINSON LIEUTENANT, UNITED STATES NAVY f Q- . ff 'rv-I . rf 3 NN I! cp: ei ., I ld' I Acglfv g U y e y V