America (CV 66) - Naval Cruise Book

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Seven months with the Sixth Fleet SEPTEMBER 29 September - Underway from Norfolk, Virginia OCTOBER 3 October - India ' s GHANDI jailed for corruption 9-13 October - Port visit and turnover, ROTA, Spain 12 October - Safety stand-down 13 October - Navy ' s 202nd birthday 17 October - Singer Bing Crosby dies in Spain 19 October - New York Yankees win baseball pennant 20 October - Concorde makes controversial landing in U.S. 23 October - Visit by VCNO, Admiral Long and RADM Chambers 24 October - Port visit, BRINDISI, Italy NOVEMBER 6 November - AMERICAmen participate in Italian Memorial Day observance 7 November - Underway from BRINDISI 9 November - Training anchorage, Souda Bay, Crete 10 November - F-14A lost at sea; aircrew recovered 10 November - Marine Corps birthday 11 November - EA-6B lost at sea; aircrew recovered 19 November - Anwar Sadat visits Israel 19 November - Training anchorage, KITHERA, Greece 22-26 November - Port visit, DUBROVNIK, Yugoslavia 24 November - Thanksgiving Day 27 November - Accusations made of Yugoslavian airspace violations 28 November - Port visit, TRIESTE, Italy DECEMBER 7 December - Training anchorage, Souda Bay, Crete 10 December - Boxing smoker in Hangar Bay I 13 December - Visit by British M(JEN Harrod and Swiss Parliamentarians 16-26 December - Port visit, PALMA de MALLORCA, Spain 17 December - Change of Command: VS-28 and VA-15 24 December - Actor Charlie Chaplain dies in Switzerland 25 December - Christmas Day 30 December - Port Visit, GENOA, Italy JANUARY I January - New Year ' s Day 10 January - Snowstorms cripple Northeast U.S. II January - HS-15 helos participate in rendering aid to burning merchant ship 14 January - Senator Hubert Humphrey dies 15-19 January - Port visit, NAPLES, Italy 17 January - Christian-Democrat government in Italy resigns 18 January - Change of Command: VF-142 24 January - Visit by COMSIXTHFLT: VADM Train 26 January - Missile exercise: On target! 29 January - Port visit, CATANIA, Sicily •%. ' » ' ' , • • rf«- .■■ • Jir ' it ' s . ' .

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ton carrier became flagship for the Seventh Fleet Attack Carrier Striking Force. She then began operating on Yankee Station in the Gulf of Tonkin where she launched strike missions over Southeast Asia. One significant bombing sortie resulted in destruction of the Thanh Hoa bridge, a vital link in the Viet Cong supply line from North Vietnam. For this superb wartime performance, both AMER- ICA and Air Wing Nine were awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation on their return to Norfolk. Allied operations in the Med In July 1971, after a six month overhaul, upkeep and training period, AMERICA left Norfolk for a third Mediterranean deployment. A par- ticular emphasis of this cruise was joint operations with allied navies. These exercises were particularly successful and the ship ' s aircraft record was accident-free. AMERICA returned in December 1971 and six months later was enroute to her third combat deployment to Southeast Asia. She was one of four aircraft carriers on Yankee Station the day that the Viet Nam Peace Agreement went into effect. AMER- ICA returned to Norfolk on 24 March 1973, within one week of the final prisoner of war release and after nearly 300 days away from homeport. AMERICA was awarded her second Meritorious Unit Commendation during this cruise. After a three-month maintenance and upkeep period, AMERICA sailed on her fourth deployment to the Mediterranean in early July. The ship was delayed from returning due to the deteriorating situation in Cyprus. She finally arrived in Norfolk on 3 August after completing more than 8,600 launches without an accident. Three of the squadrons embarked aboard AMERICA during the cruise were awarded 1974 CNO Air Safety Awards. After a brief period of leave and upkeep in Norfolk, AMERICA re- turned to sea on 6 September 1974 to participate in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) exercise Northern Merger. Naval and shore units from nine of the NATO coun- tries participated in the two-week exercises which included a port visit to Portsmouth, England. Following an 11 -month shipyard period during which time AMERICA was renovated and adapted for the addition of the S-3 and F-14 aircraft, AMERICA embarked on her fifth Mediterranean deployment on 15 April 1976. An early accomplishment of this deployment was the aid provided by the ship in the evacuation of American and foreign nationals during the civil conflict in Lebanon. Midway through the cruise, the ship was notified of its selection to again receive the Admiral Flatley Safety Award in recognition of AMERICA ' S exceptional aircraft safety record. She returned from this deployment in October, 1976 South American goodwill cruise AMERICA rejoined the tleet after a three-month shipyard period in Portsmouth, Virginia. On 10 June 1977, the ship led a five-ship task group that deployed to South Amer- ica. During this five-week period, AMERICA and other ships of the task group conducted exercises with units of the Brazilian Na% ' y. This marked the first time in history that Brazilian aircraft operated from the deck of an American carrier. 29 September 1977 saw AMER- ICA leaving Norfolk for her sixth Mediterranean deployment. The cruise included intensive flight operations, participation in the annual NATO National Week XXI fleet exercises and port visits to Italy, Spain and Yugoslavia. AMERICA returned to her Norfolk homeport in late April 1978. In her thirteen years of service, USS AMERICA has been awarded the Navy Unit Commendation, two Meritorious Unit Commendations, the National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Viet Nam Service Medal with four battle stars, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry (Army level) and the Viet Nam Campaign Medal. S P COMMANDING OFFICERS USS AMERICA (CV-66) Capt. Lawrence Heyworth, -Ir. 23 JAN 65 - 20 JUL 66 Capt. Donald D. Engen 20 JUL 66 - 31 JUL 67 Capt. Frederick C. Turner 31 JUL 67 - 04 OCT 68 Capt. Richard E. Rumble 04 OCT 68 - 20 DEC 69 Capt. Thomas B. Hayward 20 DEC 69 - 02 NOV 70 Capt. Thomas B. Russell 02 NOV 70 - 07 APR 72 Capt. Burton H. Shepard 07 APR 72-11 APR 73 Capt. Thomas H. Replogle 11 APR 73 - 29 SEP 74 Capt. Daniel G. McCormick 29 SEP 74 - 07 SEP 76 Capt. Robert B. Fuller 07 SEP 76 - 17 APR 78 Capt. William F. Meyer 17 APR 78 - 19

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et . . a trail of events and accomplishments ipaie ' lis, il nd: l K FEBRUARY 2 February - Lethal fragments of Cosmo II found in Canada 2 February - Underway from Catania 12 February - Underway replenishment with USS CONCORD and USS WACCAMAW 15 February - Leon Spinks defeats Muhammad Ali 13-27 February - Port visit, PALMA de MALLORCA, Spain 15 February - Change of Command: VA-87 24 February - Miss Black America USO Show held in Hangar Bay I 27 February - Spain refuses USSR a Gibraltar base 28 February - Visit by CO., French carrier CLEMENCEAU MARCH 3-8 March - Port Visit, POZZOULI (Naples), Italy 12 March - Earthquake rocks eastern Sicily 13 March - President Carter invokes Taft-Hartley Act to end U.S. coal strike 15 March - Socialist-Communist party loses ground in France 15 March - Visit by CINCUSNAVEUR, VADM Moorer 16 March - Italy ' s ex-Premier Aldo Moro kidnapped 17 March - Visit by RADM Carius 18 March - CV66 Basketball team captures NAVEUR tourney • Trieste 20-28 March - Port visit, BARCELONA, Spain 21 March - Change of Command: VA-176 28 March - MM2 Jesse Hicks selected as AMERICA Sailor of the Year APRIL Port visit, VALENCIA, t Genoa 1-5 April Spain 7-10 April - Port visit, MALAGA, Spain 12 April - Rodeo Club captures first place in Rota tournament 13-15 April - Port visit and turnover, ROTA, Spain 14-17 April - Successful Propulsion Examining Board inspection 17 April - Change of Command: CAPT Meyer relieves CAPT Fuller as CO., USS AMERICA 19 April - Picnic and Casino Night in Hangar Bay I 25 April - Arrival, Norfolk, Virginia • Dubrovnik