Wichita (AOR 1) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 21 text:

CGIVIIVIANDING CDFFICER CAPTAIN R. E. SHEETS By the time you receive and read this cruise book, the seven and one-half months of your life that were spent aboard WICHITA in the Western Pacific will have already begun to fade into a surprisingly few memories. Cruise book committees, much like our memories, are kind to us, for they tend to emphasize the good times and block out the many long, hard hours of work that made this deployment one in which we may all take pride. Everytime we were needed, WICHITA was there, fully ready to do the job. That is a record that no one can surpass, and few tif anyj can equal. It was accomplished through the solid teamwork of each and everyone of you, and when the final count was made we came up with 154 wins and no defeats, and that's not too shabby. The WICHITA Linemen,'proved that they had a heart just a little bit bigger than anyone else. When the call for con- tributions to the Combined Federal Campaign was made, you responded with the largest man-for-man donation of any ship in the Pacific Fleet, and double the dollar contribution of our nearest competitor in Service Group UNE. Each of us will remember this cruise in a different manner, and each will take something different with us when we leave WICHITA. For me it is the pleasure in knowing that no matter where our respective paths may lead, for a brief period in the span of a lifetime we went the same way together. Roger E. Sheets Captain, U.S. Navy :Sw-5. Y f

Page 20 text:

BURIAL AT SEA Honoring the request of his daughter, Ms Katheryn Mitchell, the remains of MEI Cecil Fi Dandridge were scattered at sea in a ceremony held at 0730 on the morning of 25 February 1975. The ceremony was requested by the direction of the Commandant Eleventh Naval District while WICHITA was in port at the Naval Support Ac- tivity, Long Beach. The ceremony was conducted when WICHITA departed Long Beach to conduct training exercises in preparation for WICHITA29 role in protecting the freedom of the seas. It was decided that the ceremony would be held at the beginning of the training exercises in view of the many years that Petty Officer First Class Dan- dridge had undoubtedly spent in training exercises in service to his country. As the ship was slowed for the ceremony and the flag was flown at half mast, WICHITA's Ex- ecutive Officer, Commander W L. Zanzot, US. Navy, performed the religious portion of the ceremony. f

Page 22 text:

EXECUTIVE CJFFICER COMMANDER W. L. ZANZUT The fifth deployment of WICHITA to the western Pacific was one requiring the flexibility, ingenuity and initiative that onlyihe best can produce. You, the men of WICHITA certainly demonstrated this by providing reliable support to the Seventh Fleet. Without missing a single commitment you performed in heavy seas, adverse weather and shortages in manpower thal would have significantly hampered men of less fortitude. To participate in such an effort and see you continually rise tothe challenge has been a special privilege that I will always remember. Now that we have returned for a long awaited reunion with oul loved ones, I am certain that those traits demonstrated during the deployment will manifest themselves in continued outstan- ding performance ln EASTPAC operations. W. L. ZANZOT Commander, U.S. Navi